"Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic."
Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1
***
Abbi remembered seeing horror movies when she was a little girl. She could remember the overdone, cheesy story lines; how mental men locked girls in their basements. Abbi supposed, faced with her own situation, that she and those girls were coincidentally similar.
The days that had past since the ball all seemed to bulge together in one mass of endless nothingness. Abbi couldn't recall her last encounter with humanity making insanity a
much better alternative than admitting to being a vampire's "blood slave".
Abbi lay sprawled on the same mattress she had grown accustomed to over the last few weeks. Constantly uncomfortable, she would waste days like this, unable to wrap her mind around everything that had happened recently.
Nathaniel was another issue entirely. He acted chivalrous around her, constantly smiling and watching her with bright and intrigued eyes, however; Abigail couldn't get those fangs from her mind. Of course, their interactions weren't all so terse. Often enough, he would tell her stories of his world; The Court, a long living bloodline of superhuman vampires that would be forevermore stuck in their own regal-ness, and vampire Ranking. It turns out, not all of them were blood-sucking demons, some were rich blood-sucking demons, and others were richer blood-sucking demons, and only if you were lucky, you would encounter the richest blood-sucking demon. He said wealth came with age and the older one was the more money they'd ultimately have. And on this sadly ironic note, Nathaniel then told her that he was over one-hundred years older than her. Terrific.
Abbi turned over, letting her hand rest against her warm palms, curling into a fetal position.
Nathaniel also explained the importance of being a Subjugate, but to be honest, she didn't care about his petty importance. The Subjugate, from what Abbi had read and what Nathaniel told her, was the host for a vampire's source of blood. Or, to put it frankly, a slave to an eternal demon.
Nathaniel tried to assure her he did not need to feed very often, and so far, his word was true. And yet, the first time his teeth were embedded in her neck would still be etched into her skull.
She hated how good it felt, and how much her body craved it; shivering at the thought of his beautiful face in the crook of her neck.
Suddenly, a series of knocks sounded at the door, bringing Abigail from her thoughts. Nathaniel never knocked, he just waltzed right in. Lifting her head Abbi expected her voice to be croaky as she said "Come In", only instead of sounding like a frog, her tone screamed with curiosity.
The door burst open the moment she spoke, but the only glimpse of the knocker was a blur of fiery red and milky white.
Flashing to the edge of Nathaniel's bed where Abbi lay, a very innocent-looking Evie cried: "Abigail!" Clutched in one of her tiny hands was Patten's wrist, and it's owner who was being towed along reluctantly. Upon seeing Abbi, though, the boy smirked.
She brought her eyes back to the eager Evie. "Evangeline? What are you doing here?"
Evie waved a hand at Abbi, still smiling. "Oh please, call me Evie, darling. And that old toot Nathaniel doesn't know we're here ... but I wanted to drop on by and- Goodness! Can you imagine if he found out we were here? He'd be so angry. You know, Nathaniel thinks you need time to process and such, but I was just so impatient to see you again!" Half of what came out of Evie's mouth was lost to Abbi; the girl was talking so fast.
"Hello, Pet." Patten said, stepping forward before she had the chance to decipher Evie's words. "You don't look so good since I last saw you, no offense. You're really not glowing anymore. How much has he taken from you?" He asked.
Abbi frowned, then shrugged. "My home, my family, my sense of accomplishment, the sun ..."
Patten chuckled softly, though Abigail didn't see what was so funny. "That's not what I meant, even if all those things are truly awful. I meant how much blood has he taken from you, Pet?"
Abbi froze for a moment. The way his voice casually spread over the words made it seem more real than make-believe ... and maybe, just maybe, she had wanted this to be a storybook, where everything ended happily.
"As much as he wants. Its not as if I can stop him."
Patten looked saddened as he glanced toward Evangeline from the corner of his eyes. "Oh come on, Pet, don't be so down-in-the-dumps. If it makes things any better, Nathaniel talks about you quite a lot."
Abbi rolled her eyes with exaggeration. "Yeah. Probably to decide whether my blood tastes best room-temperature or more tropical and warm."
Patten choked on a laugh, watching her with jovial, glistening eyes. Evie cut
in, her expression serious but her voice laughing.
"You should listen to him, Abbi." She said slowly. "Nate does talk about you a lot. Something about the look of your eyes."
Color of my eyes? Abbi thought, dumbfounded. She opened her mouth, preparing to object, but before Abbi could say anything more, someone cleared their throat behind Evie and Patten.
Her eyes found his figure, watching as Nathaniel stepped cautiously into the room, his coat hanging from one limp arm and his face a dazzling portrayal of features. Sometimes, the sight of him left her breathless.
"Evangeline. Patten." He acknowledged them slowly, raising his chin and hardening his expression. "What are you doing? She isn't supposed to have visitors."
This statement made Abbi turn into a vile and sour form of herself; her eyebrows turned downwards as she scowled at Nathaniel coldly. Abigail had been stuck in his bedroom for two weeks straight; the only time she'd even walked out the door was to use the facilities just down the hall. Her meals were brought to her by Nathaniel and she wasn't allowed any contact with the outside world. So really, seeing a new face was a miracle in itself. And by the looks of it, Evie seemed to support her; the frail girl sat down on the bed and wrapped one slim arm around Abbi's shoulders. With a grunt of indignation, Evie glared at Nathaniel. "How dare you treat a girl like she's some kind of pet. I'd have thought you a gentlemen, Natey." Abbi, her angry facade dropping for a second, smirked at the use of such a childish nickname.
Nathaniel watched Evie evenly, but sighed heavily once she'd finished speaking. "You make is seem as if sharing a bed with me is absolutely terrible." He said flatly, flitting his sharp gaze in Abbi's direction, then back to Evangeline.
"That would be terrible," Patten started, shoving his hands into his pockets, "he's a snorer."
Evie ignored Patten, keeping her emerald eyes trained on Nathaniel. "Let us take her out." She pleaded, "look at how pale she is. I would never treat my Subjugate in such a manor!"
For a moment, Abbi had forgotten that both Patten and Evie were vampires, making Evie's arm around her shoulders suddenly feel weird. They were so easy to talk to, she found herself almost neglecting the fact that they craved blood too. She swallowed, a cold shock settling around her.
Nathaniel shook his head, his eyes were dark and cold. "No thank you. I have plans for her tonight."
Abbi went rigid, uncomfortableness forgotten, she shied against Evie's protective side. Nathaniel watched her reaction, with a thick emotion simmerering in his eyes.
Evie frowned at Nathaniel, her lips curling down as she scrutinized him. Then, with movements as quick as a bolt of lightning, the girl had pulled Abbi up from the bed and plunged toward the door, Patten following at their heels. Nathaniel blinked his surprise away and reached out, hooking his arm Abbi's waist and effectively pulling her back. Briefly, Abbi felt the need to grip onto Evie's arm and scream "No! Don't let him take me!" She didn't.
Evie watched Nathaniel. Something in his face must have been final, for she offered no other retribution. Evangeline's eyes found Abbi's. Holding Evie's gaze, she watched as they flashed with remorse then disapproval before the girl turned her head and walked from the bedroom just like that, Patten going with her.
Abbi felt her throat get thick as Patten and Evie left just like they had came: suddenly. She wanted to run after them, to separate herself from Nathaniel, but the only coherent thought she could manage was "What?". Keeping her back to him, Abbi prepared herself for Nathaniel's wrath, but only silence resounded between them.
Then, movements abrupt, Nathaniel pressed his hands into Abbi's shoulder blades and spun her around to face him. Her cheeks flushed as she regarded the agonized expression he wore, as if he was at some terrible loss. "Why won't you tell me what you want, Abigail?" Nathaniel inquired, voice low.
Abbi tried to break away from his tense hold on her shoulders, but to no avail, she was stuck, forced to see straight into his enigmatic, blue eyes.
"I don't want you to hate me, Love. Let me inside your head." He urged in a whisper. Her stomach lurched and she became extremely aware of where his hands were. Nathaniel continued to tease her with his soft words and distracting looks. "Why don't you want to stay with me?"
As if awakening from a trance, she shivered violently, glaring up at him. "You just don't get it!" Abbi exclaimed, her voice extremely loud compared to his.
His alluring features changed into a mask of unmistakable anger and he met her anger with full force. "Because you're not giving me the chance to." He said firmly, speaking with a perceptible growl in his throat, fingers dropping from her shoulders.
"You keep me locked up in here! My only friend seems to be that pillow over there, and my family-" Abbi choked, her eyes suddenly blurry. "They didn't even know I was attending your ball! And now, you expect me not to hate you when the only thing you've caused me is pain." Her fit of rage withered as a stranded tear ran down the side of her face. Nathaniel watched, his face unreadable. Abbi saw his hand twitch, like he wanted to touch her.
"Don't cry, Abigail. I never wanted to cause you grief." With a voice like smooth honey, Nathaniel finally reached out his hand, cupping her cheek as he wiped the tear away with his thumb. The act soothed her and the feeling she felt behind her emotion was instantaneous. A shudder spread through her being, while his touch put things in her mind she didn't want to see. And Abbi didn't want it. She didn't want to feel such things.
"Let go of me!" She snapped, ripping out of his grasp. "I told you not to touch me."
In a second, Nathaniel's attitude turned sour again and his eyes simmered like boiling water. "You are my subjugate. I can do what I want with you."
In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to slap him. "I am not yours, Nathaniel. And honestly, I can't think of anyone who would want to be." Abbi tried moving away from him as she said this, but Nathaniel only stepped closer; so close she could feel his breath tickling down the back of her neck. A warning bell went off inside her head.
"I bit you, Abigail." He said, deadly calm. "Once a vampire bites a human they are automatically named theirs. Therefore, you are mine. Any other arguments about the topic are a waste of breath."
His words brought the thought of his bite front-and-center, making Abbi shudder hard. Tears that she'd been trying so hard to repress welled up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Nathaniel took in her silence slowly, his hands against her hips as he turned her around once more. Abbi met his blue gaze before it got too foggy to see and she was forced to look down again, letting her hands rest defeated at her sides.
"I just want to go home. Please, please let me go home, Nathaniel. I want to see my mom, and my dad, please ..." Abbi croaked, but her cry was cut short by Nathaniel's soft shirt against her face; he had his arms around her, pressing Abbi to his chest.
Nathaniel's lips were close to her ear. "I don't want you to be upset. This wasn't supposed to be a bad thing."
His words only made Abbi cry harder, and as she continued to sob, Nathaniel tugged her down to the bed. She fell limp against his body, allowing the tears to seep from her eyes. Abbi was pretty sure that his shirt was soaked by the time her tear ducts ran dry.
Nathaniel's fingers stroked her limp hair as he whispered shushes to Abbi repeatedly.
"Would you like to go somewhere with me, Love?" He finally asked, keeping the tone of his voice mutual.
Abbi, the after-effacts of crying profusely starting to wane on her, almost grinned. "No." She responded immediately.
"Awesome; lets go." He stood up fast, pulling her up in his arms as he did so. She was resistant against his lithe body, but before Abbi could realize what was going on, Nathaniel had her out the door and into the hall in a matter of seconds. It took her awhile to comprehend that this was the same hallway she'd been witness to at his ball.
"I never left?" Abbi sniffed, her nose all stuffed up after her "Tear-Session". The golden arched dome above her head was like a thorn in her stomach. A reminder of her lack in commen sense. Her face drooped into an emotionless mask.
"Of course not, this is my home. Why would I take you anywhere else?" He asked calmly.
"I don't know. It just felt like ... I was ... someplace else."
Nathaniel nodded softly, before flashing a perfect, award-winning smile. "Come on, Love. I want to show you something."
Abbi froze. "What is?" She was cautious.
"My backyard."