I was in the middle of shoving a second orange and cardamom scone into my mouth when my parents decided to broach a subject was normally not reserved for the dining hall, because it always ended up in a pretty nasty argument.
"We have a surprise for you." Mom said, her red hair pulled back in an elegant bun. I did have the same shade of hair as hers. Until, out of spite, I dumped a box of black hair dye over it and didn't look back. She'd adored my hair color. Everyone had adored my hair color. So, I ruined it. But I kept the fair skin and smattering of freckles.
"What is it?" I asked around a mouthful of scone, and in return received an admonishing look from her. I finished chewing and washed down the food with a gulp of lukewarm coffee.
"You'll be going to the West River auction house." she informed me, a small smile on her lips.
I felt my stomach twist into knots, and my appetite suddenly diminished. I set down my food, mood now sullen. "I have no reason to go there."
"But you do," Dad said.
I was turning seventeen today, and according to my parents, I should have already bought a vampire from the auction house. According to me, vampires should have never been enslaved in the first place.
"I don't want a slave. I've told you-"
"This isn't a choice anymore." he stated. "When you're Queen perhaps you can decide not to have slaves. Until then, you'll do as we say. Having a slave is expected of someone of such high status. Whether you like it or not is beside the point. You have to support the enslavement of vampires, you're in line to the throne. Your great grandfather created and imposed the Act of Chains. It's our legacy, Arabelle."
Anytime I was reminded of our legacy, it made a heavy, ill feeling start at the the pit of my stomach and crawl all the way up to my throat. I hated being reminded of what my great grandfather had done. It made my skin burn with shame. I wasn't proud of enslaving another species, and my parents were insane for thinking I should be. As you could imagine, this caused quite a big rift between us.
"It's only one," Mom said.
"That doesn't make me feel better." I responded.
She seemed to disregard my words and continued, "Should we have a spare room in the cellar prepared?"
The cellar was where my parents housed all of their slaves. It was much larger than the average cellar, and I had only gone down there once, years ago. I tried to avoid it, because it was a depressing sight. Telling my parents how wrong keeping vampires as slaves was did nothing to sway them, it only served to annoy them, so I had eventually stopped trying to argue the point. Unless it was brought up.
"No." I immediately responded.
My parents exchanged a glance.
"Then where would you have them stay?" Dad asked.
I thought for a moment. If I was going to have a slave, then I could at least try my best to treat them well. I didn't trust having them live in a separate room because then I couldn't keep an eye on how they would be treated by anyone else in the castle, and my parents sometimes enjoyed keeping guests that relished in the activity of punishing what they deemed to be disobedient slaves.
"In my room." I said.
Dad's expression was tight with disapproval. "Absolutely not."
"If I'm to own a slave, then I can do with them as I please. Isn't that how it works?" I crossed my arms.
"It seems imprudent to have a slave share your room." Mom remarked, sipping from a cup of cappuccino.
"But it's ultimately my choice." I replied.
"You have to keep them bound when you sleep." she bargained.
I shrugged. It wasn't as if my parents would know whether I kept them bound all night or not. My parents were far too busy to check in on me that often. "Sure,"
"The car will be waiting outside when you're ready." Dad said, getting up from the dining table.
I was less than pleased by the direction my birthday had taken. I had already been dreading the annual ball that my parents threw for my birthday, sparing no expense and inviting hundreds of guests, most of whom were only acquaintances to me. Despite knowing hundreds of people, it felt like I had no true friends. People were rarely interested in me, merely my title as princess. It garnered respect and amiability, but not real fondness. Not real relationships. I learned very quickly that people put on a show when they're around royalty. They don't act like themselves- they don masks like attending a masquerade and smile with their teeth but not their eyes. It instilled an awful sense of disconnection from the time I was young. My first boyfriend had been a boy named Vic who had pretty brown eyes but it was like he tip-toed around me, like he was never really relaxed because he was constantly thinking that I was royalty, and he wasn't. It got exhausting. My second, and last boyfriend, well- I didn't want to get started on that. Nick was something else. Maybe that's why I'd liked him in the first place.
With my appetite depleted and my body an anxious mass of nerves, I lifted myself from the dining table and went to get dressed. I wound my way through the castle floors, glossy and tiled, tended to by slaves, up a spiral staircase to the second floor. I didn't allow any of my parents' slaves to tend to me; I cleaned my own room, did my own laundry, all of the tasks that my parents told me were too lowly for royalty to do, I made sure that I did them. It wasn't as if I didn't have spare time on my hands, because my parents rarely granted me permission to leave the castle. It was midsummer currently, but I would begin my last year of studies soon, which I did at home with a private tutor. I wished my brother would be back soon, because he made the royal castle livelier, more lighthearted, amusing. My brother was my closest friend and ally, and we'd been inseparable up until a couple years ago when he began traveling.
Inside my bedroom, I donned my go-to outfit the majority of the time; black jeans with holes worn into knees and a snug white T-shirt. Much like I'd gotten my mother's shade of red hair, I'd also gotten her small stature. I stood at a measly five foot two, and my limbs were made of coffee and my head was full of comic strips from how many I'd consumed over the years. Outside of the hobbies that my parents made me have (piano, violin, language classes, ballet lessons) I was predominately interested in very normal teenage things. I liked binging on greasy fast food and caffeine and stayed awake until three in the morning playing video games.
When I left the castle doors, I found a black Cadillac idling out front. The driver, Mr. Erikson, held open the door to the backseat for me and I slid inside while thanking him. On the way into the city, I checked my phone for any texts from Drake but found none.
The royal castle was located on the outskirts of the capital city, Ivmor, right across from a graveyard that had been there for longer than the castle itself. Ivmor was a lively hub of skyscrapers intermixed with a downtown area that held old architecture that was built in the Victorian era, which lent a dark antiquity to the otherwise modern buzz of the city. The auction house was located downtown, a dreary building with peaked spires and a large door with iron paneling, which was held open for me by security that had been trailing behind me in an inconspicuous black car. They escorted me inside, tall men donning suits the color of my family's royal crest; ivy-green and black, accented with gold ties. My family's crest was gold chalices where green snakes wound around the stems, against a black backdrop.
Apparently, my parents had set up a private appointment for me, because when I was escorted into the large room where the auctions were held, I found the chairs empty. But on the stage were vampires, bound by ankle and wrist and kneeling in a line across the stage. Most had their heads bowed, manner listless and defeated.
I hesitated as my security led me into the carpeted area, my black ankle boots silent against the blood red floor, and I felt only trepidation as we approached the stage. A woman in a solemn gray suit stood at the center, a smile on her face, hands linked behind her back.
"Welcome to the Ivmor auction house, princess." she greeted, bowing slightly. It was the formal thing to do, but it never failed to only make me feel vaguely awkward.
"As per request," the woman continued, turning to gesture to the bound vampires behind her. "I've compiled a selection of stock for you to choose from." she said this with a faint smirk, turning a condescending gaze on the undead creatures.
I desperately wished I could have turned and left just then, that I could choose not to participate in this sickening display. But if I came home without a vampire in tow, my parents would likely never let me leave the castle again until I became queen. I so seldom got to leave as it was, and I relished every outing that let me see past the the towering gates of my castle, save for this particular outing of course.
I reminded myself that it wouldn't have to be awful, that I could treat them well, that I could treat them how I believed vampires should be - as equals. Perhaps even with a shred of fear, because after all, they had once been a species that invoked terror and dread within humans. Now, they invoked disdain and disregard.
"The king has already paid in advance," the woman said, "so, you need only tell me which one you would like." She gave me an indulgent smile, as if it were fun.
I wanted this to be over and done with quickly. Dragging it out would only be worse. My eyes skimmed over the vampires. There was one that caught and held my gaze, though, because his demeanor was different than the rest. His chin was held high, shoulders straight, eyes hard. Almost defiant in nature, but in a careless sort of way. I told myself it was that fact alone that made me linger, and not the skin that was a rich pale like freshly poured cream, nor the contrasting hair that was the darkest hue of coffee. I was staring, and the vampire seemed to notice, as he moved his gaze over to me. I wasn't used to vampires meeting my gaze. That never happened. His eyes were a striking shade of green. He looked at me only for a moment, before fixing his gaze forward again.
I didn't what I was supposed to base my choice off of, but I was a seventeen year old girl that barely got to interact with boys my age outside of strategic socialization that my parents planned, and the one on stage was gorgeous. Unearthly in his appeal. Like some of the old legends where vampires supposedly lured brides to their grottoes with the use of hypnotic charm and uncannily good looks. Monsters of grace, is what I'd heard they used to be called. So irresistible that one might willingly give their blood, their life, if only to garner the attention of such a creature.
But that was how it used to be. Before we found their weaknesses. Before we defeated them in spirit and battle. It turns out vampires may be much stronger and more agile, but they still had weaknesses to exploit, and humans were very good at exploiting them.
I leaned into the security guard at my side, whom I recognized to be Jonathon, and told him which vampire had caught my eye. With a nod, he stepped over to inform the woman which one we would be purchasing.
She smiled, pleased, and gave me another slight bow. "I'll have the paperwork prepared at the front desk. Thank you, princess."
Jonathon placed a light hand on my back, guiding me back out into the main chamber of the auction house with its carpeted floors and antiqued oak desk where a man with glasses and graying hair sat, typing on a computer. The key strokes were loud in what was otherwise a silent, old building. I glanced around the space, at the windows that were barred from the inside with thick iron paneling, allowing no sunlight to creep inside, which lent the atmosphere a drab, somber air. Vampires were weakened when they were exposed to sunlight for more than a few minutes at a time, although it was rumored that some vampires had grown tolerant of the sun, even immune. Sunlight had played a vital role in the war we fought against the species, as attacking during the daytime hours proved an advantage if we drew the vampires outside. It took only minutes of direct exposure for vampires to feel the effects. It was like a poison to them, depleting their strength, slowing their movements.
I watched as the woman from earlier came out from a back door, striding up to the desk and speaking with the man seated there. Leaving him, she walked in my direction.
"Princess Arabelle, could I offer you any refreshments? Water, coffee?" she inquired.
I shook my head faintly. "I'm fine, thank you."
Giving me a slight bow, she left the room once again. When she reappeared a couple minutes later, it was with two men leading out the vampire I had chosen from the auction room. They had him bound tightly still in silver shackles that I knew were imbued with yew wood, because that's how they made the bonds unbreakable - yew wood was able to harm vampires, and also, they were unable to break or destroy it, for whatever mystical reasons that may be. Silver had been used as a vampire deterrent hundreds of years ago, when the vampires were still feared and slightly venerated, but it didn't seem to do anything to the modern day vampires. They evolved, apparently. Still, the yew wood was sufficient enough.
The man at the desk placed two sheets of paper down alongside a wooden pen. "I'll just need your signature, princess."
Stepping up to the desk, I picked up the pen and scanned over the identical sheets. It was essentially worded like a deed for a piece of property, and by signing it, I would legally own this vampire; who had no name in the system, only a code. With reluctance and a pang of anxiety, I scrawled my name on both sets of paper.
The man smiled, taking one of the white sheets. "That copy is yours, princess. Thank you very much. We appreciate your business immensely."
I glanced over as the action house's employees led my newly acquired undead out to the car for us, and I folded up the deed for my new slave, feeling sick to my stomach as we exited the building. I was thankful that it was over, but still, I had been forced to participate in something I considered to be morally unfit, and it left me uneasy. Enslaving the vampires seemed like such a great notion to humans, because after all, they were only creatures. Human like in appearance, yes, but according to my great grandfather they were soulless monsters that needed to be systematically controlled in order to preserve our own species. I found many flaws in that thinking, but then, I had never really interacted with a vampire. Maybe I was wrong, maybe they weren't worthy of my empathy, but I couldn't help but feel as if they were.
Jonathon led the way out, and before we reached the car, where the unnamed vampire waited inside, my security guard stopped me.
"My king wished for me to give this to you," Jonathon said, pulling out a velvet box from his suit pocket. Jonathon was a tall, broad shouldered man with blond hair that he kept cropped close to his skull, and deep-set blue eyes.
I accepted the box from him, opening the lid to find a necklace nestled inside the dark fabric; a small cross, wrought of shining silver. It was pretty, but I knew it wasn't simply for looks.
"Do I have to?" I asked, fingers running over the small cross. I had never been big on crosses. My family wasn't religious, and I had only seen them use the symbol for instances involving vampires.
"It's just a precaution," Jonathon assured me. "I think it's a good idea, given the fact you requested to have your slave stay so near. He may be weakened, princess, but he's still a vampire."
I supposed it wouldn't hurt much, and I wasn't in the mood to argue over something as trivial as a necklace. I took it from the box, and Jonathon helped fasten it around my neck. Then I slipped into the backseat of the Cadillac, a sparse few feet from the undead that I had just purchased. He looked not much older than myself, but I knew that meant little. He could very well be hundreds of years old. The door closed behind me, and I grew flustered, having no idea what I should say to him. I decided to treat him as I would any other new acquaintance.
"What's your name?" I asked.
His fingers idly tapped against the silver chains around his wrists. "Whatever you would like it to be."
I ignored the trace of sarcasm in his smooth voice. "I'd like it to be your actual name."
"Corey,"
Progress, I thought dimly. "My name is Arabelle Hart."
"Oh, I know," he said, not having glanced in my direction. "Everyone knows the name of the princess."
"Right," I muttered, feeling the weight of the cross rest heavily on my chest. "I was trying to be polite."
Corey finally flicked a glance in my direction, and I was again taken aback by how striking his eyes were; such a vivid, bright green. Almost surreal in nature. A little unsettling, too, if I was being honest.
"Are you polite to your slaves, princess?" he asked.
"I have none." I answered, automatic.
He gestured to himself with bound hands. "What am I, then?"
I hesitated. "I don't support the enslavement of vampires. But, I-...my parents require that I have a slave, for appearances sake. This wasn't remotely my idea."
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
Did I? Not really. "Well, you asked, and I answered. Whether you believe it us up to you, but it's the truth."
"Whether you support it or not, you now have yourself a slave. So, your words ring hollow." Corey's gaze dropped to the cross around my neck. He smirked faintly, before looking away.
"I don't intend to treat you as a slave." I told him, having the sudden desire to take off the cross.
"Then what manner do you intend to treat me?" he asked, voice patronizing.
"I-...I don't know. As a friend?"
His laugh was humorless, black. "Friends don't keep friends in chains,"
"I can take them off, once we get to the castle."
"Maybe you should keep them on." he drawled.
"Why?"
"Because maybe if you take them off I may be inclined to show you what little that cross will do to prevent me from ripping out your throat with my teeth."
I swallowed, unease trickling through me in a cold manner. "That would end badly for you,"
He rolled his shoulders slightly. "I know,"
Well, this was going great. Five minutes into having a slave and I had managed to get my life threatened. I stayed pressed against the door of the car, leaving as much space as I could between us. It wasn't because I held any disdain for him, it was merely because his threat didn't sound very empty and yes, he may be bound, but I still felt wary.
"How old are you?" I asked, draping an arm over the car door. I cracked the window a bit, to let the muggy air seep in, and also because I was aware vampires could smell blood, and my racing heart was doing little to help with that.
"Ancient," Corey intoned, with a small smile.
I was dubious about that. It was possible of course, but was it likely? Not very. A lot of vampires had been killed in the Sun War, as it was named due to the fact most battles were fought in daylight hours only, and it was unwise for humans to stick around on the sights after dusk, because vampires would come crawling from the shadows and feasting on the fallen victims.
"How old is ancient, exactly?" I questioned.
"Thousands of years,"
I wasn't buying it, but I couldn't really figure out why he would lie about his age. Other than perhaps to scare me, because ancient vampires were the things from lore, the ones that had lured humans to their side willingly, had taken mortal brides as their mortas, the term used for a human who was a blood giver, and usually lover, of a vampire. Be it willingly or not. Those didn't exist anymore, though. The notion of mortas had died after the war, and vampire enslavement. No one would partake in such a thing anymore, not when humans now viewed the undead species as beneath us, as nothing more than property.
The ride back to the castle was tense, and I was becoming nervous about my decision to keep Corey in my own room. But I couldn't let him live in the cellar with the rest, those conditions were terrible, and I didn't want to risk others treating him badly when I wasn't around. It would mean little if I treated him well only for others to pick up the slack, and I knew some of the guests coming to the ball tonight would be staying over in the many spare bedrooms our castle had.
Resigned, I watched as we drove through the tall iron gates and up to the stone castle. It was set atop a cliff, on many acres of land which were green and fragrant with summer in full swing, and if you walked far enough you would come across a rocky edge where dark waters churned below, crashing against the jagged shore that was a fifty foot drop beneath the cliff ledge.
Drake and I used to walk there all the time, and we often would scale down the cliff, risking limb while we scraped our knees and dirtied our clothes as we descended down to the sea. The waters were always cool, even in the summer, but in the winter they were frigid. Our parents didn't like us going down there, but we would sneak off and do it anyways, because they were always far too busy to constantly keep up with our whereabouts. I was thinking about the cliff and the roiling sea when Jonathon opened the car door and I slid out, the soft sound of a three tier fountain tinkling behind us. I offered a hand to help Corey out of the car, seeing as his ankles and wrists were bound in silver chains, but he merely gave the offered hand a disdainful glance and pulled himself from the vehicle, chains clinking.
"Do we have a key for the chains?" I asked Jonathon as he escorted us up to the castle doors.
"Yes," He pulled it from his pocket.
Apparently he'd been given it at some point in time, likely one of the auction house employees had slipped it to him before we departed. Jonathon placed it in my waiting palm and I curled my fingers around the silver key. Once we had entered the castle lobby, I knelt down on the glossy tile floor before Corey, unlocking the chains around his ankles. Jonathon looked uncomfortable while watching me do so. Royalty didn't often kneel on the ground, especially not at the foot of a vampire. When I glanced up after casting the silver shackles aside, Corey was looking down at me with the barest hint of a smirk.
"You look good on your knees, princess." he remarked.
The other security guard, whose name escaped me in that moment, moved as if to strike Corey. Which I expected, honestly.
I held up a hand to halt his action. "No, don't hit him."
"Princess," the guard's tone was respectfully doubtful.
I got to my feet, using the key to unlock the chains at Corey's wrists. My fingers just barely skimmed over his hands, the skin cool to the touch, and I tried to pretend my pulse wasn't hammering in my chest. He watched me while I undid the chains, letting them clatter to the floor.
Jonathon spoke then, "Should I escort you to your room, princess?"
"That won't be necessary." I told him, tossing the key onto the floor beside the heap of silver chains.
My security seemed hesitant, and I knew they would likely follow anyways.
"Although I suppose Corey will be in need of a tux for tonight," I said, glancing at Jonathon. "If you could send for someone to take his measurements?"
"Of course," Jon nodded.
I glanced to Corey, once again a bit taken aback by his looks.
"Is this the part where you send me off to the dungeons?" Corey asked. "Have me iron your clothes? Wash your floors?"
I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket and I hoped it was Drake. "No, we're going to my room. Where you'll be staying."
I could see the shock he attempted to stifle. He said nothing more, and I set off through the castle, to wind my way up to the second floor where most of the bed chambers were. Corey trailed behind me, dressed in the drab set of gray clothing that the auction house outfitted all their slaves in, and I thought he might like a shower. Perhaps some blood. I wasn't sure how often they fed them. But I knew they were fed pig's blood that was laced with rowan berries. The pig's blood was enough for them survive, though they were much stronger if they fed on human blood, but the rowan berries weakened them, it was poisonous to vampires. Although it didn't prove fatal to them, it still weakened them. And that was the point. Keep them feeble, sick, so that they only had the strength to do their chores and tasks and nothing more. Keep them dispirited, subservient. Weak enough that even if they did try something, try to harm a human, they could be beaten off, restrained. And even if they did succeed, it was unlikely they would last long afterwards.
Down the carpeted corridors and high, arched ceilings dripping with crystal chandeliers, I stopped at the double doors to my bedroom, pushing them open. My bed chambers were one of the largest in the castle, other than my parents' of course, they consisted of a main room with a plush, four poster bed at the center that was lined in gauzy black draping; an adjoining living area/study, an ensuite bathroom, and a walk-in closet.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped into my living quarters were the silver shackles that had been mounted to a wall in the living room. I wasn't surprised, but I was discomforted by the sight. My gaze snagged on the sharpened stake of yew wood sitting on a low coffee table, usually the tool of a choice when punishing slaves. It took much longer for them to heal wounds that were inflicted with yew. Any other wounds could heal rather quickly, within minutes, a lot of the time.
The tall, curved windows of my room were made of stained glass, spilling multicolored sunlight over the floors, and I went over and pulled the drapes shut, leaving the space dim. I flicked on a lamp, crossing back over into the main area.
Corey stood near the doors still, his green gaze tracking my movements.
"So, I'm not sure where you'll sleep." I intoned, realizing I hadn't thought of that.
I saw his eyes flick to the chains mounted on the wall, as if that was the answer.
"Not there," I hurriedly said.
He arched a dark eyebrow, his skepticism obvious.
My bed was certainly big enough for two, though I hadn't shared it very often. "You can sleep in the bed with me." I said, feeling nervous as I went to flick on the gold chandelier that hung over the center of the chambers.
Corey looked confused. I was well aware that slaves never, under any circumstance, shared a bed with their masters, so I'm sure it was an odd notion to him.
"I'd rather not." he said.
"Okay," I uttered, glancing about the space. "There's always the couch." I gestured to the long stretch of black velvet cushions in the living area. "It's pretty comfortable."
He seemed wary now, as if I were baiting him into doing something so that I could turn around and punish him for it.
"You can sleep wherever you like." I stated.
"And can I sleep whenever I like?" he countered, watching me as if he was waiting for me to scold him for speaking.
"Of course," I shrugged one shoulder.
"What about now?"
I was aware vampires were nocturnal by nature, and if they were permitted, they usually slept during the day and did most of their chores at night. I know that was when I had caught glimpses of a lot of the vampires that lived here in the castle; cleaning in the dead of night, baking in the kitchens while the moon was rising. They said nothing to me, made no eye contact, merely bowed at my presence and went back to their task. Even when I had tried to converse with them, they only gave me the barest of answers, their eyes low.
"Go ahead," I gestured to the couch.
Corey looked at me for a moment, then crossed over the dark wooden floor and to the carpeted living room. He glanced at the yew stake sitting on the coffee table, manner tense as he walked to the couch.
"When was the last time you were fed?" I inquired as he sat down.
"Nearly a week ago,"
I had the nerve to be surprised, when I really shouldn't have been. Of course they were only fed in sparse intervals to keep them in a weakened state.
"I'll be sure to find some blood for you." I told him.
Corey only gave me an incredulous glance, swinging his legs up onto the couch. He leaned back, folding his arms behind his bed. I dreaded seeing him in a fitted tux, because I knew he would look disconcertingly handsome. I stepped out into the hall with my cell phone, checking a text from my brother. He'd asked me to call when I had a chance, so I ventured down the vacant halls as I dialed his number, leaving Corey to rest.