Desperate

Chapter 7

Christmas Time.

It should be one of the most cheeriest times of the year but for Vlad Master's, it was the worst. He was always alone, especially around the holidays; no girlfriend to go ice skating with, no family parties to go to, and no friends to invite over. It was as if he was doomed for all eternity to not have anyone in his life.

He walked over to the window of his private study, peering outside of it as he listened to the fire he created crackle in his fireplace. A frown settled on his lips as he longed for someone that cared about him to celebrate the holidays with, yet that someone didn't exist.

A loud coo made him raise his eyebrows in surprise and look over his shoulder to see Elizabeth on her back and trying to hit the stuffed butterfly from the baby gym playset as it dangled above her. She cooed a little louder when she actually hit the smiling object, and he smiled in amusement; it was so easy to entertain her when she was in a good mood.

He then sighed, the reminder of what he was thinking about before coming back to mind. Perhaps being alone wasn't completely true now; he had a daughter to take care of, but she was too young to understand what Christmas even was. Being only a little over two months old, she wasn't aware of the holiday; she most likely thought it was just a typical day of the year. She didn't know what Christmas trees were, what gifts were, what Christmas lights were, or even knew who Santa Claus was!

So, perhaps it was true; he was alone for another year.

He slumped his shoulders then turned away from the window and sulked back over to his chair to sit down, causing the cushion of it to press down. He sighed and slouched in his seat as he watched Elizabeth try and bat at the other dangling objects above her. Well, at least he had her to spend the holidays with, even though she was too young to understand.

He smiled softly at her then looked up and to his right when he heard the door to his basement open and watched as a construction worker walked in. He straightened up his posture then stood up to meet him halfway. "Yes? What is it?"

"We just wanted to inform you that we finished upgrading the basement; it should be completely impregnable the next time another natural disaster hits," the worker reported then scratched the back of his head, "I have to say though, that is one large basement; you could technically turn it into something other than a storage room."

"Then how else am I going to be prepared for any other natural disasters in the future?" he questioned, his eyebrows scrunching together in annoyance.

"Right." The worker shifted uncomfortably then gestured to the basement door. "Would you like to have a look at it?"

"No, I'll look at it later."

The worker nodded and left, leaving Vlad alone with his daughter.

The halfa sighed and glanced at the door, silently debating whether or not he should go in there and inspect his improved basement. It wasn't a very difficult debate, however; it's not like he had anything else to do. He strolled over to Elizabeth, picked her up, then walked over to the basement door. He walked through the already opened door and descended the stairway, trying not to bounce Elizabeth too much so she wouldn't get dizzy.

Once he stepped down from the last step, he turned on the nearby light switch and hummed with satisfaction at seeing the improved basement. More steel support beams were set in place and holding up the ceiling above them. The concrete walls, the ceiling, and the floor were covered in metallic plates too. The debris would certainly hold better than it did a few weeks ago. He nodded once in approval of the job well-done and smiled down at Elizabeth when she cooed up at him.