"Livia?" Dracula called out, and a girl in a maid uniform quickly made her way into the room. She bowed deeply, and stared at the ground, ready for Dracula's orders.
"Take my sweetheart to the room opposite mine, she shall be staying there. Tell the others to watch her, she shouldn't leave the palace. She is mine and nothing should happen to her, if she needs anything, you know what to do," he turned to Mia, "only a month," he smirked and Livia led her out.
The palace was big, and the opposite room was a bit further from Dracula's room. The room had bright lights and looked luxurious with a big plush black sofa, black carpet, huge drawer, huge bathroom with separate washroom, red candles, fascinating chandeliers and big windows with amazing view outside. There was a fountain, a sculpture of a bat and green grass which Mia thought it to be fake. She didn't see that part of the palace where there was even a garden with different crops, a swinging egg hammock... Wait, was she here to admire the palace or find Queen Mother?
Mia turned around and found the maid still there, with her head low. She had dark brown hair, light brown eyes and seemed to be slightly older than Mia. "Uh, Livia? Anything you want to say?"
"No miss, I want to see if you are comfortable so you can dismiss me."
Mia sighed, and Livia panicked, perhaps she had annoyed the sphinx?
"Hi Livia, just call me Mayana, and don't address me as if am superior to you. We are equal okay? Look at me please?" Mia said in the most courteous way as possible. Livia felt her heart at ease, and raised her head. Wow, the sphinx brought by Dracula was a beauty. She seemed nice and approachable, unlike the mistresses Dracula had brought before in the palace. The girl looked so young, and this troubled Livia. She became curious of who she was, because all the girls brought in by Dracula slept with him in his room only one night, and the next day, there was a new slut.
Was she perhaps the one Dracula brought to marry? No, that couldn't be possible, Dracula would only marry a fellow vampress. Then what was the purpose of bringing a very young sphinx? She felt sympathy towards Mayana, for Dracula was an evil being in her eyes, and he presumably enticed the girl for pleasure. If she was really a slut, then she's been sexualized too early.
"Okay, Mayana, have a nice evening," Livia smiled, and gave Mayana the keys to her room, then left. She sat on the comfy sofa, and chuckled, amused that she is in a Dracula's room in his palace. If she were to tell Liam about this, he'd probably think she is crazy. 'I miss you Liam...Greta, Zane...Raquel.' She never thought that she'd once miss Raquel so bad, the spoilt girl who pretended to be her friend but hated her to the core.
The sun drifted over the tropical blue sky, and darkness came. Someone knocked on the door, and the girl who dozed off on the couch woke up, startled. She unlocked the room, and Livia entered with a smile.
"Mayana, am here to help you take a bath and dress you up in a night gown. Dracula is expecting you at the dining table in an hour for dinner.
Wait, she thought she won't be seeing Dracula for a month. Damn it! She forgot to tell him not only not to touch her, but also not to see each other. She frowned and Livia noticed her change of mood.
"Is it compulsory to eat dinner with that.. with him?"
"Yes, he told me if you refuse to eat with him, he will come and eat with you in your room,"
"Okay, I'll be there in an hour, I will bathe myself," she had heard that in some ancient royal families, members from the aristocracy were bathed with their servants, but she wouldn't allow it.
She prepared a bubble bath, scented with lilies, and overstayed deliberately. She didn't want to face the bloodsucker. When the water got cold, she wrapped herself in a new robe and strode out. On her bed, she found a black nightgown Livia had prepared for her. 'Guess I have to do this...
When she wore it, it looked like a Halloween costume. It had a black garter with black stockings. It was short, reached just below her hips, and was paneled. It was the type to be blown over by the wind. On the top, it was a spaghetti strap, which exposed most of her chest. Definitely not a night gown.
****
She reached the dining table and sat down, not sparing even a glance at the vampire. She sensed his eyes on her, but dared not to look up. "Sweetheart, come on , don't be indifferent to me now. If you don't like the food, I may tell the servants to cook something else. Living like a queen already, I bet you feel great but you just don't wanna admit it." she diverted her attention to the most rare food she has ever seen on the table. She couldn't tell what the food was but it looked and smelled delicious.
Dracula crossed his legs, twirling black wine in his hands, admiring the girl's beauty. For the first time he felt like time was moving slowly and a month would never reach. He waited for the girl to start eating, but she just stared at the food. "Eeh...Eat, or do you want me to feed you? You are already so tiny. The plumper you are the sexier you get," he said and the girl finally looked at him.
"Am not hungry, if you will excuse me, I will be heading to my room," Mia was hungry but she didn't want to admit it. 'Its not so bad to starve myself, I want to look unattractive so that he can leave me alone.' She remembered very well how she was starved for about 5 days in the orphanage, without even water. So she was kind of used to it.
"Uuh. Be a good girl sweetheart, I won't let you off without you eating. I heard that spinixes like you who are in their incubation period need a lot of food to replenish their powers?" he sipped the wine, a crooked smile still playing on his mouth.
"Stop with that 'sweetheart' am Mayana. As I said, I don't want to eat because I want to lose weight," besides, Mayana found it suspicious. Dracula wanted her to eat but he himself didn't taste anything. Perhaps he spiced the food to drug her then take advantage of her. She really wanted to eat, but Dracula had to eat first.
"Tsk, now my sweetheart is angry. If am done with this drink, I will just have to feed you," surprisingly, he loved this obstinate side of hers, he has never encountered a girl like her before. Every girl would just give in to him, and mostly, they were scared of him, but here, a tiny girl didn't show the slightest fear.
"Let's do this instead," Mia stood up and went to sit next to Dracula, "You will have to eat first, then I eat," she picked a plate of fried bananas, with salad and pepper. Dracula raised his eyebrow, beaming.
"I won't eat myself, you will have to feed me," he gave her a side-eye. "No, let me chop off your fingers first then I'll have a reason to feed you," Her stomach growled inaudibly, her last meal was in school when she had her lunch.
"I'll feed you then," He picked up the plate, but Mia quickly took it from him. She'd rather feed him than the opposite to happen.
"Fine I will feed you," Dracula became more excited and put his drink down. She cut the fried banana, picked it with a fork and brought it close to his mouth. He didn't open his mouth and knitted his brows.
"Pick another dish. Am a vampire, you expect me to eat bananas?" he said in amusement.
"You will have to shut up and eat the banana. Am feeding you so I get to choose what you eat." she said rudely and somehow felt her conscience prick her. She had never lashed at someone with words before but she had to, the world didn't need weak people at certain circumstances.
He sniggered and opened his mouth, this was indeed an entertainment he got besides having sex with sluts.
He grimaced when swallowing the food, motivating Mia to torture him more. She waited for him to finish swallowing, gazing at him to see if he would act weird. He then comprehended her actions, she thought that I was gonna spice the food, smart girl. He laughed in amusement at the cute girl gazing at him, he actually never thought of spicing the food. She just gave him an idea.
Seeing he was fine, she devoured the food, not caring about food etiquette, as she was not here to please anyone. She was doing this deliberately so that he can get disgusted of her and kick her out of the palace. She ate with her fingers and licked them. This oddly awakened the beast that was inside Dracula, threatening to gobble the tiny girl up. Her actions unexpectedly turned him on. He stared at her red plump lips, feeling like licking and sucking them.
Mia thought that he was displeased with her, and smiled in achievement. Suddenly, her chin was grabbed, and she was forced to look at the vampire.
"If you continue doing that, I won't restrain myself any longer and eat you up. Our deal will have been broken, but I won't care." Mia stopped thoughtful, having no hint of what he said. She had never heard before about vampires eating people, and she widened her eyes in shock.
Dracula was afraid of breaking his self-control, because he has never lost a deal to someone before. His pride wouldn't allow him to loose against a tiny girl.
"Eat me? Why don't you try that now," she said, looking at him expectantly. She was truly testing his patience, and he stood up.
"Livia," he called and she came running, "tell the maids to clean up the table, and take her back to her room," Mia felt happy for annoying him, and maybe it was another way to get out of palace aside from being saved by Xander.
Though she had been with him hours ago, she missed his cold impassive demeanor... and his long flaming red hair that is always tied in a tight bun. 'Xander, please come for me,' she thought about him as they walked towards her room. He was her only hope.