"You mustn't get yourself dirty, my Lady!"
"We can wash him for you, Master."
"No! I'm the one who found him. I'm the one who decided to take him home. So I will be the one to wash him. You three just wait for me outside."
Slamming the door behind me, I help the vampire remove the rest of his shredded clothes. I try to go slow, but there is so much dried blood and fresh wounds that the vampire couldn't stop screaming.
Those muffled screams of pain are only just a fraction of the terrified shrieks for help this guy must have done when he was outside the city. Every wince and flinch he makes only adds oil to my flame of anger.
I know that I am ignorant of what was going on outside the city. My mind is only focused on rebuilding my mafia and getting revenge that I have failed to look outside my position. I may be the mayor's guard dog, but I am this city's first line of defense when it comes to conflicts from outside sources. I know I'm new to this role, but that doesn't give me an excuse to ignore the obligations that have been passed down to every Winter Vessel.
I stop trying to undress the vampire to give him some time to rest. "Would you like to go ahead into the bath so that the blood can soften up? It might help in getting the rest of your clothes off."
Shifting his eyes around, the vampire glances down at me. "Do I not make you uncomfortable?" the vampire mumbles as he sits on the edge of the bathtub.
"Why would I be uncomfortable? It's my job to take care of the people in this city," I respond standing in front of the vampire.
"But I'm a vampire, and you're a human. Aren't humans scared of vampires, especially ones covered in blood?" the guy asks as he tries to look me in the eyes.
"Eshea welcomes all races equally without prejudice. I have seen plenty of vampires at my school. In any case, it seems you are more scared of me than the other way around," I reply with a small laugh.
The vampire looks over at the bathtub and feels the warm water. "Is it really okay for me to have a bath?"
I lightly chuckle to myself. "Of course, you are! I am the owner of this house. Whatever I say goes," I proudly announce with a cheeky smile.
He is still hesitant, but the vampire slowly sinks into the warm bath. I turn around to head for the closet that was by the door which makes the vampire jump up.
"You aren't going to leave me. Are you?" he asks as the pain from suddenly jumping out of the water aches its way around his body.
I give a reassuring expression and grab the washcloth from the closet. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving you here by yourself. I was just grabbing something to wash you off with."
"You're going to wash me?" the vampire asks with a surprised look on his face.
I grab one of the stools in the bathroom and prop it next to the tub. "Of course, I am. I brought you here, so it is my responsibility to wash you off and clean your wounds. Now, sit down so that I can start."
The vampire obeys and lowers himself back into the tub. He turns his back towards me, and I lightly wash over his shoulders so that I don't cause too much pain. It didn't take long for the surface of the water to turn crimson red from the blood softening up.
'Alex, do you hear me?' I ask via mind link.
'Is everything okay?' Alex answers, sounding worried.
'I'm okay, but the water is getting bloody. Can you prepare a few pails of water for me to use when I drain the water out of the tub in order to refill it?'
'As you wish, my Lady.'
"You're back is done," I announce after ten minutes of slow meticulous wiping. He was in excruciating pain, but the vampire did a great job of holding himself together. "The hard part is over, so can you turn around so that I can wash your chest?"
The vampire spins around slowly. As he is turning around, I unplug the drain at the bottom of the tub for the bloody water to drain. While it drains, I grab one of the pails that I had Alex prepare as a backup while I wait for the tub to empty out.
"Is it really okay for a lady to be washing a stranger? Let alone a male stranger?" the vampire asks.
I wring out the water from the washcloth and continue washing his chest. "It does seem really weird. Doesn't it?" I say with an awkward laugh. "My father was always helping out strangers whenever he could. Then those exact strangers would become his friends. Then those friends would become his family. He always told me to never let my position in society hinder my sight of what really matters."
"So what really matters?" the vampire presses.
I look up into the vampire's ruby red eyes. "FFC. Friends, Family, and Connections. Friends will always be there to tell you when you have done something wrong or stupid but will also be there to congratulate you when you have done something great. Family will always be there to support you even when you are at your lowest time, and if they don't, then they were never your family to begin with and should be dealt with accordingly. Connections are what increases the people in the first two priorities. The friends and family you have now might have their own friends and family that could help you achieve greater heights."
"So what does that have to do with helping a stranger like me?" the vampire continues to question as he raises his arm so that I can wash under it.
"How do you think friends are made?" I sarcastically ask, chuckling. "Friends start off as strangers; otherwise, they would have been your family. You may be a stranger now, but hopefully after I wash you off, get you new clothes, and feed you warm food; we can be friends. Who knows? Maybe after a while, you can become family like everyone here."
The dumbfounded expression on the vampire's face could not have been clearer. Just looking at it makes me laugh. From his reaction to what I said, it seems like happiness and friendship are some hard things to come by outside the city.
Still chuckling a bit, I stand up from the stool and plug the drain back up. I turn on the warm water again so that the tub can fill back up.
"Do you think you can remove your pants?" I ask as I head over to the sink to wring out the blood from the washcloth.
"Wh-what?!" the vampire asks, shocked by nonchalant request.
I turn to face the vampire and head back over. "I have to wash your lower half as well. Just because it was sitting in the water doesn't mean that it's clean," I say sitting back down on the stool.
The vampire's face dyes red while I continue to sit in front of him. "Y-you are a lady! Right?! Isn't it wr-wrong to see a man naked?!"
"But I have to wash the blood off from your legs," I calmly respond as I try to remove as much softened blood from his torn up pants as I can while he's standing.
"I-I can wash my legs myself!" the vampire claims as he takes the washcloth from my hands.
"Do you want me to get out?" I ask as I stand back up from the stool.
The vampire doesn't answer me. He realizes that he doesn't want me to leave, but he also doesn't want me to see him completely naked. "Can you just turn around and not look at me?" the vampire finally concludes.
"If that will make you comfortable, then sure," I respond, turning around with my back facing the vampire.
I can hear the vampire slightly struggling to remove his pants and undergarments. He releases small sounds of pain when he accidentally grazes his wounds but mostly is quiet. He asks for the soap that was on the floor next to me, so I bend down and pass it to him without turning to face him, and he begins washing himself.
"Do you mind if I ask for your name?" I comment so that we aren't sitting in complete awkward silence.
"Isaac. Isaac Valentine," the vampire replies through the silent struggles of washing over the scars on his calves.
"My name is Viola. Viola Winter," I say with a hint of freshness as to not let the vampire focus too much on his pain. "How old are you, Isaac?"
"I'm 18 years old. And you?"
"I'm 17, but I will be turning 18 in a couple of weeks."
We continue the round of basic "get-to-know-you" questions while Isaac finishes washing himself up.
Sitting on the long chair by the table in my room, I lather the ointment cream on Isaac's wounds and dress him in the wrapping bandage. Isaac puts on his new shirt that Delic gave him earlier after his bath and faces the table that has our lunch on it.
"Is it really okay for me to have some of your lunch ?" Isaac quietly asks as he points to all the food on the table.
"Do you really have to ask every time we give you something?" I jokingly retort to the vampire sitting to the left of me. "As long as you are in my house, everything that is given to you is under my direction to do so, meaning that I say that it is okay."
"But surely there is something that I can do for you in return, Viola. You took me in and tended to my wounds. I am forever in your debt for saving me, so please let me serve you somehow."
Delic chokes on his water and pounds his chest to retrieve the leaving air.
"Are you okay, Delic?" I ask as I watch Xander pat Delic's back to try and help him.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," Delic replies, holding up his hand. "I was just surprised that he called you by your name. That's all."
"Could you be any more childish?" I tease. "It is only right that I introduce myself to my guest as I am taking care of him."
"Was it wrong for me to call you by your name?" Isaac questions with widened eyes worried that he made a huge mistake.
"It has been a while since anyone has called me by my name without any honorifics," I state while taking a sip of my water.
"Honorifics? What do you mean?" Isaac continues to question.
"The lady in front of you is Lady Viola," Alex starts to explain. "She is the head of the Winter Family and the leader of the Winter Mafia. She is second in command in the city of Eshea just under the mayor. If anything, she is essentially the highest and most important person in the city. No one dares to call her by her name only as it is deemed disrespectful."
Isaac doesn't move. Paralyzed as if he was suddenly turned to stone. He shifts his eyes from one person in the room to another with everyone just nodding their heads.
"So I had the most important person in the city wash my blood-covered body," Isaac mutters to himself in disbelief. He darts his head over to me and lowers his head. "I should be killed for dirtying your hands, Lady Viola!"
Putting my hand over his head, I slowly pet him which makes him flinch. "There is no need to lower your head to me. Although everything that Alex says is true, I don't let my position go to my head. An inflated ego only leads to corruption, and no one needs a leader like that. Raise your head for me. Okay?"
Isaac raises his head and locks eye contact with me. "If you won't kill me, then let me serve you. I must repay my eternal debt to you for saving my life."
I look at the twins and Delic. They don't want to add another person to their three-way battle for my love and attention, but they don't want me to get upset either. They each reluctantly nod showing that they are fine with an additional aid.
Even though I get the final say, it is important that there is a mutual understanding that my safety and livelihood comes above all pettiness they hold against each other.
"Then how about you become one of my personal aides like these three here?" I suggest to Isaac.
"Your personal aide?" Isaac asks, confused.
"Essentially, you are in charge of one or many parts in Lady Viola's life," Alex explains.
"Whether that be getting her ready for school or helping her with her rounds, it is our job to ensure that Master is safe and can proceed with her obligations at school and home," Xander adds.
"Everything that concerns Master's life concerns you as well. Her privacy is your privacy within reason," Delic finishes.
"So that means that regardless of the time of day, I can be by your side?" Isaac concludes.
"That's right!" I answer, smiling brightly. "Aside from going our separate ways to go to bed, one or more of my aides has to be by my side."
Isaac pauses in excitement. A childlike smile grows on his face, and laughter can be heard escaping his lips. "Okay, I'll do it! If that means I can serve the person who saved my life, then it's fine by me."
I take a bite from the rice and beef on my plate then sip some water to clear my throat. "Isaac, there is one condition before you can become my aide. You have to tell me who did this to you," I demand as I point to Isaac's back. "Someone like that will pay tenfold for hurting one of my aides."
Isaac timidly thinks about it for a moment. He doesn't like recalling the people who hurt him as it gives him nightmares in his sleep. However, he takes a deep breath and pulls in his courage. "They are called Black Snow."
Isaac continues to explain how Black Snow is an organization that runs a slave market. They kidnap kids and sell them off to higher organizations in the Northern Country promising them an obedient slave child. They are called 'Black Snow' because everywhere they go, they leave a trail of black from their iron stoves and cigarettes in the snow.
Isaac was able to barely escape by using the rest of his energy to turn into a bat and fly over the steel wall that divides Eshea Woods from the outside. Since Eshea is a neutral city, the slavers couldn't just easily waltz into the city as they were, so they gave up chasing after him.