The cold ones. Part 1, In two worlds

Chapter 8 - To obey.

Two weeks later:

Thanks to my human friends I made, I finally got to bathe and shower regularly. They had taken me down to where their rooms were, they had three bathrooms just on their floor and told me I could use them any time I wanted to shower in peace. So, every night after I did all that Lyra tasked me with, I’d take a fresh fluffy towel that they insisted I use, and take a long hot bath in solitude. It was all I looked forward to after each long day of cleaning their room, polishing her shoes, fetching her food, collecting all her clean clothes and putting them away and basically waiting on her hand and foot. Whatever she wanted and when she wanted it, I had to fetch it, do it quickly and just the way she liked it.

In general, I wouldn’t have minded doing all those things… apart from the fact that my fingers were stiff, and I could hardly feel them now. Everything I did, at least made the time pass by quickly, rather than just sitting in my cupboard alone willing the time to slip by. It was just her treatment of me that was taking its toll. Everyday, Melanie, Faye or Stuart would try and reassure me that she would tire of it and ease up, but the constant, degrading, was making me feel like the smallest most insignificant person in the world, a person that was starting to feel as though who I once was, was beginning to slip away and it had only been two weeks! Everyday I constantly worried about how much longer I’d be here for.

She was always throwing one of her sharp-heeled shoes at me, pushing me, throwing food if it wasn’t quick enough and yesterday she had grabbed me so viciously by the arm, her nails dug in as she shoved me against the wall. I never felt so powerless in my entire life, and I really believed she wasn’t going to stop there! How long until she finally thinks f**k it and sinks her teeth into my skin and puts an end to my pathetic existence here.

I hung up the last of her clothes and quickly got out of the room before she finished in the shower. It’s ironic really, that when I first came here, it was Zekan that I was most afraid of, but he hadn’t once treated me the way Lyra had. Although he never stopped her and just let her do whatever she wished, there were times when she wasn’t around that he’d even thank me, or he’d look annoyed and embarrassed at her attitude.

All I could be thankful for at this point was, I was still somehow alive. Zekan wasn’t as scary as I first thought him to be, but most of all, the four caring acquaintances I have that try to look out for me, so I didn’t feel completely alone…. At least not all the time. Though I can’t deny, being taken from my life… my world, it has definitely made me feel very lonely. The only conversations I have are with the staff in the kitchen and, because I’m always rushing, they’ve been very brief conversations. I may not have had many friends left in Blue-Bay, but I had the library! And Andrea and my mum. As mundane as that life could feel, I definitely missed it and I started to feel bad for all the times I complained to myself about it, it was way, way better than what I’m doing here. At least I loved the library, and I missed my home.

I shut myself in my room, quickly jumped on my bed and sat comfortably, excited to finally tuck into the sausage roll and chocolate bar that Melanie shoved into my pockets this morning. It was nearly dinner time, but as usual, I never got a chance to eat during the day.

I took in a big mouthful when my door shot open, and Lyra was standing there in nothing but a silk nightgown and a towel around her wet hair. “Are you seriously stuffing your face when I have dinner to get ready for?”

“Well, I thought I could quickly eat while you’re getting ready”. I replied as softly as I could.

“YOU WAIT OUTSIDE THE ROOM UNTIL WE ARE READY! YOU GOT THAT?”

“Yes, of course”. I obeyed like a little puppet.

I followed her out and just before she shut her bedroom door in my face again, she turned and looked at me with a smirk. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking your pathetic father will actually pay your debt, you’re here for good little weakling, so you better stop slacking”.

As she shut the door, my heart sank, even though she was already cruel to me, her saying that cut deep…. Cut really deep! Mostly because I knew what she said could very well be true and me being here, could be his ticket out of paying back what he owed. You’re just a scape goat! The thoughts bounced in my head as my anger towards him grew every day.

I followed Lyra and Sekan down the stairs once they were finally ready, my head down and my feet moving as quietly as possible.

They took their seats at the table, and I stood by, waiting for any commands. More vampires joined from the opposite staircase that led to a whole other part of the castle I had not yet seen. The first night I had met them all, most of them tried to greet me and start conversation but Lyra was quick to shoot them down and none of them spoke against her. I’m guessing, as Zekan’s lover, she holds some authority and, unfortunately, it’s gone to her f*****g head!

Every time she wanted a drink, she’d wave her glass in the air at me or click her fingers like I was lower than a dog. Their food was brought out and set before them and, just like every evening so far, all four of my new friends tried to give me a supportive smile before they left the room. Sometimes they joined in with the meals, but luckily for them, they had their own dining area all to themselves that they shared only with the other humans that lived here… ones I hadn’t even met. There were cooks, maids, gardeners, ones that maintained the castle. The only other human I had seen was the gardener who looked to be in his sixties, but it was from a distance as I looked on through the window, wishing I could be out in the fresh air with him.

“Are you hungry?” one of the men asked me. I didn’t even know it was me he was talking to. Lyra made sure to demand I always stood with my eyes to the floor, unless she asked for something. It was only her reply that I had come to know his question was directed at me.

“The weakling doesn’t need to eat”.

“Lyra” he scoffed. “We don’t even know the poor girl's name!”

“Her name is weakling, she’s here to pay a debt, so stop trying to converse with her Del! Besides, I caught her stuffing her face earlier! She’s probably eating everything that’s in the kitchen and hiding it in her room!”

“Well, a girls gotta eat! Leave her be”.

“I will do what I want to do with her!”

“I doubt that’ll go down well”.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic! I’m not going to kill her… at least not yet!” She cackled. “Anyway, speaking of the little weakling, I want another drink!” She said as she waved her glass.

I filled it with their mixture of red wine and blood and stood back in my place again, staring at the polished marble floor. They all talked amongst themselves as the smell of their fresh meat did things to my stomach that was growing tired of constantly gargling at me, like it was begging me, pleading with me to finally feed it something sustainable.

Every now and then between their discussions at the table I’d hear her annoying laugh, one that echoed everywhere. I swear if I had the strength of a vampire to go against her, I’d glue her f*****g mouth shut! But the only way I could fight her was in my head and, wow, did I take my revenge on her! To be able to push back and tell her to shut the f**k up was the only way I could ease my anger and resentment that festered in my stomach like a sickness.

The loud creaking of the main doors opening made everyone’s conversations come to a halt. Out of curiosity, I slightly looked up, trying to see what was happening, what had made everyone so silent.

“Brother, you’ve come!” Zekan said in delight as he got up from his seat. As the doors shut loudly behind Zekan’s brother, he stomped over to the table and as soon as I could see his face clearly, my stomach dropped, as if the floor had opened up and swallowed it down. I quickly shuffled on my feet, facing away from him, and tried to keep my head even lower. I fumbled with my ponytail and tried to grab pieces of hair to fall in front of my face and give me some cover.

“Brother!” He replied in a deep tone. “I don’t think I had much choice”.

“I know you wanted to be away longer, but father will be so happy to know you’re back”.

They clasped the opposite hand of each-others then my mysterious vampire man sat down at the table and began to tuck into the food as he and Zekan spoke quietly only to each other.

After some moments passed, I heard him suddenly speak loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Who is that?” he asked.

“Oh, that is little weakling. She’s here to pay off her debt.”

My debt? My f*****g debt? I screamed in my head.

“Well, why is she just standing there like that? Like a statue? Does she not want to eat?”

“She is not to eat with us, she is here to work off what she owes. Although I’m starting to feel glad she’s here, she’s fun to play with”. She laughed, then I felt a thick piece of red meat hit my chest as it rolled down my white shirt, leaving a dark, dirty stain and I trembled with anger and humiliation. She laughed harder and began to throw more food, cackling even more as she did it. Veg, potato, cheese, pork! You name it, whatever was on the table that she could reach, she threw it.

A loud bang of his fist hitting the table made me jump almost out of my own skin. “What the f**k are you doing Lyra? You know this is not how we do things!”

“But… she…”

“THIS IS NOT HOW WE f*****g DO THINGS HERE!” he interrupted her with a booming voice, enough that I think it intimidated everyone in the room and not just me. I could hear in Lyra's voice, it affected her too..

“My apologies, Kyan”.

Kyan? Kyan! That’s his name! Finally, a name for the mysterious man.

“You may leave”. He directed at me while giving me a slight glance and I wasted no time in getting the hell out of the hall without him seeing my face.

I got to my room, quickly shut the door and leaned against it. My heart thumping hard that he suddenly just appeared here, just like that! It’s bad enough trying to avoid Lyra when I’m working, but now I have to avoid him. I don’t know what he’d do or say if he realised it was me in his home, knowing that I had witnessed him being in Blue-bay, when it was against the treaty.

As glad as I was to be away from that b***h for the rest of the evening, I did dread how she’d treat me tomorrow. Now she’s been spoken to like that in front of so many others, there’s no telling how much she’ll hate me now!

I rumbled through my pocket and finally got to feast on my food in peace, alone in bed, hoping she wouldn’t decide to pay me one last visit before she went to sleep.