About a week after Meera and Shakira's meeting...
Transylvania...Castle of the Clan of the Old Order...
The Clan of the Old Order is the ruling clan that oversees many of the allied vampire clans throughout several of the Slavic and Balkan countries including Transylvania, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and Serbia. Not only does this prestigious clan consist of many of the royal families from the vampire community, but it also consists of the Council of the Immortal Ones, which is comprised of several existing members of the original vampire members.
As far as hierarchy is concerned, with Council of the Immortal Ones standing at the pinnacle, ranking just below them would be the Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order, who is deemed as the ruling matriarch of all the vampire clans under the Clan of the Old Order's jurisdiction. This is actually an appointed position that is held for two hundred years; and when that term comes to an end, the ruling matriarch will appoint her successor.
Countess Esmeralda Ardelean, the Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order, is currently on her way towards the only stairwell which leads down to the catacombs lying deep beneath the castle where the Council of the Immortal Ones reside; the best strategical location to protect the members of the council from exposure to the daily sun's rays and any political assassination attempts. She is accompanied by Dragmire Ezdemir ... her chief consulate ... and Andreas Munteanu ... a secondary adjunct advisor.
The Matriarch has been summoned for an audience with Princess Analiese Vodrak of the Council of the Immortal Ones; probably one of the most feared, if not the most feared, member on the council.
Using a private mind-link to telepathically communicate directly with Dragmire, Andreas wonders, "What do you suppose that little demon wants with Countess Ardelean? Knowing her it can't be good."
Dragmire mind-links back, "I have no idea, but you're right about one thing; it can't be good. ... Oh, and a word of advice, I'd be careful in the future to make sure I refrain from using that term 'little demon', considering the current state of affairs with the actual demons."
Andreas mind-links back, "Got it. Duly noted."
A crooked little smile emerges upon Dragmire's visage as he mind-links, "And I especially wouldn't call Princess Vodrak that ... unless of course you have a death wish."
Andreas emphatically mind-links back, "Double duly noted."
Once again, Princess Vodrak is without a doubt one of the most feared members on the council, despite her diminutive stature and the fact that she remains in an eternal state of that of a nine-year-old little girl; although, truth be told, no one is sure of her exact age ... however, it's common belief that she has existed even before the existence of the Ottoman Empire; ascending from one of the original vampire families which began their ancestral line somewhere around what today is considered Hungary.
Although it's true she's quite small-framed ... some may say she even looks a tad on the frail side ... in reality, Princess Analiese Vodrak possesses incredibly powerful physical strength and prowess; while also emanating an extremely menacing, dark aura which tends to distract others from focusing on her petite build.
In one way, at first glance, she appears like a little China doll ... that is if one can manage to overlook that ominous aura of hers ... with a nearly alabaster skin tone with not a single blemish on her body, and possessing shimmering, golden blonde hair that elegantly flows down to the middle of her back.
But all that is negated once one looks upon what just may be the scariest aspect of her appearance ... her shark-like eyes. Virtually jet black in color, yet lacking any luster, and seemingly as dead looking as a doll's eyes. Eyes that lack any sign of emotion ... especially fear or mercy.
Upon arriving at the princess's chamber, they are met by a teenage dampyr waiting for the countess outside the door. They enter and are immediately met by a horrific sight.
Princess Vodrak is on her bed, on her knees, crouched over a seemingly lifeless body which is imminently on the brink of becoming an actual corpse if she doesn't stop feeding. Her bloodred-stained lips are tightly pressed against his neck with her protracted fangs embedded deep into his jugular vein as she voraciously sucks the blood from his body. His complexion is as pale, if not more so, than her own.
The teenage dampyr pleadingly calls out, "Please, my Lady; you'll kill him if you don't stop now."
This sudden outburst immediately catches the attention of the princess. She stops sucking, breaking the nearly airtight seal her lips had formed upon his neck, and begins pulling her fangs out from his flesh. Princess Vodrak slowly licks the droplets of blood which ooze out from the punctures in his neck, while at the same time locking her shark-like eyes with the terrified-looking eyes of the now quivering dampyr; all the time emanating that sinister aura of hers. Once the oozing stops, and she licks up every last droplet of blood, the princess speaks...
"I couldn't help myself; his blood just tastes so sweet."
The dampyr's voice cracks ever so slightly as she meekly replies, "I ... I understand that my Lady, but if he dies you won't be able to feed from him anymore."
This a brief moment of uneasy silence before the princess speaks again...
"Perhaps you're right, Irena." She gestures for Irena, along with two other young teenage dampyrs present, to come to the bed. "Come and take him away for now. Let's give him some time to replenish his blood."
Irena and the other dampyrs immediately go over and take hold of the seemingly lifeless body to take it away; but, before out of her reach, Princess Vodrak tightly grasps hold of Irena's wrist and pulls her in towards her. She menacingly whispers in the dampyr's ear...
"If you ever speak to me like that again in front of anyone ... I won't stop feeding on you. Understand?"
Irena nervously nods as her body trembles. The princess releases her grip from the dampyr's wrist...
"Very well, then; go and take him away, now."
"Yes, my Lady."
Irena and the other two dampyrs shuffle away as quickly as they can, laboriously dragging the limp body with them. And once they leave her chamber, Princess Vodrak turns to Esmeralda and shoots her a sinister little smirk...
"Countess Ardelean, so nice of you to answer my summons in a somewhat timely manner. I hope I'm not interrupting you; keeping you away from some other matters that you deem more important than meeting up with a member of the Council of the Immortal Ones?"
Be it sarcastic or passive-aggressive, Esmeralda can sense the condescension in Princess Vodrak's tone; so, she reciprocates.
"No, not at all. There's nothing more urgent than a summons from an esteemed member of the Council of the Immortal Ones. Why, I'm sure even the Demon Lord himself wouldn't mind waiting until we finish our meeting."
"I see ... I'm glad to hear that you appreciate the importance of my requests."
Princess Vodrak gets up from the bed and walks over to an antique, Victorian-style armoire and performs a cursory inspection of her wardrobe as she begins their conversation.