The cold hard floor woke me up. As I struggled to get into a sitting position, I discovered that my hands and legs were chained in big chains. I pressed a hand to my temple to ease the throbbing headache. There was a burning sensation on my neck. As I tried to recall the past events, I realized that I'd been bitten by a vampire. The man in the garden. What does he want from me? Wrapping my arms around my knees, I felt a sob building up in my throat. Homesickness and fear washed over me at the presence of an unfamiliar place. While I was figuring ways of escape, the door swung open forcefully and a beautiful lady sailed into the room.
Her eyes were focused on me as she crossed the room with graceful steps. Her every movements were perfect and flawless. She smiled and crouched down. "What a beautiful young girl! Just perfect for the prince but...it's not good keeping her in chains." She whispered. Tilting her head to her left a little, she called out in a firm and commanding tone. "Guards!!!"
Footsteps approached and two guards appeared at the entrance with worried looks. They felt slightly uncomfortable in her presence. She glanced at them with a piercing gaze. "Free this girl!"
The two guards hesitated. "General Finn said that we're not to open that girl's chains until he comes." Their voices were meek and soft. I stared up at them too, wondering why they felt such fear.
The lady rolled her eyes in an elegant way and held up a hand. "The orders are not important. The most important thing is, this girl will have to be the prince's meal on the summer solstice so unchain her. Before that time comes, she'll have to be part of the castle; not waste time idling!" Her gaze flitted to me and I caught sight of a cold and hard look which I hadn't noticed when she entered, in those eyes.
The guards said nothing but went over to unlock my chains. Looks like this lady here is in a rather high position since the guards didn't dare defy her. I wonder what's all this about. Her words were unsettling. There were still echoing in my mind. The chains clinked opened and they fell to the ground with a clank. I rubbed my sore hands and pressed three fingers on my neck. The wound was rough and it's bound to look unpleasant. The lady saw my actions and frowned a little. Without further ado, she snatched my hand off the wound and gave a small cry. "Oh God! How can I present you to the prince on the summer solstice like this? It's going to scar without proper treatment!."
She took me by the arm gently and pulled me out of the cold dungeon. As she dragged me behind her, she muttered to herself. "I wonder who was the one who did this. It can't be him...He's not one to act this way."
I tried my best to keep up as my legs were already beginning to give way. When she noticed my discomfort, she slowed down a little.
"My name is Taylor Arlington. My brother is the one who caught you here. He's Finn, General of Knights." I bit my lip as I took in that bit of information. So, his name is Finn. Even though I resent him for bringing me here, I couldn't help but wonder how lovely his name sounds.
Taylor pulled me into a beautifully furnished room with two girls laughing over a picture book. They stood near a dresser with one of its drawers open. "Hey guys, take a look at this." They gasped when they caught sight of us. One of them hid the picture book guiltily behind her. The other one stared at us as we made our way towards them. Her eyes traveled from my eyes to the wound on my neck. Without further ado, she went over to us, grabbed my by the arm and pushed me towards the couch. "Sit down. I will treat your wounds."
I smiled weakly and thanked her. The girl standing near the dresser pushed the picture book into the drawer and took a box out instead. It's a beautiful one with intricate designs of butterflies and flowers. Come to think of it, I had one back at home too.
Taylor smiled and stood watching from the sidelines with her arms crossed. "Thanks for your help Anne, Rachel. There's no way we could let the prince meet her with a wound like that." Anne, the girl seated next to me, took some cotton and sprayed liquid on it that smelt like burnt socks. " Ew, it smells horrible."
Rachel smiled. She went over to join Taylor. "That's a perfectly normal reaction. It's the same for others too but don't underestimate it's abilities! It could heal any cut." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and watched Anne's swift movements.
I nodded and watched Anne dab the cotton on my wound. While she was busy dabbing it, Rachel took a mirror from the top of the dresser and held it for me to see. The holes where the soaked cotton had come into contact with gradually started to disappear. In mere seconds, the holes disappeared completely. I stared at my reflection in the mirror with awe. As if I couldn't quite believe what I'd just saw, I lifted my fingers to touch my neck. The skin was smooth and tender. It's almost like there wasn't even a wound there in the first place! "Gosh, the wound really did disappear! It's so miraculous!"
Taylor smiled. "Thank you, Anne and Rachel. We will be going to have her as a maid to replace Ditton." Both of them winked at me and turned away. Taylor led me to another room which was filled with girls wearing aprons and white dresses decorated with pink sashes. Maids? So, Taylor want me to become a maid? And that was why I was brought here? These questions were at the tip of my tongue but before I could speak, Taylor waved to a woman who was scolding a girl. The girl hung her head and looked very sorry for herself. Her eyes were downcast and her hands were clenched together; presumably to stop them from shaking.
The woman looked up and her face brightened. "Taylor!" she exclaimed, completely forgetting about the poor girl beside her. The girl lifted her gaze a little to meet mine for a brief moment. Before I could smile, she averted her gaze.
"Sue." Taylor whispered her name in a sweet tone. Sue ran over to us. "What have you brought me?" Sue shifted her gaze to me with curiosity. Her eyebrows arched as she scrutinized me. "Who is that?"
Taylor put an arm around my shoulders. "She will be our new maid. Actually..." Her voice trailed off and she cast a me a look before pulling Sue a little further from me. I get the feeling that there's something between them which I'm not supposed to know.
~.~.~.~.~.~.
"She is going to be the prince's meal but she's only seventeen. She has to be eighteen for him to feed from. That's the law we've been following all this while. So I was thinking, to wait until she reaches eighteen in another couple of months. I think the day she turns eighteen is two days before the summer solstice. Just right on time! But for now, get her an outfit and set her on doing some work." Taylor whispered to Sue.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
I saw Sue nodding and I couldn't help but wonder what was all that about. Taylor waved goodbye to the both of us and went away. Sue smiled and pulled me to a small room- adjoining the previous one-filled with dresses of all kinds. I touched the dresses with awe. "Wow, these are all silk and satin!" Sue smiled and looked almost sorry for me.
"Ah, that is for the royalties. These dresses will soon be delivered to their chambers. However, a normal girl like you wears this." She gestured to a plain white dress with pink sash.
I took the outfit gratefully and readied myself in the bathroom. It feels good to have a shower. As I emerged from the bathroom looking all clean and nice, Sue threw me an apron and a pair of white flats. After tying the apron round my waist and putting on my shoes, I followed Sue to a large room filled with books. I gasped in awe. I'd never seen such a huge library before. My instincts were immediately awakened at the sight and smell of those books.
"Sweep the floor nicely with this broom and dustpan. I do not want to see a speck of dust on these carpets. The royalties are extremely particular about it. Do you understand?" Sue delivered her order in a firm voice.
"Wait!" I called out when Sue's about to take her leave. She turned with a frown. "Is this what I'm here for? To be a maid?" I asked hesitantly when I saw a look of irritation cross her face.
Sue was silent for a moment as she pondered my question carefully. "Well...yes." Her voice was barely a whisper. She looked a little wistful all of a sudden as she took one last look at me before taking her leave. The door slammed shut behind her.
I sighed and began my task. If that's so, then he should have said so. I mean, I have the right to decide whether to work as a maid or not! Anger began rising in my chest. Finn's face was still clear in my mind. He looked so handsome and charming back then but his intentions were deceitful!
There's not much to clean since the maids have probably cleaned it beforehand. Scanning the shelves, I noticed that there were lots of books each shelf. I'm guessing that there are millions of books here. I loved reading and all these got my heart singing with desire. My library back home was not even one fourth of this. Besides anger, I felt another emotion rising: envy.
I eyed the books and made my way over to them. I soon realized that the books were mostly untouched because it has a thick layer of dust on its cover. I frowned at those dusty books and wondered if I should clean them too but in the end, I decided not to. I did not dare touch them in case my fingerprints were left there so I continued sweeping, vowing that I will come back again to explore the books secretly.
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(Darren)
I could feel someone's hand on my face and my eyes jerked opened instantly. Rayce, my no-good sister, glared at me with those terrifying eyes of hers. "It's time for you to wake up after being asleep for millions of years. Watching you sleeping all day is a pain! Anyway, I've brought you a special virgin to feed from. You've been wanting to obtain power and so here you go. She's not any ordinary girl which you can get from the streets. The blood of Maal runs in her veins. But she is only seventeen so before you can take a siphon the life from her, wait until the summer solstice. She will be eighteen by then."
I frowned, pushing myself off the bed. "How do you know she will be turning eighteen on the summer solstice?"
Rayce laughed. "Don't underestimate my abilities, Darren. Now get up and wash your face. It is time for you to feed. I'm sure you'll be hungry. There's one lovely woman of eighteen. Such a sweet girl I met when I was on my way back from a walk. SO innocent and glowing with beauty. How could I not...I will bring her to you."
Rayce spun on her heels and left the room. I got dressed and waited for Rayce. After what seemed like an eternity, my door burst opened and two girls sailed into the room. Rayce led the girl to me by the arm. The young girl was staring at me with awe. "This is Sunshine or Sunny for short. Sunny, meet Prince Darren. He's the one I've been wanting to introduce you to."
Sunny smiled and extended her hand. I took it and gave it a brief shake. I could feel my stomach growling at the sight of her. When was the last time I've had my meal? The smell of her blood got my taste buds singing with desire. I took a step towards her, unable to control my hunger anymore.
Rayce noticed the desire burning in my eyes and smirked a little before turning to walk away from us. I pulled Sunshine closer to me, breathing in her sweet scent. I could feel her heat radiating against my body. Her cheeks coloured a little as our eyes met. She gasped when I kissed her. As our kisses intensified, she began moaning in pleasure. Her body was trembling with excitement. She moaned louder when my kisses trailed from her jaws to her neck. I parted my lips and ran my tongue on the delicate flesh. My fangs slide out eagerly, craving for the taste of her blood. Without further ado, I sunk my fangs into a vein. Blood spurted into my mouth and I tightened my grip on her.
She cried out in pain as she struggled to break free. I pressed my body on hers, trapping her against the wall. I drank eagerly, siphoning the life from her.
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I wiped my bloodstained lips with the back of my hand. Sunshine lay on the ground, unmoving. Rayce entered the room again and laughed when she saw the corpse. "Well, poor girl. Anyway, let's finished her off. It'd be bad if she wakes-which I doubt she will-so we'd better take precaution, eh?"
I nodded. Sometimes, it's better to let the older sister decide. Rayce handed over a stake. Her face was full of disgust as she stared down at the girl with a bloody neck. I plunged the stake into Sunshine's heart without hesitation and compassion. I had to kill her to prevent her from turning into a vampire because, after I took her blood, she lost most of it and her body will die. But the soul is the one which changes into a vampire because it has been infected with a vampire's blood. Sunshine's eyes flew open. Her pupils were completely red. She shrieked at me, blood rising from her mouth and began flowing out. After a few seconds, she stopped moving completely.
I sighed in relief, glad that everything's over. " I hate stakes. Can you please put it back to where it belong?"
Rayce snorted. "Which vampire wouldn't hate a stake? Silly boy." She grabbed the stake out of my hands and left me alone with Sunshine's corpse. Kneeling down, I brushed a lock of hair away from her face and stroked her cheek tenderly.
"You happened to be unlucky. That's all."
~.~.~.~.~.
(Robin)
I shook at my numb hands. I had been sweeping all day without stopping. Sue was surprised. The library was very clean and showed no signs of dust. With a bright smile, she complimented me at having done such a great job in my first day.
Sue told me to sweep the king and queen's chambers the next day. I sighed when I got there. This is why I hate being a maid, I thought to myself. I really wished I could find a way to escape and return to my family. This is just exactly like hell to me. With vampires and all kinds of stupid things. It takes awhile to digest all these. A plan was beginning to form in my mind. What if I could actually escape from here? My lips slowly spread into a huge grin.
I soon became friends with another girl, Amy. She was only sixteen; a year younger than me. She is pretty and kind. Her brown hair was always in braids and they looked so lovely! SHe promised to braid my hair one day when we were given a day off by Sue. Whenever we were stationed at the kitchen for duty, she always offered to clean those dishes for me. What a dear she is! We often sat together watching the sunset when we were out collecting the sheets. It was beautiful. I've never seen such beauty before, honestly!
As we grew closer day by day, she finally admitted that she was homesick and wanted to escape but when I told her about my plan, she shook her head. "That's impossible. There are guards everywhere. You can't even walk without bumping into one of them." She said, ruefully. Her big blue eyes were always shrouded with sadness. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. However, the resolve in my heart drove me to think up another plan which I will share with her when I've confirmed the effectiveness of it.
~.~.~.~.~.
Vivid dreams filled my mind as soon as I closed my eyes, exhausted from a whole day's work. It's no surprise I get to fall asleep easily since those tasks were hard as hell. It takes about three to complete a day's task and we had to do them single-handed. Slowly, I drifted away, leaving reality and into the world of dreams.
Familiar faces appeared in them and I felt a sudden wave of sadness. Unable to hold back anymore, I let those tears slide.
~.~.~.~.~.
Amy's main task for today was to water the plants and was easy. Mine, on the other hand, was tiring and tough. Taylor often came to visit me and Amy. On the long run, I've discovered that she was actually a very kind lady. One day, we sat together in the gazebo and talked about our troubles. She was wiling to listen.
"Don't give up and continue your dreams. One day, I promise you. You will succeed." This was what she said to Amy. Amy with filled eyes, nodded.
The next day, I was assigned cleaning duty in the prince's chamber. As soon as I got there, my heart sank. It was huge! In fact, it's almost the exact size of the queen and king's chamber. Oh, god. All this cleaning will definitely leave me half-dead by nightfall.
*EDITED