The Vampires Pet

Chapter 16

Nicholas returned to the carriage after a short period of time, he barked at the coachman to hurry up and get a move on it. I watched as the strange building went out of sight, multiple questions swirling around in my mind. 

"Why did we stop there?" I asked, unable to keep the question in my mind any longer. 

"Work." He replied gruffly, his eyes trained on the trees passing by. 

"I thought we finished with work." I mumbled. 

Nicholas sighed before turning to face me. "When I finish a job, I need to say whether there were complications or if it went smoothly." 

I nodded my head, letting silence consume us for the rest of the ride as Nicholas turned his gaze back out the window. Nicholas's hot and cold attitude was tiresome. One minute he was scarily normal and the next he was cold and brooding. It was giving me whiplash. 

The carriage rolled to a stop, barely giving me enough time to organize my thoughts. I followed Nicholas inside numbly, we walked past one of the vampire maids with blonde hair. She gave me a dirty and disapproving glare that I chose to ignore. She could take my place if she wanted. 

"Hurry up and clean off that blood, it stinks." Nicholas said as we entered his room. 

I nodded and without a word walked into the bathroom to run a warm bath. While the water was filling up I stared in the mirror, a few black blood spots were now dried on my face and neck, not to mention my coat and dress was covered in it. It was barely prominent but I noticed the small amount of light that lay behind my eyes, was it from the excitement I felt today? Possibly. 

I have never felt that type of dangerous thrill in my life before, although I was terrified, the adrenaline that coursed through my body was addicting. My body was already craving the rush it had felt earlier, for the first time in a while, I had felt truly alive. Was that why Nicholas liked his job perhaps?

When the bath had filled up, I pulled the clothes from my body. My eyebrows furrowed when the coat made a small and barely audible thud as it fell to the ground. I quickly knelt down and started feeling around the coat for anything. My fingers grazed against a cool and smooth metal in the pocket of the coat. I pulled whatever it was from the pocket, a small gasp escaped my lips when my eyes landed on the golden necklace I had seen at the village. 

I thought I had dropped it?

I glanced at the door, I didn't want to rise suspicions in Nicholas if I took too long so I quickly climbed into the bath, allowing the warm water to consume my cold body. I stared at the golden necklace in my hands, noticing the smalls dents and scratches on the golden pendant. The blood red ruby looked flawlessly intact and unharmed. What was a necklace like this doing in a village like that? Hidden under the floorboards too? 

Even if it was there before the villagers were killed, villagers like that do not have enough money for something like this. I pursed my lips, I felt somewhat bad for taking this from the village but I was sure I had heard it drop onto the wood when Nicholas gave me a fright. I sighed as my head started to pound, I was doing far too much thinking today and It was hurting my head. 

I decided to think about it all later and placed it on the floor with my clothes. I washed the blood from my body, submerging my head and staying under the water for a few minutes. I had always liked the water, rain, creeks or rivers I felt calm around them but after that dream any sight of water made me think of the crushing feeling I felt and it reminded me of how I never wanted to feel that again.

I washed my body, noticing small scratches and cuts on my ankles, no doubt from the tormenting vines, out of everything that happened today I think the vines came out as my mortal enemy. I finished my bath and got changed into a clean dress, keeping the necklace in the pocket. I'd put it with my parents stuff in my locked chest. 

I walked out of the bathroom, my wet hair soaking the back of my dress. I spotted Clara sitting on the couch talking to Nicholas, when they noticed I had entered the room she smiled. 

"Hello Faye." 

"Hi." I mumbled, standing still as my plan to hide the necklace had been postponed. 

"Your hair is wet. You need to dry it or you'll catch a cold." She said, rising from the couch and walking to the fireplace. 

Clara lit the fire and motioned me to sit down in front of it. I did as I was told and she grabbed a hairbrush from her bag, sitting on a stool behind me. I let the heat from the fire warm my body and calm my mind as Clara gentle brushed through my messy and knotted hair. 

"Your hair is a very pretty colour." Clara spoke softly. 

"Thank you." I mumbled softly. 

After my hair had dried enough, Clara plaited my long locks and smiled triumphantly at her work. Nicholas had watched us the whole time, sometimes amusement flashed across his face and other times I couldn't tell what was swirling in that mind of his. 

I liked Clara. I wouldn't say I trusted her yet but her presence didn't distress me. Not to mention Nicholas didn't bully me as much when she was present. Clara seemed genuinely kind and mellow, how she was related to Nicholas, I had no clue. I was still baffled on how a vampire could be so nice, but the defensive thoughts in my mind always reminded me that vampires were cunning and deceiving. Her demeanor could be all but a trick. 

"Should we do some more mind strengthening?" She asked, snapping me from my thoughts. 

"Well it would be more productive than plaiting hair." Nicholas said.

Clara chuckled and gave her cousin a look. "Come on Nic, don't be jealous." 

He rolled his eyes and glanced at me. "Get a move on it Clara."

I almost instantly felt the intrusion in my mind as Clara made a connection. The feeling faded after a few seconds and my fingers started to twitch. My arm rose out in front of me, my fingers stretched out before balling into a fist. It was so bizarre watching my arm and hand move on it's own. I focused my eyes on my fingers and hardened my mind, trying to move my fingers myself but after a few minutes I realised I wouldn't be able too. 

"Don't do that Fairy." Nicholas suddenly said, studying my eyes. "Not until you have more mind strength." 

 My ears turned pink in embarrassment of being noticed. I was hoping to do that without being spotted but it was futile with Nicholas in the room. He noticed everything after all. 

"I think it is something you could learn to do though." Clara said. 

"Really?" I asked softly, staring at her. 

She nodded. "Your mind has already recognised what I was doing after just one session. It's already becoming resistant." She gave me a soft reassuring smile. "Although part of that resistance might be from whatever was trying to refuse the connection last time." 

I pursed my lips as I thought. Maybe someone was guarding my mind from vampires, perhaps it was father. I could see that, he wanted to protect me from the darkness I was now surrounded by at any cost. His ghost might still be doing that, if it was even possible. 

"Can you feel the connection?" Nicholas asked, staring at me. 

"A little but not if I don't think about it." I said as I stared up at him. 

"So the resistance appears to be a natural mechanism." Nicholas said, causing my eyebrows to furrow. "If you can't feel it without concentrating on it, then your mind is just naturally showing resistance without you telling it to." He answered my unasked question. 

"Is that why she thought I had already had training?" I questioned. 

He shook his head. "Not quite, that's different. As Clara said a small part of the resistance is probably from whatever was blocking your mind last time but whatever was trying to keep Clara away from your mind wasn't your mind. It was something else." 

"In all my time, I've only met a few who have a mind that naturally resists on its own." Clara said. 

She released the connection and I got control of my fingers again. Her statement put a few questions in my mind. I knew vampires lived for hundreds of years if they didn't die of idiocy, but I had no idea how old Clara or Nicholas were. 

"How old are you two?" I asked, my eyes flicking between the vampires. 

Nicholas smirked and Clara chuckled. They didn't look old but that was the problem with vampires, they never looked their age. 

"I'm one hundred and twenty seven years old." Clara replied. 

My eyes widened, she was pretty old but I guess not for vampire standards. Clara said she was older than Nicholas, but by how many years? I stared up at Nicholas, his smirk grew as I waited for his answer. 

"How old do you think I am Fairy?" 

It felt like a trick question but I answered regardless. "One hundred and ten?" 

Clara chuckled again, staring at me with amused eyes. 

"I'm not that old." He said, his fang peeking out from his lips. 

"Then how old are you?" I asked again. 

He leant forward slightly, smiling evilly. "Ninety nine." 

"You are old." I said without thinking, giving him an incredulous look. 

Clara laughed beside me. Nicholas appeared somewhat amused but also like he was plotting my death. He narrowed his eyes, his lips still curled up. 

"For vampires, my age is quite young." He said. 

I knew it was for vampires, but for me he was an old man. He should be on his deathbed, grey hair and wrinkled skin. Vampires long life span and godly looks really was not that fair. 

"What is considered old then?" I asked. 

"A hundred years before the average lifespan." Clara answered. 

"What is the average?" I asked, glancing between the two vampires. 

"It differs for the different generations." Nicholas answered. "Gen 1 vampires live for an average of 600 years, Gen 2 500, then so on in the same pattern. Normal vampires live for a meak 300 years, but most die before because they are so weak." He said in a matter of fact tone. 

I knew Nicholas was a royal vampire, I knew it the moment he had found me with that watcher many weeks ago. His eyes and formidable attitude was proof of his status, not to mention he was deemed a Lord but was not the acting Lord of Affaraon. If he was a royal then I wondered what gen he was. 

"Power is ranked similar with Gens. The first gens are more powerful." Clara said as she studied my expression. Well Nicholas seemed powerful but I hadn't really seen other vampires that were higher up like him. 

I nodded softly. "You can mind control." I started, staring at Clara. "How?" 

She gave me a small smile. "Higher generations have 'powers', nothing like the powers witches have but we have a power, sometimes multiple. Mine is mind control, but as you know its not like the same mind control witches can do. I cannot enter your mind, just connect to the part that sends signals to your limbs. Actually entering a mind is power vampires don't have-" She glanced at Nicholas for a mere second. "-rather, its extremely rare."  

I never knew of these powers. I suppose I never acquainted myself with vampires to find out information like this but now most information about these creatures was at my disposal. Clara seems to be honest with me and want to inform me on these things, Nicholas likes to pick and choose what he tells me for whatever silly reason. 

"What is your power?" I asked Nicholas. I knew he probably wouldn't tell me but I went out on a limb and asked regardless. 

"That is a secret." 

Before I could ask more, I felt the sudden connection in my mind. I turned to Clara who was smiling at me. 

"I felt that." I said. 

"Good." She gave me a reassuring smile. 

I stared between the two vampires who were coincidentally helping me become resistant to vampires and magic. My lips betrayed me as a ghost of a smile appeared on my face, faint and barely visible but Nicholas saw it all the same.