The Vampire's Maid

Part 3. The Vampire's Maid

Before I left the room I slipped my hand beneath the pillow and pulled out the brooch. I rubbed my thumb against the crystals and felt the annoying tears prick my eyes once more. I shook myself out of it. Grandma was dead. That was a fact that I had to face. She would want me to survive and I intended to do everything I could to live.

"Hurry up!" Dane grunted before coughing uncontrollably.

I dropped the brooch into my pocket and left the room. I waited for Dane to cease coughing without offering to help him. Perhaps he would collapse, leaving me free to try and escape. Unfortunately, he recovered after a while and glared at me as if it was somehow my fault that he was so unhealthy.

"Right, as you know you're going to be serving Master Ashley. You will do whatever he wants you to and if you don't the consequences will be severe."

The threat was somewhat less threatening when he subsided once again into coughs. Patiently I waited for him to stop. I supposed that I should try and help him. I didn't really know the man and he could be a decent person. However, his appearance and his species prevented me from offering help.

"Come on." He said weakly once he'd recovered.

I followed him down the ladder, amazed that he'd been able to climb up there in the first place with his obviously weak lungs. Dane led the way down the stairs to the second floor and then to the end of the corridor. He knocked twice on the mahogany door on the right hand side of the corridor and we waited in absolute silence. I felt something like nervousness squirming in the pit of my stomach, knowing that this was Ashley's room. He couldn't be worse than Goliath and Dane could he?

Slowly, the door opened to reveal Ashley. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. He was pale and intimidating like his father but he was also drop dead gorgeous. It felt wrong to think that when I was in such a position but it was undoubtedly true. He was tall and lean with dark blond hair that fell messily over his face. His eyes were much darker than the other vampires I'd met; they were a deep, intense green.

"Hello Dane," Ashley's voice carried all of the authority of a prince.

His voice brought me back to reality and I felt myself blush as I realised how stupid I was being. He was a vampire. I was amazed at how quickly I'd come to terms with what they were. Vampires.

"Good morning, Master Ashley." Dane's head bowed respectfully as he spoke.

A sharp nudge in my side told me that I should stop gazing at Ashley stupidly and show some sign of respect. I bowed my head, mimicking Dane's actions.

"This is your new maid." Dane told Ashley, pushing me forward as though I was an object.

Ashley's eyes flickered to me for a second and then he looked back at Dane. My cheeks burned with humiliation. The way he'd looked at me made me feel so small and inferior. Nobody had ever glanced at me as though I was a meaningless object. Back in my village, there'd been very few pretty teenagers and I was treated better than anyone. Here, I was treated as though I was dirt.

"Thank you, Dane." Ashley replied.

He turned and walked into his room and for the first time I looked at something other than Ashley or the floor. His room was huge, larger than my Grandma's whole house. The walls were the same mahogany as the rest of the house but the carpet was a rich cream colour, making the room seem lighter and less daunting. His bed was not somewhere I'd normally choose to sleep. The bed cover was black and silky and the pillows were red. If I had to choose between my lumpy bed in the attic and this one, however, I would not hesitate to collapse into Ashley's.

"Well, come in." Ashley snapped at me.

I started and realised that I was expected to go into the room. Dane pushed me in the back and I stumbled forward as the door closed behind me. Ashley turned around as I was regaining my balance and shot me a condescending look. Furious at my blunder I stood up proudly and stared defiantly into his face. He seemed shocked that I wasn't worshiping him as his previous maid had presumably done. His eyes widened slightly as I regained my posture.

"What's your name?" He asked not out of politeness but as though he had an ulterior motive.

"Elizabeth." I told him with as much dignity as I could.

I was glad for the first time that I'd been called Elizabeth. I'd thought that it was posh and pretentious growing up in a village where my best friends were called Nadine and Tracey. Now though, I was happy that Ashley couldn't sneer at it. Whichever way you said Elizabeth, it could never sound common or undignified.

"Elizabeth." He whispered with a haunted look in his eye.

I blinked at him, wondering why he'd suddenly changed. A second later though I was sure that I'd imagined it because the pompous look was back on his face.

"Run me a bath." He ordered.

I just stood there dazed for a second. Of course, I'd expected him to give me orders but not so rudely. Ordinarily I would have argued but I just held my head high and marched through the door which I assumed led to the bathroom.

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What do you think? I wrote the next part but I didnt want the chapter to get too long and boring so I'll post it later on.  

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