Ice Fangs, Hot Blood! (Private)

"A princess?" She asked, before shrugging. "Alrighty then~" She purred, gently nuzzling him before squeaking in surprise as he nosed her. Once he had left, she blushed at the thought of him asking her to dress as a princess. She trotted to her room slowly, closing the door and locking it if possible. She opened her closet and pulled out a dozen dresses before finally pulling out a long, flowing white dress, with gold detailing. She blushed as she slid it on, blushing as she admired herself in the mirror. Running a hoof through her mane, she kept searching through her closet before pulling on a pair of stockings.

She checked herself in the mirror again, blushing a deeper red before putting on a pair of golden heeled shoes. Finishing the look with a crown, she did a quick spin, brushed her hair, and trotted to the ramp.

Sugary had, as mostly expected of him, worn his standard and beloved red cloak, cape, and matching feathered hat. Suitable for most purposes, but it also did mean he could walk around with a hint of a dapper touch among the so-called Canterlot Elite without anyone so much as batting an eye whether he wanted to or not. But that was nothing compared to when Isabelle finally showed herself as he turned around after getting the ramp ready and staring wide-eyed at her with the new dress. "... I've... I... Wow... You actually something like had that with you?" He wore clothing and armor for various reasons, but to see his lover wear so much so elegantly at his request was incredibly flattering and alluring. "... You look ravishing, Isabelle... You ready to turn heads everywhere we go now?" His tone was a bit on the playful side, but the look he gave her as he extended a hoof for her to urge her to walk side by side was one of deep affection. From then on, it was time to find her needs...

Isabelle drifted down the ramp, ethereal and graceful as she moved to his side, taking his hoof. "I did. This was one of the set of the clothes I saved from my cottage. You look good too Sugary~" she said, blushing at his praise, before nodding. "I am indeed... I feel I should have put some make-up on..." She shrugged gently, before nuzzling his cheek and staying close to him. "I suppose we should head to the bank first," she murmured to him.

Sugary chuckled in earnest as he held her hoof for a moment, kissed it daintily, and then urged her to walk beside him as they then made their way to where he could surmise the bank was. "As if you needed more. Trust me, you look perfect." Fortunately, Canterlot was not too big of a city in itself, and so the bank was easy enough to find thanks to the obvious lettering on it and the fact that it was clearly very well guarded with the number of guards that were a bit more numerous than normal patrolling that building, with only Canterlot Castle itself being much more guarded inside and out.

Of course, the building itself was hardly much of an attraction compared to the looks they got from some of the most posh locals. Sugary was having a ball holding back a few chuckles as he could quite clearly see Isabelle was quite eye-catching by both her otherwordly look and elegant dress as some nearly quite literally turned their heads backwards just to gaze on her. Some even began to murmur and start a rumor that she's either full of herself, a high class model, or a foreign Noble.

Once they got into the bank, it was a different story. It was certainly luxurious, but it was mostly just spaceous and practical in design with its various holding vaults in the back with several attendants and dedicated guards at the waiting. "Hm... What now? We just walk up the the nearest Teller?" It wasn't that he didn't know what to normally do at a bank, it was just a matter of whether or not this was the proper place to collect and/or confirm more of Isabelle's wealth.

She blushed again at his compliment, nuzzling him happily. "Thank you Sugary~" she whispered, before unfolding an umbrella matching her dress and strolling out into the sunlight. As they moved through the city, she did nothing to hide her unnatural grace, only giggling at the stares she was getting. She listened to the rumour that started the moment she entered the city, entertaining the idea to just kiss Sugary then laugh at them. However, she retrained herself and slid into the bank. She snorted at Sugary's question and shook her head. "Not at all my sweet. Assuming my account remains, there is a slightly... extravagant way to reach it."

With that, she trotted up to one of the guards and smiled. "Hello there. I believe you've been expecting me. Perhaps you would open the path?" Assuming her account was still active, the guard would lead the pair to the back of the bank, and open one of the vaults.

All Sugary could do was simply accompany Isabelle quietly as he had not a single piece of bit in this bank that he could take out from.

As for extravagant, that would be more the sort of process they would go through as she went to a guard instead of a Teller to make her claim. The guard in question would blink a few times at it seemed it was a rare order he was about to follow through with as he looked over to one of the Tellers from afar and gestured him over in a certain way. The Teller would nod and move to another room while the guard gestured Sugary and Isabelle to come with as he let them in personally.

They would go past several vaults along the way, but would actually stop in what looked to be a dead end. It was at this point that the Teller from earlier would show up carrying a relic that he placed in the wall for a moment, and soon after, it would disappear and reveal a much older looking path leading down that felt cooler by comparison. Once they reached the other area, there were also older vault doors with family names carved into them that were either of historical figures, or relatives of royalty and nobility. It was clearly a much more prestigious location compared to above.

One other thing to note was that as Isabelle walked near the vault of her family's name, it shone briefly where as the others remained static; A sign that she was a relative of that particular family. Through yet another set of steps of opening locks, the vault was opened for them at last...

As they were led towards the vault by the guard, Isabelle would nuzzle Sugary lovingly. She trotted along quietly, ignoring the gaze of the other ponies as they moved. She waited for the path to appear, before following the guard again, apparently unimpressed by the disappearing wall. She giggled as they passed several royal vaults, curious to see if Sugary would catch onto the fact that she both owned a crown, and had a vault here.

Isabelle watched as her family name glowed, before the door opened slowly. It groaned as it moved against hinges that clearly hadn't been used in a while. She stepped inside the vault, which was filled with so much gold that it would make most nobles in the city lose their jaws through the floor. "Hmmm..." She hummed, before stepping around a rather large pile of gold, and picking up a small bag. "This should be enough..." She smiled at Sugary. "Alright, we can go now."

If anyone was about to lose his jaw, it was Sugary as his jaw reached it and his mind went blank as he saw the vast fortune inside that one vault alone. There probably wasn't even enough regular room in his airship to carry that much gold. "I-... It-... You-..." It's not like he never saw much gold before, he was just surprised to see so much in a single place, and that Isabelle had claim to it. "... What kind of family are you from!?" He finally said as he pulled himself together, walking by her side as the vault was closed once again. Fact of the matter, he really didn't know much about her family aside from a relative she seemed to be searching for... in her own time, as he had decided that was something best left up to her for the time being.

While trying to make heads and tails about the mare he was with whom he walked with very closely back out along with the guard and Teller, he tried to also focus on what else needed to be done. "Er... Now we, uh... Look for a house, right? Did you mean something your family also owns?"

Isabelle smiled at his reaction, giggling as she helped his jaw back into place. "Take a guess Sugary~ I'll let you have one guess~" She purred in his ear. "I could go see... but... I think I'd rather buy one~" She said as they exited the bank. "After all, it should be for us, shouldn't it?" She asked him.

A pair of ponies, one wearing a tight witch's outfit and the other a suit of bright purple armour approached them as they left the bank. "Excuse me... But I believe the money you're carrying doesn't belong to you," the mare in the witch's costume said as she stepped infront of them.

He seemed rather thoughtful about the prospect and the question she gave him. "... I guess we could do that. Guess we just keep looking for a good spot then...? As for your family, I just don't know. I could guess all kinds of things... You definitely come off as regal after what I saw in there though."

Then slowly, but surely, he felt something similar out of the duo that would intercept them on their way. He'd halt next to Isabelle as he eyed the new duo and assessed them very warily, becoming more alert as a red flag was raised in his mind as the witch mentioned the issue with the money. He'd address them directly first. "If there's been a misunderstanding, let's talk this over. But if you mean to rob us... Step aside. Now." He then quickly whispered over to Isabelle while keeping perked up and very wary of the others. "Do you know them? They feel like... you..."

"Could you be more specific about me~?" She would whisper back to him before facing the pair who had confronted them. The mare giggled and stepped closer to Isabelle, kissing her hard. "Sorry Belle, I can't be serious around you. Why did you take money out of your account?" She asked, before regarding Sugary. "Is he manipulating you?" She asked before leaning in to face Sugary. "And yes, we are the same as she. Well... mostly. Regardless, who are you? And what are you doing with Belle?" She asked, glaring at him whilst the knight stood silently behind her.

Once Sugary could see that the duo were others Isabelle seemed to know after all, he eased up somewhat, but he wasn't particularly fond of being accused of wrongdoing while getting glared. He'd scrunch his nose in mild indignity. "Hmph! That's rude! She asked me to bring her here. I haven't bamboozled her to do anything! And if you really need to know... I'm her lover..." By the time he spoke the last statement, his expression evened out again, eyes as relaxed as they were serious. But the look along wasn't all there was to it as he immediately followed the statement by moving his face towards Isabelle's, going for a kiss to make his point apparent...

Isabelle pouted as he ignored her queston, before smling proudly as he stood up for himself. The mare listened to him quietly, before giggling as he kissed Isabelle, whose expression was a mixture of shock and happiness at the suddenness of the kiss. She kissed back, purring happily, before the mare coughed to break them up. "I see. So you're her lover then?" She cocked her head. "You do know who she is then~?" She asked with a wicked smile. "Tell me, what do you love most about her?" She asked him.

If the witch was expecting him to not know any better... she was probably right, he didn't know that much about Isabelle, but he certainly knew enough so far. He did smile a bit in return with confidence as he certainly knew what he did like about Isabelle. "Her bright and sharp smile, among other things." Admittedly, he had more to learn to be sure, but he still liked her for the most part and that was enough for him to be with her still.

He then looked between the two mares, feeling like he was still missing a piece of a puzzle. "... But to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what she is... Isabelle, you're not making what you asked me any easier with them showing up. If you're not a Regal, then what are you?"

The witch chuckled at his pun, before nodding. "That was very good, you got straight to the point." She giggled, whilst the knight sighed and pulled off his helmet with some difficulty.

"That was terrible sister," he said as he very slowly walked over to Sugary. "And you should not encourage her." The witch hugged him, kissing the top of his head, before smiling at Sugary.

"Well... Regal is not the right word for it... But I'd rather have Belle tell you," she spun on a hoof and stood next to her brother, letting Isabelle stand there awkwardly.

Eventually, Isabelle sighed and smiled at him, cocking her head. "Think about it Sugary. I have a huge bank account, I wear a crown... and technically, these two are Royal Guards of the Vampire nation."

((Putting 2 and 2 together...))

While things between the 4 of them were now clearly on good terms, Sugary now stood with a blank expression as he gave the seemingly obvious clues further thought. He wasn't dense, but some things were reasonably hard to swallow right away. In due time, his horn would flash briefly, and the illusion of a light bulb sparkling on and then fizzle out soon after just before he spoke. "... That crown of yours is an actual regalia!? So you're... But then... Why were you in a hut in the forest by yourself!?!?"

Isabelle watched him think, spinning her umbrella slowly. As the lightbulb flashed up, she giggled and nodded her head a few times. "Yes, it is. My full title is The Royal Princess Isabelle Von Tempest, Draculina and Daughter of Darkness the First." She purred and kissed him, nuzzling his cheek. "Because I don't like living in the capital. It's boring... and, I was looking for a particular plant... And I like the forest. It's quiet."

It was at that point that his eyes crossed briefly as she kissed and nuzzled him, feeling like a huge veil was just removed from his vision as the truth came out. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he sat in further thought. "... I guess I understand... But you kinda made it seem like you've been there for a long time..." He once again opened his eyes and stared straight at her. "... But... Does that mean you still intend to find a place to settle down with me? Even if they're here now?" He gestured to the Vampiric Royal Guards. "Aren't you needed back elsewhere?"

"Oh, I had been there a long time, or at least enough to watch an oak tree grow to its full height..." She shrugged and cuddled him. "And yes, I do intend to live here with you. I'm not going back to the capital. Besides, they aren't actually here to protect or collect me. They're the city guards, that is to say, they make sure the city is safe for vampires." She paused, and yawned. "I'm not needed anywhere that I know of~" She raised an eyebrow at the witch, and she shook her head. "See?"

Sugary looked to the guards and then back at Isabelle as she cuddled him. He smiled again, and chuckled softly as he nuzzled her cheek for a change. "I think I do see... But does that mean you're certain this is where you wanna settle down then? Right here in Canterlot?" He looked around at the city from where they were. While some of it was a bit too snooty for his own tastes, he knew full well the city also catered various events of varying social classes thanks to Celestia's own hoof among others involved. It was peaceful for the most part in good times to be sure.

She nodded slowly. "I think I do. Despite how stuck up some of the ponies here are, at the very least it is a bustling city. For all our power, the vampire race is incredibly boring. We're immortal, so we take things... really slow. There's a chess game that's been going for 600 years. I love it here, it's so much fun~" She said as he nuzzled her. "Are you okay with living here?"

While going deadpan at the 600 year old game, Sugary nonetheless gave the city another quick look over while smiling softly as Isabelle nuzzled him. "Center of the continent... View from up high... A proper dock to maintain my airship... The Royal Library and Celestia's school nearby... And a place for high brow gossip and rumors among other things. Not to mention the castle itself and the Royal Guard barracks being so close... This is a great place to live actually!" He hugged her and kissed her as a sign of approval and affection. "That said... You planning to have a house built, or find one?"

Isabelle was silent as he described Canterlot, content to let him talk. She murred into his kiss, suckling his tongue softly as they did. Eventually, she pulled away with a sigh and light blush. "I'll probably just buy one prebuilt. I can't be bothered designing a house... besides, there are some really nice ones nearby~" She purred. "But first, I need to buy some clothes, and you a saddle~"

Sugary blushed and felt flushed as Isabelle took in his tongue again hungrily, only to blush further at the reminder of them having to go get a saddle for them in front of her acquaintances. Clearing his throat, he tried to get things moving onwards. "Right. That... We better get going then, right? And I take it you fellas have other work to do?" He referred to the guards that time as he looked over to them.

The witch and the knight chuckled as his blushed at the mention of the saddle. "We do... have fun you too~" The knight winked as he and the witch vanished in a flash of light.

Isabelle nuzzled him and kissed him again. "Yes, we better get going~" she murmured in his ear.