I had spent what felt like hours so far in the foyer, cleaning. Dusting around several priceless ornaments, being very careful not to touch them in case something were to break and as Celia had said earlier, I did not want to find out the punishments the High Royals could dish out.
The foyer was open and welcoming, I discovered. There were many different varieties of artwork strung along the walls, showing not only the wealth of the family, but the impeccable taste they had. The room was symmetrical and on either side of the spiral staircase there was a low table with a silk cloth, underneath which a beautiful blue vase balanced on top. The vases were identical, showing the obvious attention to detail the family had with their interior design. Other than a few small bookcases on the walls, there was little else in the foyer. On the plus side this meant there was less to dust, but then there was a much larger surface area of marble stone floor that I had to begin polishing.
''We were terribly worried, Aiden. You know we've lost track of the rebels for the time being and we weren't to know if you were safe travelling.'' A male voice broke through my calm state of cleaning and at the word 'rebels' my ears perked up. Typically, it was thought as a rumour that there was a small group of rebels still existing who were said to be the ancestors of those who had surrendered after the War of Blood, though this was rarely mentioned. The punisher's hated when they heard mention of being overthrown.
''I know we have, but really, what is a bunch of humans gonna be able to do to me?'' I could see Aiden's cocky smile in my mind just from his tone of voice. I found it strange that already I had subconsciously memorised some of his expressions, it made me shiver.
''You are getting overconfident, son. Do not underestimate the threat.'' I found myself creeping towards the door that led towards the living room in an attempt to hear more clearly.
At this point I probably should have realised that eavesdropping wasn't ever a good idea, especially when it involved the King and Prince of the vampires. Then again, maybe I was more of a risk-taker than I had known.
''I'm not underestimating them, I just can't imagine any human ever being able to overpower me. You need to remember that we're the frickin' High Royals and no petty human is ever going to be able to defeat us.'' Anger was seeping into Aiden's tone now and I wondered how he could have the guts to stand up to the King. From his appearance I had glimpsed earlier, he was not a man that you'd think would be accepting of Aiden's backchat.
''What are you being all sneaky spy about?'' An unfamiliar voice caught me off guard and my heart leapt into my throat as I realised somebody had seen me eavesdropping. I spun around and came face-to-face with stunning hazel eyes, staring at me as if I were a school project to be inspected.
''I-I wasn't doing a-anything.'' My hands began to tremble as I thought of all the possible outcomes of this situation. The punishments I could be submitted to were limitless. I could be thrown in the dungeon, beaten or forced to become a blood slave, and those were only a few that I could think of off of the top of my head.
Mum would be so disappointed if I was killed on day one.
''Woah, calm down. Geez, don't have a damn heart attack woman.'' The boy looked like he was beginning to panic as my breaths came out in gasps and tears stung at my eyes. His arms were extended towards me, but were frozen in mid-air as if he didn't want to touch me. It was either he was too stunned to try and comfort me, or he just didn't want human germs.
Suddenly, I was tackled by a force and fell, yet again, to the ground. Instinctively, I hid my face behind my hands in a feeble attempt at protection. I could feel hot breath fanning down onto my hands and face as tears dampened my cheeks and my gasps for air turned into pathetic sobs as my fear grew.
Then somebody barked into my face. Or something.
I opened my eyes slowly as a tongue began lapping at my face and a furry head began pushing at my hands. As soon as my hands dropped to the floor I saw the source of the barking as I was greeted by the smiling muzzle of a chocolate Labrador.
''Hey, Kara, leave the poor girl alone. She's terrified.'' The boy's voice broke through my happiness at seeing the beautiful dog as the body on top of me was dragged away and deposited at the boy's feet. ''I'm sorry, Kara is difficult to control, I didn't realise she would attack you like that. Not as in attack as in hurt you, oh god no. Kara's the softest dog you'll ever meet, promise.'' A pale hand appeared in front of me, startling me again.
''N-no I'm not scared of her.'' I reassured him as I eagerly grasped his hand in my own, surprised he actually was offering. The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself more by lying sprawled out on the floor for much longer.
''Do you mind telling me who you are and why you're acting like you're on a stakeout mission?'' He joked, releasing me as I steadied myself on my feet again, my heart almost returning to a healthy rhythm.
''Violetta, I'm a house slave.'' I introduced myself, ashamed at my actions previously, ''I didn't mean to offend anyone.'' I averted my gaze, a house slave shouldn't be sneaking around and I was wondering how long it would take this guy to come to that same conclusion.
''Oh, well I haven't seen you around before Violetta, so welcome!'' He exclaimed, making a large gesture with his hands around the room. ''And you didn't offend me, I'm usually the one to be spying on people around here so join the team.''
I couldn't stop myself from laughing at him and his cheerful nature. It was refreshing to meet somebody around here with a sense of humour.
''Josh, are you being annoying again?'' Aiden's voice caused my laughter to cut short as the fears from before crept back into my thoughts. His presence sent conflicting feelings through me it seemed. On one hand he hadn't said anything threatening, but on the other I had seen his mood change in an instant in the short time I'd known him. I certainly didn't want that happening with me.
''Naw, I'm just being my friendly self. You should try it sometime, bro. I think you're getting wrinkles from that constant frown you've got going on nowadays.'' I hid my smile at Josh's reply, coming to the conclusion that these two must be friends and I was correct in my assumption about the mystery Josh earlier.
''Whatever, dude. I see you've met Violet.'' Aiden gestured towards me and I felt my cheeks flush and a cold sweat pass over me as their attention shifted.
I felt a cold, wet nose nuzzle into my palm, and was surprised to feel the dogs own comforting gesture, also glad that she had stuck around. Dogs had always been the most beautiful animals to me, though I had hardly ever seen one up close. They were so rare around the human areas.
''Yeah, your 'rents got another house slave then?'' Josh inquired and my curiosity peaked again, bringing me back to their conversation. I wanted to hear his answer after I had grown up to hear he used slaves as frequent entertainment; it was still odd to me that I was his.
''Nah, I went down there this morning, thought it was time I bought one to shut them up. She was one of the leftovers.'' I found his words hurt me as he referred to me as second best. But then, I should be used to it considering I am injured and not of much use for a time. ''What did you do to her anyway? Are you okay, Violet? You're a mess.'' My cheeks flushed yet again as I remembered I had been scared enough to cry during the events that had happened.
''I'm fine.'' I nodded at him and decided I should prove I was worth something, so I retrieved my cloth I had dropped to the floor and knelt to begin polishing. It was pretty obvious though that the floor was squeaky clean. I could even see my own dishevelled reflection in it and it was mortifying.
''Hey Kara. I missed you too.'' The affection in Aiden's voice surprised me as I glanced up and saw he was stroking the dog's soft fur, a small smile lighting up his features. His eyes had brightened at the sight of her, I noticed.
I tore my gaze away from the three of them as Aiden and Josh exchanged some quiet words and Kara began jumping up at Aiden with happiness. It was interesting that a dog lived here, I hadn't seen many in my lifetime around my small village. Many people did purchase pets of different sorts though as companionship when their children were shipped off to be slaves. My family had never had any pets but I have always wanted one, so it was amazing to be around a beautiful dog such as Kara.
Josh seemed harmless too. It was fairly obvious that he's a vampire just like the rest of them, but he seemed to be more carefree and relaxed. I couldn't for the moment see him harming any humans around here so I instantly felt safer around him. However, I wouldn't allow myself that false sense of security, it would be a weakness and I could be caught of guard.
After a while, both Aiden and Josh left as I heard them mutter something about dinner. I had almost finished polishing the floor by now and was just ensuring that I had done a satisfactory job when I heard footsteps approaching.
''You call this a polished floor, do you?'' An annoyed voice cut through the silence, ''What the hell have you been doing all this time? This place looks disgusting!''
I rolled my eyes as I turned to see Cami inspecting the wood on the bookshelves for dust. ''Aiden didn't seem to think I wasn't doing a good enough job.'' I told her vehemently, hinting that I had again spent more time with Aiden in the hopes to piss her off.
It worked.
''He probably feels sorry for you. I mean, you are a seventeen year-old girl, rejected by even the lowest of the low in the vampire world. I even heard that he only collected you to please his parents and now he's going to abandon you in the hopes that he can move on with his life without being weighed down by garbage like yourself.'' Her eyes narrowed in challenge as she turned to face me fully, her hand on her hips. Although she wasn't much taller than me, her presence dwarfed my own and I couldn't help but feel intimidated.
I had no idea how to get back at her after that. Her words were probably true and it scared me that I could just be left now that Aiden has used me to make his parents happy. It all made sense. So, instead of arguing with her further I listened to her as she instructed me to help make dinner for the High Royals and made my way back down to the slave quarters to assist with the cooking, my feet dragging as I went.
I found Celia in the kitchen, she was cooking what looked like a roast dinner, with chicken, roast potatoes and an assortment of different vegetables all on the go. At home I hadn't had much experience with cooking as Mum had always felt she should care for me as best she could, especially after Dad died when I was very young. But I dismissed the thoughts of my family quickly, not liking to dwell after starting a new chapter of my life.
''How can I help you, Celia?'' I inquired politely, I didn't want to throw myself into the cooking and most probably ruin something she had carefully planned out.
''Oh hey, you could go ahead and slice the chicken on the side there. Don't make the pieces too thick, they don't like that.'' She advised as she began cutting up the vegetables and making the gravy to go with the dish.
''Sure.'' I started to cut up the chicken, a simple enough job. I was glad she didn't ask me to do something too gourmet chef-like because I was definitely not up to that.
We worked in silence for a while. Not an awkward silence, more like the comfortable silence that you can only have with a select few people. It made me begin to like Celia more and it shocked me that in under a day I had felt that I could be friends with at least two of the girls.
Three house slaves entered once we had finished so that they could carry up the food and present it to the High Royals. Celia grabbed a huge jug that she had filled with what I assumed was blood and struggled to lift it, so I offered her a hand and we both managed to get it onto a tray without spilling a single drop. I wasn't really too keen on dwelling on thoughts of the contents, so I consciously made an effort not to.
A young boy, obviously another house slave, helped her avoid the embarrassment of dropping the entire thing in front of the Royals as he offered to serve it to them. She accepted and I saw a blush spread across her cheeks as she thanked him.
''Who was that?'' I asked as I began to clean up the surfaces.
''That was Jared; he's a slave to Millie, the princess.'' She stated nonchalantly, but I could see her eyes were bright which confirmed that I had seen her show some interest in the guy.
''Oh yeah, so what do you like about him?'' I smiled and she whipped herself around to face me looking embarrassed.
''Is it really that obvious?'' Her hands came up to cover her face as she giggled.
''To me it was, but he was checking you out too so don't worry about it.'' I laughed at her as she groaned.
''Oh my god, that's so embarrassing!'' She exclaimed, her face contorting into a look of shame.
''Don't be stupid, you guys would be cute together. I ship it.'' I joked as a look of mortification overtook her features.
''Please don't ever say that again.'' She sighed, trying not to laugh, and we both continued to clean the room, again in silence.
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A/N Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoing my book and I would really appreciate it if you could vote if you liked this chapter and maybe drop a comment with some feedback? What do you think of the characters so far? :)
~ Edited 10/01/2016 ~