I opened my eyes, but I could not see very well. I rubbed my eyes a few times, but it caused more irritation. I was devastated because I had to wait until I fully regained my vision. I could tell that it was dark because I could see silhouettes, and outlines of various shapes. I also knew that I was laying on something soft. I felt around more, and I immediately figured out that I was on a bed. I slowly sat up, and looked around further. It took me several minutes to try and make out what was in the room. I blinked frequently in hopes that my vision would somehow get better, but to my disadvantage, it did not.
"Had a nice rest, sweetheart," a deep and sultry voice said from the darkest part of the room.
I became incredibly frightened and could not determine whether to answer or not. I thought to myself about how this could possibly be happening. This could not be real.
You are only dreaming.
You just need to wake up.
Wake up, wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!
Unfortunately, this was not a dream. This was reality. This was my new reality.
"What? Has a cat got your tongue," the same voice asked.
"I-I... Who are you," I croaked.
"Hmm... Let's just say that I am your worst nightmare," the voice replied.
His last response repeatedly sounded in my mind. I processed, and processed some more of what he had just said. The fear in me gradually vanquished, and I swiftly became angry, and frustrated.
This is not the first time I have felt like I was living in a nightmare. If anything, I have always been living a nightmare.
"You are way too late to be my worst nightmare. I have been living a nightmare for most of my life." I replied stoically.
I immediately hopped off of the bed, and tried standing up. It took a moment to regain my balance, but I eventually was able to stand upright. I somewhat stumbled through the dark to try to find an exit. I successfully walked to the other side of the bed, but I harshly bumped into a wall.
Wait. Walls do not smell like expensive cologne or breathe.
Oh shit.
"Going somewhere?"
"Uh...," I hesitated.
A moment passed.
"No. I think I will just stay here and wait for the sweet release of death," I said sarcastically.
Actually, am I going to die?
Well, I probably will die. I know that more than three-quarters of teenagers die within the first few hours of being kidnapped. That being said, I might as well chill until it happens.
I never really enjoyed life anyways.
"Ha ha ha. You are funny. I think I like you," the deep, menacing voice said.
"Oh. I mean... I try. Wait. What?"
"I think you are supposed to say thank you when a person compliments you."
"So are you going to kill me or not," I asked confused.
"Because girls say 'so are you going to kill me or not' after being complimented."
"I am being serious," I said becoming slightly annoyed.
"So am I," the voice replied back.
I am getting nowhere with this conversation.
I went back to the side of the bed I originally came from and sat down. I sighed, fell backward, and stared at the ceiling. I felt a weight shift, and noticed that the man who kidnapped me was laying right beside me. I did not protest or try to attack him. Instead, we both laid there together.
"So, do you have a name sweetheart," the man asked.
"Why do you keep calling me sweetheart," I asked.
"Why do you keep answering my question with a question, and because you refuse to tell me your name. Until then I think sweetheart best suits you."
"Sorry," quickly apologizing.
"My name is Garnet."
"Garnet is a beautiful name. I like it."
"What is your name?"
"No thank you again? That is not very polite."
I do not know why, but I started giggling after his response . In between giggles, I whispered a small thank you. After my momentary giggle fest, it was silent again except for our breathing.
"Are you hungry," he asked.
"You still did not answer my question. The original question I mean. Are you going to kill me?"
There was a long pause before he replied.
"No."
We sat up together, and he led me to the door in the dark. I noticed that the room we were in was spacious because it seemed like we were walking for a while. When he opened the door to the main hallway, I reflexively covered my eyes with my hand immediately as light suddenly entered the room. My eyes felt irritated again, and were beginning to water. It took a long time for my eyes to adjust to the bright lighting in the hallway. When I finally moved my hand away, my eyes were slowly adjusting to the well lit hallway.
He walked in front of me as we continued down the hallway. He did not say anything. I looked around, and began to admire the interior design, and the various pieces of artwork hanging on the walls. The hallway had reminded me of Ancient Greek architectural design. I was completely mesmerized.
This guy has some serious money.
I guess I should be thankful that I am not confined to a cage in some abandoned warehouse.
It has probably been several hours since my abduction. My stomach was growling loudly which I did my best to stifle. I was slightly embarrassed when he looked back at me after my stomach growled loudly. He smirked, and laughed a little. I could not help but blush and look down in humiliation.
We eventually made it to a large marble staircase. The railings looked to be made of pure gold. There were intricate designs engraved into the railings. At the bottom of the stairs, the railings ended in these beautifully sculpted, gold phoenixes. As we walked down, he finally spoke, but not to me.
"Balducci, has dinner been prepared yet?" He loudly asked towards what I believed to be the dining hall.
"Yes. Dinner is ready to be served Master Castellano," a man who I assumed to be Balducci replied while walking out of the dining hall.
Balducci was much older. He was likely in his mid-60s. He was a tall, rotund man with a grayish white mustache and beard. He wore a custom chef's coat that was predominantly white. It had blue lines circling the cuffs and light blue buttons. He wore black pants and black leather loafers.
When I entered into the dining hall, I was awed by the beautiful decorum. There was a magnificently large and complex chandelier hanging over the entire room. A long and wide mahogany table was placed in the middle of the room. It had handcrafted designs and markings along the legs of the table. Furthermore, the legs were curved nicely all the way to the very bottom.
There was a myriad amount of dishes on one end of the table. The aroma permeating from the food was hypnotizing. My mouth was watering like a fountain in a cave pond.
I walked towards the end of the table where the food was, and scanned over the several dishes. The cuisine ranged from Italian, Asian, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. I was absolutely excited to try them all. I sat down in the seat facing the dishes, and did not wait for permission to feast.
I was voraciously hungry that I literally scarfed down all of the different foods in front of me. Every dish that I was consuming was absolutely delicious. Pockets of amazing flavor burst in my mouth after each and every bite. I now knew what it was like to eat rich people food. Every bite would subtly cause me to eat more, but it was an uphill battle to stop eating one dish so that I could try every dish that was on the table. I was eating so fast that I was a fine line away from choking, but I did not really care. It did not even cross my mind until well after trying most of the dishes that Balducci could have poisoned this. The food was so appealing, and smelled amazing. I was hungry on top of that. I had to try it.
Once I was unable to eat anymore, I looked up to see my abductor watching me from across the table. I never really looked at him now that I think about it. After we left the dark bedroom we were previously in, I was too mesmerized by the decor, and elegance of the hallway, the staircase, and dining hall. As I am looking at him, it struck me that this guy was gorgeous. He had dark brown, wavy, medium length hair. He had beautiful, yet strange, grey eyes opposed to the piercing red I vaguely remember. He also had a nicely sculpted, and chiseled jaw that was clean shaven. If I saw him in high school, he would be the type of guy I would have a secret crush on, but would never be noticed by him.
"Do you like what you see," he asked.
I realized then that I was staring at him for what could have been a very long time. Usually, I am not one to blush. However, after being caught staring, I could feel the blood rapidly rushing to my cheeks. I did not say anything. I was too embarrassed to say anything.
I hope he does not think that I like him or something.
I began to stand up because I did not want to be in the room anymore. I pushed in my chair, and started to walk away. I hoped that I would be able to find the bedroom that I originally came from. However, I stopped when my kidnapper caught my elbow. It was a forceful grasp, and his grip was gradually tightening. It started to cause an unbearable amount of pain. When he saw that I was flinching, and uncontrollably shaking from the pain, he loosened his grip. I could tell he was not letting go.
"Where are you going," he finally asked.
"To the bedroom," I said mustering up the strength to reply.
"I hope you are not going back to sleep. You have been asleep for a whole day."
"I am tired. I would like to go to bed. Do you mind?"
I tried tugging my arm away, and at the same time, he had let go. After that, I began to walk away from him. I groaned when he started walking beside me, but I did not complain. I ended up following him because I got lost when I turned down the wrong hallway. When we eventually got back to the bedroom, I fell on the bed. I did not bother turning on the lights. I did not even take off the jeans that have been irritating my thighs. I just needed to sleep, and just let all of the "things" that have been bothering me slip away. It was really all I could do.
As soon as I closed my eyes, all of the events that happened to me the night before came rushing back. I quickly opened my eyes, and widened them when I saw that my kidnapper was on top of me. He was staring at me with his piercing red eyes. However, I was not afraid this time.
"Do you mind," I asked harshly.
"No, I do not. I sensed a weird emotion from you. I believe that you were feeling fear. Is there something wrong?"
I was a little stunned by this. Actually, I was a lot stunned by this.
Did he know what happened?
Was he there?
No, he could not have been.
I surely would have remembered his face.
I rolled over onto my side and he got off of me. My back was now facing him. I sighed to myself and tried to go to sleep again without the same nightmare rushing back into my mind. When I realized that was not going to happen, I turned to lay on my back. Once again, I stared at the dark and seemingly non-existent ceiling.
"So... are you going to tell me what is wrong," he asked after a few moments of silence.
"No."
"Why not? You can trust me with your problems."
I exploded into laughter, but I was not amused. Why would I ever trust him? That had to be the most idiotic thing I have ever heard in my whole entire life. As much as I want to make a snotty and sarcastic remark, I just kept laughing and laughing until it actually started hurting. When I finally regained my composure, I replied.
"Trust you? Please. First, you attacked me, then you took me to your evil fortress, and now expect me to tell you something personal. Ha, I hope you are being facetious."
" Well... I," he stopped midway.
He stood up, got off the bed and, in an instant, he left the room. I was left here basically confused as to what happened. I was somewhat satisfied that he left though. After some time, I was finally able to fall asleep without any nightmares or disturbances.
The next morning, I woke up pretty early. I hopped off the bed and walked inside the bathroom that was adjoined to the bedroom. I looked in the mirror noticing how awful I looked, but I didn't care. I inspected the bathroom and after a thorough search I closed and locked the door. I got undressed and prepared for a shower. I felt and smelled disgusting, and if I didn't get a shower soon, I'd probably die from my body odor. As I was showering I heard a loud bang on the door, so I immediately shut the water off and called out to whoever was banging on the door. When I didn't receive an answer, I knew I probably had to get out of the shower. I dried myself off with a towel that was on the rack. I walked towards the bathroom door and opened it a little bit to see out in the room. His face appeared and I jumped back in fear. I took a few deep breaths while holding my chest.
"Haha. Sorry. I did not think you would get out of bed after what happened last night. I have some clothes laid out on the bed. I do not think you would want to wear the same thing again."
"Thanks. Um... Do you mind?"
"Oh, sorry. I will be leaving then. When you come down, I have some guests that want to meet you."
After I heard the bedroom door close, I walked out of the bathroom. Guests? Why is he letting me meet people? What kind of kidnapper is he? I also want to know why I still don't know his name. When I got to the bed, on it was a fresh pair of panties and a really pretty bra.
How did he know my bra size?
How did he know my underwear size?
Oh God, when did he have the opportunity to check it?
On the bed also was a red, long sleeved, dress.
Does he really expect me to wear that?
I looked over to where my old clothes were. They were folded in a pile on top of the dresser that was in the room. I sighed to myself. After getting dressed I looked in the mirror and tried fixing my hair by combing my fingers through it. I did not have any lip balm or gloss so I had to lick my chapped lips to keep them somewhat moist. I then realized I had no shoes that would go with the dress. I looked at my combat boots and groaned.
It took me a while to find the staircase because I was roaming around. It took even longer to find the living room. When I heard several voices, I followed the noise and in a minute or so I found the room where all the guests were in. I walked in without saying anything. In an instant all eyes were on me. I looked at all of the faces in front of me and sadly all of the people here were men. Some looked delighted, some interested, some disappointed and the rest looked repulsed. My kidnapper quickly came to my side and introduced me to everyone.
"Garnet, these men are all apart of El Consejo, and the one in the middle is my father, Zachariah."
He quickly came up to me way too fast for a human, especially one that seems to look like they are in their mid-50s. We shook hands, and then he clasped my hand and kissed it. I was not surprised or nervous. Instead, I kept my cool. I was even polite and mannerly. After the several introductions, I was forcefully sat next to my kidnapper.
This was slightly weird for me. I mean all these things that are happening to me just don't add up. I wonder why I have not panicked or gone mad in these last two days. Also, what kind of council are these men apart of? Should I tell them that I was really kidnapped, and to call the police? I mean, in horror movies, that is what the typical blonde girl does, and she finds out they are all working together, and then chop up her body.
Maybe I should listen to what they have to say before I go into my "save me from this man" mode.
"Garnet, I hear good things about you from my son, Tristan. Is he good to you," Zachariah said with a thick accent.
"Uhm... Sure? He has been treating me wonderfully," I said trying to not grit my teeth from lying.
If anything I hate Tristan, even if he did not ruin my life first. He still ruined a good chunk of it. Although I hate lying to people, it would not be good for me if I were to say bad things about Tristan in front of his father.
"With all due respect sir, why exactly am I here? Why am I meeting you, well all of you," I asked confused.
There was a short silence and everyone looked at each other.
"Garnet, Tristan is to make you his bride. We have come here to agree on a date for your transformation."
"Whoa... what? Bride? Transformation?"
"Garnet, we are vampires. Very soon you will become one as well," Micah, one of the council members, replied.
What.
The.
Fuck.