It was the first day of my routine, following around Elijah in the morning and night and allowing Luca to poke and prod me during the afternoon. I woke up feeling fresh and energetic, a feeling that was nearly forgein to me. My body felt as light as a feather, and the sunlight streaming through my window made me have a soft smile as I was looking forward to the day. That was, until I realized that I would have to drink two bowls of blood and be a human guinea pig for two vampires, and I had no escape. I instantly deflated, looking down at my lap like a kicked puppy. Isa was mulling around the room, rooting through the closet that was the door to the right. She had disappeared through the huge room that was the walk in closet, and all I could hear was the shuffling of coat hangers. She came out holding a dark grey button up fit and flare dress. It had a black collar and black ribbon wrapped around the neck. She dropped it on the bed, along with a black set of underwear.
"Do you need help getting dressed?" She asked as she straightened out the clothes on the bed. I looked at her helplessly and noticed she was avoiding my gaze.
"How do you know these clothes will fit me?"
"We had you measured when you were in a coma." I turned red and I did not know if it was from rage or embarrassment.
"I feel a little violated." I whispered under my breath as she started trying to tug me out of the bed.
"Would you rather have no clothes?" She sounded a little exasperated like she was speaking to a child. I moved freely to the end of the bed and got up with ease, not able to help the smile that tugged at my mouth as I was able to do so. I approached the clothes and stared down at them, and then over to Isa who stood right next to me.
"Can I have some privacy please," I coughed as she stood next to me like a marble statue, showing no intention of leaving. We stood in the bright and glittering sunlight, completely still with neither of us backing down. Finally I realized she was not going to budge, and I was scared to deal with the wrath of Elijah. I embarrassingly pulled the nightgown over my head, leaving myself bare in front of the strange woman. I quickly threw on the underwear before anything else, before slipping the soft cotton material of the dress over my head. Only the top four buttons were real buttons and I put them all up before tying the ribbon around my neck in a terrible crooked bow.
"Enough," She growled and turned me around like a child. She aggressively untied the bow, tying the glittering silk into a perfect and adorable bow.
"I will prepare your hair after you put your socks and shoes on. I looked down only to realize that a pair of socks sat in a pair of black Mary Jane flats below me. Isa and her sneakiness scared me a little bit. I sat down and grabbed the soft black socks and pulled them apart. They were incredibly long and my face flushed as I realized that they were very tall socks.
What kind of sick fetishes is this old man into, I thought to myself as I began pulling them up as far as I could. The dress was surprisingly short, reaching a little over my mid thigh and the socks reached just under it. The flats fit me perfectly, and felt like the nicest things I had ever worn on my feet. As I was doing up the buttons, I felt Isa running a brush through my hair and I shivered at the feeling. She pulled me up, so I was sitting on the bed as she ran through the front of my hair. Did someone shower me because my hair was soft as silk and had a small wave in it.
"We don't have time to put it up, because she took too long." I rolled my eyes at her nastiness as she yanked me to my feet and herded me out the door, nearly tripping me in the process. I had to blink in surprise because as soon as we walked out all I saw was the sea. The planes of glass before me that made up the whole hallway wall showed a glittering green and blue sea. White and grey seagulls floated in the air, with the puffy white clouds looking like perfect cotton candy.
"Let's go." She tugged the end of my dress and shook me out of my trance. That was when I realized how extravagant the hallway was. It was made of the same white marble as the room, with gold and diamond flourishes lining the walls. The ceiling was made of more classical paintings, the one at this location depicting the classical rise of Aphrodite. This entire house was extravagant and luxurious, with beauty in every little corner. She led me down the twisting hallways, passing by room after room that was even bigger than the last. We even passed a lounge that had a glass piano, glittering like the jewels in the wall from the sunlight. The door next to that room was the one we stopped at. It was an obsidian door that was the only dark thing in the whole home that I had seen so far. I became embarrassed and self conscious as we stood there, Isa rapping on the crystallized door. It turned out to actually be stained wood covered in glossy varnish, but it was a stunning illusion.
"Bring her in." Elijah's strong voice chimed out from inside. She basically threw me through the door. I was teetering a bit, still not used to free use of my legs in such a manner. The room was completely dark, I could not make out a single thing with the only light coming from the open door. Then as soon as I thought that the door closed completely, leaving me in eerie darkness.
"H-Hello?" My voice sounded small and pathetic in this terrifying room.
"Well, come here." He called out directly in front of me, but sounded a good distance away. I began taking small steps forward to make sure I did not run into anything and waving my arms around like a puppet with loose strings.
"What are you doing?" He chuckled at my strange dance.
"I can't see!"
"Oh. I forgot that humans could not see in the dark." His cocky tone annoyed me, but I still heard silence.
"Well that was a humble brag if I have ever heard one." He chuckled at my words and I squeaked as the voice came from right above me. I began to back up, feeling the presence following me as I did so. Finally my back smacked against the wood door and warm breath fanned my face as I grew flushed. I could not tell if my heart was really thundering in my chest or if it was just my nerves.
"The switch is right here." Then the room was flooded with blinding light and I squinted. Elijah was towering over me, his disheveled falling over his left eye. His hand was pressed against a switch right next to my head as he eyed me up and down with a neutral expression. I thought something was going to happen but he just pulled away and sauntered back to the black and huge desk at the back of the room. This room was different, the walls holding hundreds of books on the shelves. The rippling marble floor was still here, but the windows were closed by blood red curtains. The ceiling was just lined with glowing lights, with no paintings or art whatsoever. Two black and red cushioned arm chairs sat in front of the paper filled desk. Elijah sat at the large chair behind the mounted desk and then patted next to him.
"Sit." It was an order, not a question. I scurried over to him and realized that there was a smaller chair like a baby of his chair next to him. He pointed to the chair for me to sit and I obliged without thinking. He turned back to the papers on his desk, and I realized he was writing with a quill and inkwell even though there was a laptop in the mess.
"Why are you using that?" I asked, only to be met with a side glance.
"I prefer it than that stupid contraption. Now drink." He pointed to the desk and I looked back. I was so focused on the strange scene and not upsetting him that I did not see the black mug and scone right in front of me. I peered into the mug only to see a glowing red liquid. I gulped and my feet began to bounce up and down with nerves.
"I would stop that." Elijah called out without looking at me.
"Is it bothering you?" I asked him but kept doing it.
"Not at all. But when you do that the dress you're wearing rides up." I looked at my lap and sure enough my underwear was almost visible. I squeaked and pulled the fabric down and heard the tall vampire chuckle at my red face. We sat there in silence for a little bit as I tried to get my bearings, only to realize that I was becoming a little dizzy.
"Drink." He said again, sounding more annoyed having to ask a second time. With hands shaking like an earthquake, I picked up the mug like it was a bomb. The glowing liquid winked back at me and I gulped, tears almost pricking my eyes. I had noticed that he had stopped writing and was now looking at me from the side of his eye. He was nice enough to not say anything else, just waited patiently as I gathered my courage. I raised the mug to my lips and took a sip of the drink. Again it was surprisingly sweet, with the now familiar and welcome warmth spreading through my body.
"Drink fast." He ordered again, but this time it was softer. I took a big gulp, trying to get it down as fast as I could.
"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, trying to draw attention away from my drink. The most disturbing part was it was warm.
"I run the village at the base of the valley. I am looking over documents associated with that, along with letters to various other magical communities."
"Magical communities?" My mind instantly ran to cults. I was aware that supernatural beings were held to the highest honor. Some people faked being those beings to form their own cults and some of the real ones made cults. It was a terrifying thought, and all I could think about was Elijah walking through town with women throwing themselves at his feet.
"It is not uncommon for humans to follow us to gain our favour. I have lived here for over a thousand years and I am not moving anytime soon. I did not want this responsibility, but as the head vampire of the family it is on my shoulders." I almost choked when he said a thousand years.
"How old are you?" I choked, a little blood going up my nose. I cringed at the feeling and squirmed in my chair. Elijah's hand shot out when I did so and gripped my thigh to keep me still which caused me to sit up alert. His hand was dipped between my thighs and too close to something I did not want him close to but I was speechless.
"I am bordering four thousand years at this point. I was born in a small village on this island, and travelled the world when I was younger. I've seen almost every great country fall." He seemed unaware of where he was grabbing me and it was quite clear that he miscalculated because he was leaving his hand there.
"That's nice, I would love to hear more but can you remove your hand?" He turned to me and looked down to see just how close he was grabbing my thigh. He barely even seemed fazed but he took his hand away quickly and muttered an apology. He stayed silent, meaning that the time for heart to heart time was over. I was stuck here, and even though I was a bit of a prisoner I wanted to connect.
"I am an orphan." The room fell frigid as I realized that was probably a very bad starter for a conversation. He just kept scrawling and ignoring me, and I was a little thankful for that.
"My parents died when I was young." His voice was sad, but his face was still neutral. The room was gloomy at our talk and I chugged the last of the blood to just get it over with. I gagged as I did so and he chuckled as I slammed the mug on the table.
"You get used to it." I was unfazed by his sarcasm, breathing heavily as I tried to keep it down.
"Yeah, I don't think that is going to happen." I started waving my face as I tried not to cry and stared at the old leather bound books attached to the wall like they were glued there. Dust floated in the air like fireflies, and swirling around us like water. After I caught my breath he turned in his chair and gently grabbed my face. He turned it to him and looked at me, inspecting my face as I struggled to breathe. I knew my face was flushed from trying to keep my bile down, and I was feeling the warmth travel through me. His cold hands drove the fire away.
"Are you feeling okay?" I pondered his question, my mind going a little fuzzy. I felt almost intoxicated as I giddily grinned. My eyes turned half lidded and I pushed my face onto his hands. My body felt heavy but not in a bad way, almost like I was sleepy but I was alert.
"I feel nice." My words were slurring and Elijah sighed.
"I was afraid of this reaction happening." He turned to the left. There was a tiny rope hanging from the ceiling that I had barely noticed as it was so thin. He pulled it lightly, but nothing happened. The world felt like it was in a bubble around me. The only other sensation I could compare this too was being drunk. I threw my head back and laughed out of nowhere.
"What's so funny?" Elijah asked as he tried to keep me up. I could not answer, all I could do was laugh.
Elijah had heard an uptick in her heartbeat as he sat there, indicating that what he was worried about happening was in fact happening to her. He could see the tell tale signs when he glanced over to her staring at the bookshelf, her nordic eyes glazed over and she was swaying ever so slightly. He cursed under his breath and pulled her face towards himself. Her usually pale skin had gotten some colour to it, and was now red and flushed. Her eyes were half lidded and she was smiling coyly. He had to hold back the gulp forming at the back of his throat as he kept himself under control. It was already hard enough to act indifferent and cold when she was wearing what she was wearing, the dress running up her thin legs. He was very worried about her being so stick thin, and had made a note to the chef to feed her a lot so she would gain weight.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, but he already knew it was too late. Her skin was burning under him and he cursed using his blood instead of Luca's. She started smiling and giggling, pushing herself against his hands as she was losing her balance.
"I feel nice." Her speech was slurred and her entire body weight was being held up by his hands.
"I was afraid of this reaction happening." He pulled at the rope next to his desk. It was attached to an old fashioned bell system downstairs for a servant to appear. Just as he did so she threw her head back and started laughing, a drunken mess on his hands. Vampire blood was strong, and the older the vampire the stronger the blood. If used recreationally, it was often used as an alcohol replacement. It was also a strong aphrodisiac, the effects only coming into effect sometimes and not constantly. The more one person consumed, the stronger and longer the effects lasted. He could tell that that is what was happening, but he had to remain calm.
"What's so funny?" Elijah asked as he tried to keep her upright. She just kept laughing, her face becoming more and more pink. She was leaning towards him and basically falling out of the chair. Where was a servant, why wasn't anyone here yet?
"This chair is uncomfortable." She said coherently through giggling. She was swaying from side to side like a crocodile getting ready for a death roll. Elijah felt a familiar, yet unknown emotional rise in his throat and chest as she swayed slightly and giggled like a child. He decided to suppress whatever he was feeling and scowled at her, pushing her upright as he brought his eyesight back to the dark wood and milky paper. The ink scrawled it looked like ripped pieces of the night sky dancing across the page as he looked at the snowy mountain of never ending papers. Suri had eventually calmed down with her giggling as he managed to regain his focus in his scrawling. She curled herself into a ball on her chair, the grey dress riding up her legs. Elijah looked over to her at the movement, and his eyes automatically dipped downwards to that.
"Pervert!" She grinned and pulled down the dress that was so high her black lace underwear was visible. Elijah had seen female garments before, and many women that we naked as well. He grew up in his early development years in a society where mildl nudity to full nudity was normal, and actually accustomed. However, he could not help but feel flustered at the sight. Maybe it was because whenever he had seen Suri in only full and baggy clothes and now these clothes he could see her actual curves. The deflazacort that she had to take had a common side effect of making a person underweight. She was quite thin, but even just in a week of being on a IV drip with vampire blood she was already starting to look fuller and healthier. She was pear shaped, with a small chest and thin arms with most of the defintion in her legs and hips.
"What are you looking at?" A voice called out from the doorway. Elijah managed to rip himself away from drooling at Suri's thighs and rear to see Luca smirking in the doorway.
"Why are you here?" Elijah straightened himself up, trying to hide his face from his annoying nephew.
"Hi Luca." Suri croaked, her slur getting worse and her head falling back. His nephew finally understood what Elijah rang about and smiled deviously.
"Awe dolcezza, are not not feeling good?" A vicious pur rang at the back of Elijah's throat, too low for Suri to hear but the young vampire definitely could.
"I feel good." She drawled out the last world, and fidgeted with her hand. Her face became redder every second that passed.
"Get her a glass of water." Elijah barked, his voice ringing off of the walls like it was a cave.
"Did you want me to just take her out of here?" Luca's face was coy, as if he was intentionally prodding Elijah to break.
"No she should not be moved in this state." The old vampire could only imagine what his young nephew would do to her in such a state, or what she would try to do to him. Luca was a nice man, and has always been known to be a beacon of kindness and generosity. However, he always had a weakness for women, and was known to sleep around and break hearts as easily as breaking an egg.
"I'm okay." She pouted, and went to stand on wobbly legs. Elijah grabbed her shoulder and forcefully forced her to sit down. He added more pressure than he should have, causing her to tumble back into the chair and her shoulder to make a crack. At first the two vampires were shocked, and a little scared that her delicate frame would have shattered from the pull. Instead she just looked a little more annoyed than anything, and rolled her shoulder around indicating that he had only caused the bone to pop harmlessly.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Just like being intoxicated on alcohol, her temper flared up. He wanted to apologize, but with his nephew standing there with a knowing look and eager to see, he could not swallow his pride.
"Just get her out of here if you want her so damn much." He turned back to his pages with a cold shoulder. He could feel a discontented vibe coming off from Suri, and an exasperated sigh coming from Luca.
"Come on bella, let's get you some water and sober you up." Suir began to whine and complain that she was sober, but was also threw a fit of anger and then crying within a span of Luca walking from the door to her. Elijah wanted to throw her out a window, while Luca just patted her head as she dried her tears on her hand.
"It's okay, we'll get it figured out. Would you like me to carry you or would you like to walk?" Suri looked over to Elijah with a pout as if she was looking for an apology. He refused to even look at her direction, and remained silent.
"I think I can walk." She sniffed and pushed back tears, pushing herself up shakily. Her strength was returning but he could tell that she was not used to walking around so freely. Luca offered her an arm to stabilize herself and she gratefully took it, causing Elijah to grip his chair armrest and splinter the wood.
"Would you like anything in the kitchen, zio?" Was his nephew being nice to him or trying to prod him more? Either way it was having a negative impact, as if he was dangling a carrot on a string in front of him.
"No." He managed to croak. We were not even writing coherent words anymore, just trying to look busy so Luca would leave. The two scuttled out of the room, with Suri looking over her shoulder with a sad look on her face. Elijah had glanced up to see the pain and then his heart twinged at the sight. They closed the room behind themselves, making the room dimmer as if light was removed even though the electricity was still on. Elijah collapsed over his desk, taking deep breaths as he regained his sanity.
"I wish I asked her to stay."