Mary clutched a book in her hand that Matthew eyed skeptically. She was seated in front of him on his horse while Jesse trailed behind. "What is that book, Mary?" he asked, unable to hold his curiosity.
"It belonged to the witch who tried to kill me. Without this she cannot find me and I wish to keep it this way. What better way to keep it away from her than to keep it with me?" explained the brave young girl. Matthew smirked in amazement. He had never met such a brave and outspoken girl before. The human servants that he knew rarely dared to open their mouths. Of course Mary had no idea of the treatment a royal prince is used to and so that had no bearing on her treatment of him.
"You are odd for a human girl," he couldn't help but exclaim.
"That's probably because I am not human." Mary said. The sharp intake of breath after her confession proved that it was unintentional. Matthew looked behind him to see that Jesse was quite far off.
"Well, you are not royal which means you can be only one other thing. When I asked you what your feelings were about witches you spun a nice yarn. It is a pity that I have to kill you now." Matthew said with a lot of regret laced in his voice.
"Wait, please do not kill me. Let me explain. I wasn't spinning a yarn. It is true that I was born in a coven but my father was a human slave to the witches. He died a year ago and the witches who kept me around want to sacrifice me tonight. This book is the spell book that they intend to use for the sacrificing. I haven't really lied to you. I just wanted to hide the fact that I ran away from a coven of witches." Mary elaborated.
"Why should I believe you?" he asked her, almost convinced of her words.
"I am ready to hand off this book to you and you can find out about the witch's secrets. I hate Sia. She treats children as if we are criminals. I wouldn't mind the royals burning her alive. I like Reva though. She is my birth mother. She helped me escape by casting a memory spell. You see witches cannot do magic alone. Reva had to help me to escape and she did but now she has forgotten that she did it because it was a memory spell. So you see, other than you no one actually knows that I ran away from a coven, that also the Sia coven." Mary went on blabbering.
Matthew smiled. Mary was still shaking in fear. Matthew realized that she couldn't see his smile. He was sitting behind her and her head came up barely to his chest. Matthew bent down and placed a kiss on her shoulder to assure her that he believed her. Matthew meant it to be a sign of affection but the flavour of the blood rushing through her veins aroused him to an extent that Matthew was beyond mortified.
"How old are you?" he asked to confirm his suspicions.
"I am eleven years old," she replied. In response Matthew groaned. He would have to wait at least five more years to satiate his lust, if he survived the war for so long.
"Mary, I need you to do something for me. Can you promise me to do it?" Matthew requested. He could almost hear the sound of hooves of a trailing Jesse. It was a boon the Jesse was human and aging, very unlikely to eavesdrop on their conversation. Mary nodded her compliance.
"No one inside the royal walls can know of your origin. From today onwards you will not mention witches or covens to anyone other than me. Do I make myself clear? I shall be you confidante." he promised.
Mary nodded. The acceptance meant a lot. She consider herself impure because of the witch blood in her. It made her feel less because of the treatment they had meted out to her. She did not wish to be associated with them and this interaction with Matthew had strengthened her sense of identity. Mary leaned back and felt the chill of the man's back press into her. Royal's were known to be cold-blooded. Their vascular system along with their fangs had earned them the name 'serpent' among the covens. However Mary felt comfort in his strong presence. She did not realize how much of a discomfort she was putting her master through.
When Jesse had come within hearing distance Matthew called their rides to a halt. "We need to rest," he said," for the sake of the child. We have been riding for an hour. We have two more hours of hard riding left before we enter the capitol. It is better if you two eat something."
Jesse nodded. He did not notice the visible discomfort his friend was in though.
"You won't eat?" Mary asked in her innocence.
"Royals do not need to eat as often as humans do," he explained.
"Are you not hungry?" Mary persisted.
"Mary, I drink blood. I have human servants who let me drink from them." he informed.
"Can't you drink any other blood, I mean that which is not human?" Mary asked, inquisitive as ever.
"I prefer a warm blooded creature. Any mammal is good. Birds are too tiny to satiate your thirst. I am three hundred years old. I have had enough time to experiment with my diet," he said.
Mary smiled in return. "Oh, good. Then you can drink from me. I want to know how you like my blood." she insisted.
Jesse was in the process of drinking from a wineskin when Mary spoke, causing himself to spit out the drink in the process. "You can't be serious girl," he exclaimed vehemently.
Matthew did not speak. He was busy controlling the physical urges of his body. She was just too young. Too young, he repeated in his head over and over again.
"I am not too young. From where I am from girls a year or two older than me bear children and do housework. Twelve is the decisive age when it is decided whether they will become mothers or maids." Mary explained. She tugged on Matthew's hands forcing him to bend down to her level. Then she continued to explain in a whisper, 'At twelve if your magic is strong enough you are made to lose your innocence and made a mother witch that strengthens the coven. If your magic is weak you are made a servant. A woman can be either because one of the parents is usually a human."
Matthew was finding many things about the enemy, collaterals, leverages, but the only thing he was focused on was Mary's warm breath fanning over his face, sending fire to his loins and an ache to his fangs. "Your innocence is mine," he said forcing the girl to blush. She reached forward and caressed the male part of him and his eyes widened as a cold wave of realization spread over him. "Where did you learn to do that?" he asked taken aback.
"Well, girls talk. Once you receive maturity girls start telling you what is expected of you." Mary explained.
"Nothing is expected of you, do you understand?" Matthew demanded.
"I thought you wanted to take my innocence," Mary said.
Jesse cleared his throat behind them. "I reckon I should move ahead and inform that guards that you might be a bit late, what do you say?" he offered.
"You can't leave me with a girl I am clearly attracted to, whom I can kill and who doesn't give a damn about the probability that it will lead to her death," Matthew insisted.
"Well, you wanted a slave. You have one. Abuse of slaves among royals is not unheard of. No one will blame you. But I could be sent to the gallows for hearing any part of this. So I prefer to take my leave," Jesse explained.
Matthew glared at him as he pulled himself up on his horse and Mary looked down at the ground. Once he was out of hearing range Matthew turned to face his temptation.
"Do you know how to behave like a girl of your age?" he asked.
"I am behaving like a girl of my age," Mary stubbornly said.
Matthew shook his head. "Can you behave like a human girl would at your age. Human girls generally do not marry before thirteen and their first child is at fourteen or fifteen." Matthew explained.
"I don't see it as much of a difference," Mary spoke honestly.
Matthew took a deep breath. "You are right. The problem is that I am three hundred years old and I am awfully attracted towards you and it makes me feel like a pedophile," Matthew explained.
"Reva is three hundred years old as well. My father was fifteen when I was conceived. It happens." Mary exclaimed.
"Mary," Matthew called, defeated by her arguments, "I just wish to be home, in my room, drinking your blood and tasting you," he confessed.
"As you wish," Mary said.