Lilian was led back to the chamber by a maid. She barricaded herself again, pushing a chest of drawers in front of the door. The morning was getting late by the time she laid down on a large bed that was so soft that it felt like laying on a cloud.
Lilian stared at her forearm absolutely flabbergasted at the perfectly healthy skin.
She thought of Cassius and smiled. The vampires in the forest were a different kind to the king who wore regal clothes and had truly enticing blue eyes that made Lilian's heart skip a beat. His voice gave her chills. His face was nearly entrancing with the chiselled jaw and straight nose. But he was still a vampire.
Lilian tried to rest a little but sleep hardly came. Her mind was still trying to process the trauma of the night and loosing her friend of many years. Lilian woke up panting when the sun was already on the other side of the sky. The room was carefully decorated with stunningly crafted furniture. The balcony opened to show the gardens filled with mazes of rose bushes and fields of meadow flowers.
The day was silent. There was no movement, no footsteps, no chatter. There was a perfect stillness emanating from the castle. Yet the world around was very alive, with the birds and insects exploring the garden.
Lilian lacked the confidence to leave the chamber, instead occupying herself with the books she found within it, trying to disregard any creaking of the walls and floors.
When the sun started to set, the knock disturbed her.
"Ma'am, breakfast will be served shortly." The maid announced through the barricades door.
"Thank you." Lilian moved the chest of drawers back and unlocked the door. She did not question why they had dinner in the morning and breakfast at night. If folk tales spoke truth, vampires lived in the night.
She followed the maid back to the dining room, recognising some of the turns from earlier in the day, and entered the room where Cassius already was. He yawned as she walked in, and it was just timed perfectly that Lilian managed to catch a glimpse of his long fangs.
"Good evening." Cassius stood up to welcome her. His mannerisms were so thoughtful and he acted like a true royal. He was respectful to Lilian and his subjects.
"Good evening, your majesty." Lilian curtsied and then walked towards the table filled with plates of dishes.
"Did you have a good rest?"
"A sufficient one." Lilian nodded not daring to reciprocate the question.
"Brilliant." Cassius reached for the first platted and passed it to Lilian instead of grabbing the food himself. Lilian carefully picked a few eggs and rashers of bacon, curious how the change in diet will affect her. "Your maid will take your measurements so that you have plenty of dresses within the castle."
"My maid?" Lilian asked, her mind flashing back to the maid that was so brutally killed a few hours earlier.
"Penelope is going to be attending to you. She will make sure that you have everything you need." Cassius announced as it was expected.
"Thank you." Lilian uttered, rendered near speechless at the hospitality that she was receiving.
"I would encourage you to stay within the court. You will be safe within the castle's walls. Otherwise, no room is off limits. Entertain yourself."
"What rooms would you recommend?" Lilian tilted her head as she listened to Cassius with keen interest.
"It depends on your interests. There's library, music room, art room, astronomy tower, and much more."
"They all sounds interesting." Lilian keenly nodded in approval, her eyes fixating on Cassius who very clearly woke up recently as his hair was still ruffled in all directions. He didn't wear the crown that shone on his head earlier and his clothes seemed a little bit more casual - he didn't wear a dark and heavy blazer with gold buttons revealing his shirt and vest underneath.
Cassius noticed her gaze and quickly looked away.
"You look like you are curious about something." Cassius was a little flustered.
"How old are you?" Lilian asked as she shifted her focus to the food in front of her.
"Thirty five." Cassius answered honestly.
"Oh, so you got stuck at age thirty five and haven't aged since? How long have you been alive for? Or is word alive wrong? How long have you been on earth? A hundred or thousand years?" Lilian enquired further, suddenly enthused with the conversation.
"I am thirty five." Cassius repeated with some amusement.
"Is that how long ago you became a vampire?"
"I was born a vampire and I was born thirty five years ago."
"Are vampire years different than human years?"
"No." Cassius replied shortly.
"Really? You are thirty five?!" Lilian looked up at him in surprise, dropping her fork.
"Do I look that old?" Cassius asked back rather sharply.
"Well, no." Lilian admitted. "I guess I expected you to be eternal. And with the decor and clothes you're wearing, I expected you to be a bit older."
"My family was very traditional and a lot of what you see has been inherited through generations. I did not see the point of replacing everything to fit within the current fashion." Cassius explained slowly, analysing Lilian's reaction and watching how her face showed satisfaction once he met her curiosity. "How old are you?" He asked in return.
"Twenty eight." Lilian admitted.
"Twenty eight since you have turned human?" There was a bite in his voice which made Lilian erupt into laughter.
"I am sorry if my questions seem outrageous. I know very little about your kind." She explained after she contained her laugh.
"Considering your age, are you married?" Cassius suddenly realised that Lilian was at an age at which human's commonly formed bonds. He felt a pang in his chest and an indescribable pain. It was a sensation very alien to the vampire.
"No." Lilian said honestly. She bit her lip, contemplating whether she should reveal more. But decided not to. "You?"
"No." Cassius admitted. "What about your family?"
"All dead." Lilian said with confidence that hid her lie well.
"Friends?"
"None." Lilian looked at Cassius. "If you're trying to determine if I am going to be missed, the answer is no, as I've already told you. What about you? I haven't seen your family yet."
"Dead." Cassius replied honestly.
"Friends?"
"Very few."
Lilian continued to eat in silence not asking another question for a while longer which started to concern Cassius. Cassius opened his mouth but Lilian preceded him.
"If you feed on human blood, why do you eat this food?" She asked with curiosity. Cassius smiled. He did enjoy her questions, even if some were a bit off putting.
"I do not eat it for sustenance. I eat it for my enjoyment. I can taste it but it does not provide me with any nutrients and passes straight through my body."
"Gross." Lilian mumbled under her nose. She looked at Cassius with a quizzical look but hesitated to ask further.
"I can see that you have more questions." Cassius sipped the wine to hide his fear of the next question. Lillian's hesitation was worrying.
"When you say that it passes straight through your body… how long does it take? And… does it come out undigested?" Lilian asked directly, but her cheeks blushed in red. Cassius' mouth dropped open and a piece of bacon on his fork remained suspended mid-air, never reaching his mouth. He stared at Lilian and she looked right back at him. Cassius closed his mouth and looked down at his plate feeling Lilian's curious gaze still upon him. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times. His agony of trying to come up with a way of not answering such a direct question was broken when the servant behind him bursted into laughter. Cassius scowled at his servant and then looked back but Lilian's gaze was unbreakable. She was not backing down.
Cassius placed his cutlery down and took a few gulps of juice.
"Excuse me. I must attend to…" he stood up but couldn't come up with a reason why he needed to leave. He bowed and left awkwardly. Lilian looked behind him and then burst into laughter and shook her head once he was out of her sight. She looked at the servant with a smile which the servant reciprocated.
"Your lord has an incredible amount of patience." Lilian said with a smile to the servant. "His constraint is amusing."
"Indeed." The servant nodded, regaining their statue.
Lilian slowly ate a bit more before the servant led her back to her chamber as per request.