Faith Maria Winter

I awoke shivering. Slowly, I sat up and looked around. The still of the night seemed eerie, like something wasn’t right. I slid out of my bed and walked towards the open window. The maid had forgotten to close it again, and the cool night air quickly wrapped around my small body. I looked out at my land, it was so odd that none of the usual night creatures were out. Quickly, I closed the window and froze. I thought I heard breathing, and turned around, expecting to see a bandit. I saw no one.

“Calm yourself,” I mumbled under my breath, crawling back into bed. As soon as I closed my eyes, I heard a soft chuckle, and my eyes shot open.

A man stood on my bed, staring down at me. He made no movements in the bed, as if he were a feather. I tried to scream, but a hand shot over my mouth.

In the corner of my eye, I saw more movement, a delicate shadow near my bedroom door.

The man jumped to the floor. The thump I’d expected to hear never came. He was so silent, I realized this must be a dream; no one can move that gracefully.

I wanted so badly to see their faces, but the candle had blown out some time ago. From the shadows, I could tell that the man I had first seen had long hair, longer than his shoulders. The man standing by the door had short hair, and I still couldn’t see the third man.

The first man leaned over me, bringing his face close to mine. I stared into eyes that seemed to glow from the pale moonlight. If it weren’t for the feel of his breath on my face, I wouldn’t have known he was breathing.

“Her eyes are so full of fear,” his calm voice broke the silence. I had expected a harsh tone, not this gentle voice he had.

He kept his intense gaze for a while longer. The other two people didn’t feel it right to talk, I guess.

Finally, he stood up tall, releasing me from his eyes.

“Let her go, Marcus, she won’t scream,”

The hand over my mouth moved away and I sat up slowly. Marcus stood up and backed away from my bed, standing with the boy near my door. Marcus had long hair as well, but it didn’t suit his face as it did the first man.

I clutched the blankets close to my chest, staring at the three men with fear in my eyes.

“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice shaky.

“My name is Marcus,” Marcus, the one who had held me down, told me.

“I am Isaac,” the boy with short hair told me. His voice made me shiver. It was quite melodic, but had a sharp edge to it.

I stared at the last boy, waiting for his name. Again, it was silent in my bedroom. I realized with sick horror that if these men trusted me with their names, then they didn’t think I’ll get a chance to ever report them.

“Blake,” he said finally. His calm voice set my fears at ease for a moment, even though I knew it shouldn’t have, “And your name, little one?”

I shook my head, “You don’t deserve my name,” I told them. Despite my obvious fears, I had managed to sound brave. I rejoiced in my head for that small second of courage.

“Awwww, but we want it!” Marcus teased with a voice not nearly as beautiful as Blake’s. It made me even more scared. I sank into my bed, feeling tears in my eyes.

Don’t cry! I begged myself. My hopeful thoughts were in vain, and I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. Blake seemed to glide over to my bed. He sat down, right beside me, and leaned in close. His hand lifted to my cheek, where he gently brushed the tear away. His skin felt cold, and made me shiver more.

“No need for tears,” he assured me, taking my hand. He pulled me out of my bed without my noticing, “We just want you name,”

I stood very still, staring up at the tall boy. I couldn’t look away. His eyes seemed silver and it overwhelmed me. I lost balance and fell back into the wall. Blake’s hand wrapped around my waist, keeping me standing. He bent down to my level and took hold of my chin, still staring into my helpless eyes.

“Your name?”

Without another thought, I answered. I doubt he wanted my entire name, but that’s what I gave him.

“Faith Maria Winter,”

I heard giggling from the other two boys, but I didn’t look at them. Blake turned his head and gave them a stern look before returning his attention back to me.

“Well, Faith Maria Winter,” he started, “I do hope my friends and I didn’t scare you too much,” his fingers fell from my chin and started to trail up and down my neck. I froze, too frightened to move or say anything. This calm boy seemed so dangerous. A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped. Marcus had somehow moved to my side in less than a second.

“How many servants do you have?” Marcus asked me. I stared at him, then looked over at Isaac, who was getting fidgety. He continued to shift his weight from left foot to right foot.

“I...I have quite a few servants,” I told him, “They live in a small house near the apple orchard,”

Marcus seemed very pleased, “Your father is at a party, looking for a suitable husband for you, no?” He asked me. I gulped and nodded, “And your mother...she is no longer in this world?” again, I nodded.

“How do you…?” I started, but Blake’s fingers on my neck made me lose my train of thought.

Isaac turned to leave my room, followed by Marcus. My heart started to pound in my chest. Why did Marcus need to know where my servants were? And why was I to be alone with Blake? I was far too frightened to think of the answer.

Screams filled the air. Women and men alike, screaming! I started to struggle away from Blake. I couldn’t stand still while I heard the painful cries of the people that took care of me when my father could not!

“Let me go!” I shrieked, banging my fists against Blake’s chest. His hand fell from my waist, and he took a step back. I didn’t hesitate, I ran into the hallway and away from Blake. Several times I turned to see if Blake was following me, he wasn’t.

I turned a corner to see Lucy, my maid. Her hair had fallen over her face and she was breathing hard. I noticed that she, like I, was still in her night gown, though hers was covered in blood.

Lucy looked up and saw me. Even though people were screaming in the courtyard, and we were both terribly scared, the both of us smiled weakly, running to give each other a tight hug.

“Miss! Two men are killing everyone!” Lucy told me frantically, taking my hand and pulling me down the hallway, “We must get you out of here!”

Lucy led me out of the house with no problems. The two of us ran into the yard. It was still wet from a rain we had had earlier that day.

We didn’t get very far before a hand grabbed my shoulder. I screamed as I was thrown aside. I landed in the grass, scratching my knees. A different scream, and I looked up to see Blake plunge his teeth into dear Lucy’s neck. Lucy’s body thrashed and she punched at Blake. I watched in horror as blood trailed down Lucy’s neck, staining her white gown more.

I know I should’ve run, but the fear petrified me. Blake was drinking her blood...and enjoying it! Was that to be my fate as well? Eaten by a monster?!

Lucy slowly stopped struggling, and I watched her still, in the last moment of her life, try to pull away from Blake. Her body was weakening fast.

“Don’t...hurt...the...mistress,” Lucy muttered, her voice was softer than it usually was. I started to sob. In her last seconds of life, Lucy was trying to protect me. Her hands fell, and Blake released her from his deathly grip. Her body fell to the ground beside me. I stared into her face, her blank eyes stared at me. Her face was twisted, frozen, in a forever fear.

Blake’s slim fingers wrapped around my upper arm and he pulled me to my feet. I shrieked and pulled away. Blake didn’t even seem to notice; his face held no emotion at all.

Blood fell from his lips down his cheek. I watched it slowly drip down his chin, before his pale hand wiped it away. To my disgust, he licked his hand, a look of amusement formed on his face when he saw my expression.

“Terribly sorry about the mess,” he laughed. My lips quivered, but I was done screaming. Father would get here too late, I’d be dead, and I knew that. There was no point in fighting anymore.

The hand that Blake had licked found its way to my cheek, and brushed it gently. I shivered more. He placed a finger under my chin and forced my head back. I felt his breath on my neck, his grip on my arm tightened, and his teeth brushed against my skin. My eyes widened, then shut tightly,

“Please,” I whispered. Blake lifted his head and put his hands on each side of my face.

“Open your eyes,” he told me, his voice was calm and gentle once more. I obeyed, and slowly, my eyes opened. I flinched when I saw how close his face was to mine. His silver eyes stared into my green eyes. He was gorgeous. The pale skin, the large eyes with their unusual colour. His features were perfectly symmetrical, there was no flaw. Thin eyebrows, black, wavy hair that reached past his shoulders, lips that were just barely darker than his almost white skin. Despite all that he had done, I was feeling calm staring at his perfect face. Blake had just killed someone dear to me before my own eyes, and I didn’t care…

“Why are you doing this?” I pleaded, clutching onto his coat. Blake’s eyes looked pained, and he let my face go. His hands fell to the side and he turned around.

“What do you mean?” his voice was full of disgust, “This is what I must do to live! I have to drink your blood to live…” Blake turned around and grabbed both of my upper arms; I saw tears forming in his silver eyes, “Why do you care?” He laughed with no humor, “You are my victim, now start acting like it!”

“I don’t believe you want to hurt me…” I whispered, looking down. I couldn’t look at his face. I was feeling so strongly for him. I had this strange feeling that he didn’t actually want to cause me any harm.

“I don’t” he told me.

I looked up, smiling slightly.

“But I have to,”

My smile disappeared.

Blake took hold of my right wrist and lifted it to his mouth. I stared, horrified, as his lips parted and two sharp teeth greeted my flesh. My heart sped up as he put great pressure on my wrist. The teeth broke the skin, and my blood quickly poured out over my wrist.

The pain was immense. My knees buckled as he began to suck my blood. The world began to spin, and I began to fall backwards. I felt Blake’s other hand catch my waist, his mouth never left my wrist. I closed my eyes and slipped out of consciousness.