Cordelia's POV:
The guard had re-cuffed me right after we had passed the large open door to the ball room and slowly escorted me down the long stairwell. My mind kept drifting back to Raziel as I descended the staircase. The fact that he knows who I am, even calling me by my nickname that I hadn't heard in centuries can only mean one thing for me and I silently hoped that death would take me before I could be tortured despite the tingle and pulling I felt when I was near him. I had heard the news of my families slaughter just after the war and though I was still in the clutches of that bastard Leon I was grateful to hear of their death. My family's views were vastly different from mine and my father was a treacherous man.
Raziel's face drifts in my mind again and I feel my heart pound in my chest. His eyes that were the color of molten silver held something within them, his eyes...there was something familiar about those eyes. His face was chiseled and well defined with a strong jawline and his white hair complemented everything about him. His hair was past his shoulders and his broad muscular chest and well toned arms looked good in the attire he had chosen for the evening but I still pondered what exactly he had meant when he said he knew who I was. I was suddenly snapped from my thoughts as my head collided with the cold metal bars of the cell in front of me.
"We can't wait to have some fun with you." The guard says in my ear and a shiver runs through me.
The guard pulls me over to the small cot in the room and bends me over the bar on the bed just before chaining my shales to the bar. I try to stand up straight but as I do I feel the cold metal of a blade slowly going down my back, cutting my dress as it goes further and further down. Though holy water alone is not enough to kill a vampire it burns our skin slightly and I can tell the blade is imbued with it by the way it burns my skin as it drags along my back.
My dress has been cut all the way down the back exposing my body to the guards standing around me and I feel one of them grope my backside roughly. He rips my undergarments away and tosses them to the floor as another guard smacks me across the face when I try to look back at him.
"At least your bodys no to bad looking despite the scars!" One of the guards laughed as he walked up behind me and pushed himself against me.
"And she's not even resisting! How pathetic! I had hoped you would put up a fight." Another guard hissed.
"You men are all the same, to weak minded, thats why you resort to rape and tourture becuase your to cowardly to actually kill me." I say and then spit at the guard standing next to me.
"You little bitch!" I hear one of the guards yell as he hits me in the head with the handle of his sword causing a gash above my eye.
"What do you think you are doing!" A loud voice booms through the cellar.
"Just roughing up the prisoner, your majesty." The guard who had hit me spoke.
"I believe you were told to escort the Lady to her bedroom!" The guard from this afternoon yelled as he stepped out from behind Raziel.
"Do you know what I do to incompetent knights who can't follow orders?!" Raziels says in a low demonic-like voice.
"Un-chain her!" Raziel yells.
"B-but your majesty.."The guard begins to stutter.
"NOW!" He yells again causing even the walls to shake in fear.
The guard quickly removes my shackles and something soft is suddenly draped around my shoulders then I am lifted off my feet. I quickly realize that Raziel has thrown his cloak around me to cover my body before lifting me in his arms to carry me.
"Your grace you don't have to do this. You will ruin your cloak! Please I am fine you can put me down." I say as I try to wiggle from his arms and resist the tingle and pull that were enveloping me.
"Silence!" Raziel says in a voice that leaves no room for argument.
I lower my head and go quiet at his words and he stops just before exiting the dungeon.
"Markus!" Raziel says loudly.
"Yes, your majesty!" The man named Markus replies as he bows and gets on one knee.
"Show them what happens to those who disobey orders and treat people of my kingdom in such an inexcusable manner." Raziel says in a low voice and then continues to walk away.
As we are ascending the stairs the sounds of the guards begging can be heard and then the distinct sound of metal tearing through flesh rips through the hall. I remain quiet and find myself slowly leaning into Raziel's chest as his grip on me tightens. I can smell the musky scent of his earthy cologne the closer I curl into him and the scent and the pull comforts me. I find myself getting sleepy and just as I think I am about to fall asleep I feel myself being placed on something soft.
"Tend to her wounds and find her appropriate bed clothes. In the morning send someone to the next town to acquire the save you mentioned earlier." I hear Raziel's deep voice speaking calmly.
"Yes your majesty." I hear someone speak and then I hear the sound of a door closing.
"Come now my Lady, I know you're tired but we need to get your wounds tended and you redressed." The maid says as she helps me sit from the bed.
I realized I was not in the room I was in before and I quietly took in the room as my eyes refocused. It was painted a soft off white with light beige furniture adorning the room.
"My Lady..the others said you had wounds but to this extent." The Maid begins to speak as she places a hand on my back causing me to flinch.
"You don't have to pity me." I say in a cold voice as I flinch again when she touches my back higher up.
"You will not receive any harm from me, Lady Cordelia." The maid says in a soft calm tone.
The maid gently helped me up and over to the bathroom where I stripped the tattered dress from my body as she drew some warm water to bathe my back and clean my head before dressing the wounds.
"What is your name?" I asked, trying to break the tense silence in the air as I sat on the edge of the tub.
"My name is Lorraine, my Lady. I am the head maid and the castle nurse when the doctor is away." She says as she begins to wash my back while trying to be as gentle as possible.
"You don't have to be gentle." I say as I lower my head.
"The wound may not be deep but it still needs proper care." She replies.
"That's not what I meant." I say as I shake my head.
"I can't really feel much anymore so there's no need to be afraid to hurt me." I continued.
"Regardless my Lady I am in charge of tending to your wounds. What kind of nurse would I be if I didn't take the utmost care of one of my charges." She replies leaving no room for argument as it dawns on me that I didn't tell her my name.
Perhaps the king had, I smiled slightly with the thought and fell silent.
"And besides, his Majesty seems quite taken with you." She says with a chuckle as she begins dressing the wound and wrapping bandage around me to hold the gauze in place.
"I may not be a vampire but I have been around for a while and it's nice to see him finally take interest in something." She continues.
"But why is he so interested in someone like me?" I ask.
"Maybe it's because you remind him of someone from long ago. His Majesty brought me here from the kingdom of Bethowold a long time ago when the war first started." She says and I stiffen immediately.
"Bethowold?" I say as I turn to face her.
"Yes my Lady, Bethowold. The king there was a nasty man and his family followed suit in his attitude towards the vampires that looked like yourself and the humans. All except his eldest daughter. I never knew where she had disappeared to when the war started." She continues with a radiant knowing smile as I stare at her blankly trying to recall her face.
"Your..names been changed..hasn't it?" I ask cautiously.
"Tut tut, don't worry about that now my dear. What's done is done, the war is over and it's nothing you should worry yourself with." She says trying to change the subject as she shifts me back around to finish wrapping my wound.
I remain quite the rest of the time in the bathroom as memories of the castle nursemaid flash through my mind. She had been the only one to show me kindness within the castle other than that other vampire I had met once but it was so long ago and I was forbidden from knowing his name. Her name however was Ellanore back then and I had always been fond of her. She had taught me many things as I was growing up and it was because of her that I had survived for so long living with my father.
"Your arm should be healed now, let me remove the dressing." She says snapping me from my thoughts as I look down to see her unwrapping my arm.
My arm is completely healed now and I stand as Lorrain grabs me a silk nightgown with a matching robe.
"You should get some rest now my Lady. The king wants you in tip top shape for tomorrow." She says as she begins cleaning up.
"What's tomorrow?" I ask as I slip the gown over my body.
The silk gown is a beautiful white and both the robe and gown stop mid thigh.
"It's the king's birthday my Lady and he wishes to take you into town." She replies.
"Oh." I reply as I suddenly remember all of my belongings are with the clothes I had worn here.
"Lorrain, where are my clothes that I arrived in?" I ask.
"Oh, they were thrown out but your belongings are in the top drawer of the stand just there. The king had them brought here while he went to find you." She replies as she begins to head for the large door.
I quickly go over to the drawer and find my belongings and what little money I have to my name and sit down gently on the soft bed.
"Lorrain?" I call out to her just before she leaves the room.
"Yes my Lady?" She replies.
"Thank you." I say softly.
She smiles gently at me and I place my things back in the small drawer then crawl into the large bed and slowly drift off to sleep.