Black Blood
Chapter Thirteen
There had been no blindfolding, at the very least, that time. No binds around my wrists or ankles, either. The vampire had simply grabbed hold of me, and the world appeared to shift around us. This travel was nothing compared to when Claude had transported me from my realm to his. We had moved from the outskirts of the city to just within the well-kept garden of an impressive-sized manor.
Were all of these vampires loaded? I thought as I gazed up at the four-story building. Or was it just that they liked to go overboard with extravagances? The garden we were in was filled with rose bushes, of all sorts of colours, but closer to the steps leading up to the front door, red was the most prominent colour.
"I take it you really like roses?" I asked. His grip tightened around my arm.
"It was the clan name my family picked a long time ago," he said as he led me up the steps.
"What name is that, since it's obviously not Blackblood?" I asked. He smirked and we came to a stop as he waited for his companions to pull open the heavy oak door.
"Rosethorn," he said simply.
"Rosethorn?" I repeated. "What kind of a name is that?"
My head was then forcibly turned, and there was a stinging accompanied by a deep ache in my cheek. I brought my hand up to the smarting flesh as I realized he had slapped me. I turned to look at him again and jumped at the expression on his face.
"You would do well not to mock my name," he warned, looming over me. His grip on my arm was becoming painful. I nodded as it was all I dared to do.
The door was pushed open, and I was led inside by the painful grip on my arm. We walked through a nicely decorated vestibule before stepping into a spacious room with winding staircases on either side. A little girl with long, flowing black hair came running down one of them.
"Adrian!" she called. The man who held onto my arm- Adrian, I now gathered- let go of me and knelt to the ground. He held his arms open as the little girl ran to him and threw herself around him.
"Amelie," Adrian said. There was almost a loving tone to the vampire's voice. He lifted her into the air and spun her around, earning a series of giggles from her that sounded like little bells ringing.
He set her down, and they spoke in a language I recognized as French, but I had almost no idea what they were saying. I knew a few words at least, enough to know she had called him her brother.
She pointed to me over her brother's shoulder, continuing on. Adrian looked at me as well. He turned back to his little sister, murmuring something to her and smoothing back her hair. He patted her head and then sent her off.
He turned back to me fully then, a smile on his face. I did not return the smile; he was still my new captor.
"So, French?" I said to break the silence.
"Yes," Adrian said. He made his way back over to me and grabbed hold of my arm again. "It is a language spoken by many here. I would teach you, but you may wind up dead soon, so I don't know if it would be worth the effort. Many of us are fluent in English anyway, there would be no need."
I nodded at that and he guided me up the staircase opposite of the one that the little girl had climbed. I looked over to it, but she had already disappeared down the darkened hall that way. Adrian yanked on my arm when he noticed I had paused.
"Come along," he demanded. There was a scowl on his face. "I will show you to your room."
Somehow I managed to brighten at that. I felt rested after that weird thing that happened with the dead vampire, so the bounce to my step had come back. I followed along without anymore trouble. It was better that way; I didn't want to get hit again.
"Will there be clothes for me to change into?" I asked. Adrian looked me over.
"What size are you?" he asked. "Like a 2?"
"U.S. size 8, but medium for shirts," I said, my face burning. Adrian's eyes widened, and he looked me over again, more slowly. My face burned hotter.
"Oh, relax," Adrian rolled his eyes. We continued on our way. "I am not interested in your gender."
"Well, I'm not interested in yours, either," I retorted. Adrian snorted but otherwise made no comment. After that I was silent again, still afraid to speak out of line.
We stopped at the third door down the hall, where Adrian turned the handle and pushed it open. A decent-sized room laid within, with two more doors on opposite sides. I assumed one was most likely a closet, and prayed the other was a bathroom.
"Wow- this is amazing," I said, stepping into the room. It was definitely an upgrade, even compared with the apartment I shared back home with my mother.
Adrian quirked an eyebrow as I wandered about the room. The bed had a canopy! I turned back to him.
"What?" I said. "I know I'm a captive here, and that you'll just use me to get what you need. And I'm probably going to die. But can't a girl enjoy the royalty treatment in the meantime?"
"Okay," Adrian sighed and nodded. "As long as you know your place here. You- when's the last time you've eaten?"
My stomach rumbled at the mention. My hands flew to cover it, and I looked down at it. It had been a while. Probably approaching a full 24 hours.
"I'll have a meal prepared and brought up," Adrian said. "Can't have my secret weapon starving to death. And I will send someone up with clothes for you to wear."
He left with that. I looked around the room some more. From one prison to the next...
Were all of these vampires loaded? I thought as I gazed up at the four-story building. Or was it just that they liked to go overboard with extravagances? The garden we were in was filled with rose bushes, of all sorts of colours, but closer to the steps leading up to the front door, red was the most prominent colour.
"I take it you really like roses?" I asked. His grip tightened around my arm.
"It was the clan name my family picked a long time ago," he said as he led me up the steps.
"What name is that, since it's obviously not Blackblood?" I asked. He smirked and we came to a stop as he waited for his companions to pull open the heavy oak door.
"Rosethorn," he said simply.
"Rosethorn?" I repeated. "What kind of a name is that?"
My head was then forcibly turned, and there was a stinging accompanied by a deep ache in my cheek. I brought my hand up to the smarting flesh as I realized he had slapped me. I turned to look at him again and jumped at the expression on his face.
"You would do well not to mock my name," he warned, looming over me. His grip on my arm was becoming painful. I nodded as it was all I dared to do.
The door was pushed open, and I was led inside by the painful grip on my arm. We walked through a nicely decorated vestibule before stepping into a spacious room with winding staircases on either side. A little girl with long, flowing black hair came running down one of them.
"Adrian!" she called. The man who held onto my arm- Adrian, I now gathered- let go of me and knelt to the ground. He held his arms open as the little girl ran to him and threw herself around him.
"Amelie," Adrian said. There was almost a loving tone to the vampire's voice. He lifted her into the air and spun her around, earning a series of giggles from her that sounded like little bells ringing.
He set her down, and they spoke in a language I recognized as French, but I had almost no idea what they were saying. I knew a few words at least, enough to know she had called him her brother.
She pointed to me over her brother's shoulder, continuing on. Adrian looked at me as well. He turned back to his little sister, murmuring something to her and smoothing back her hair. He patted her head and then sent her off.
He turned back to me fully then, a smile on his face. I did not return the smile; he was still my new captor.
"So, French?" I said to break the silence.
"Yes," Adrian said. He made his way back over to me and grabbed hold of my arm again. "It is a language spoken by many here. I would teach you, but you may wind up dead soon, so I don't know if it would be worth the effort. Many of us are fluent in English anyway, there would be no need."
I nodded at that and he guided me up the staircase opposite of the one that the little girl had climbed. I looked over to it, but she had already disappeared down the darkened hall that way. Adrian yanked on my arm when he noticed I had paused.
"Come along," he demanded. There was a scowl on his face. "I will show you to your room."
Somehow I managed to brighten at that. I felt rested after that weird thing that happened with the dead vampire, so the bounce to my step had come back. I followed along without anymore trouble. It was better that way; I didn't want to get hit again.
"Will there be clothes for me to change into?" I asked. Adrian looked me over.
"What size are you?" he asked. "Like a 2?"
"U.S. size 8, but medium for shirts," I said, my face burning. Adrian's eyes widened, and he looked me over again, more slowly. My face burned hotter.
"Oh, relax," Adrian rolled his eyes. We continued on our way. "I am not interested in your gender."
"Well, I'm not interested in yours, either," I retorted. Adrian snorted but otherwise made no comment. After that I was silent again, still afraid to speak out of line.
We stopped at the third door down the hall, where Adrian turned the handle and pushed it open. A decent-sized room laid within, with two more doors on opposite sides. I assumed one was most likely a closet, and prayed the other was a bathroom.
"Wow- this is amazing," I said, stepping into the room. It was definitely an upgrade, even compared with the apartment I shared back home with my mother.
Adrian quirked an eyebrow as I wandered about the room. The bed had a canopy! I turned back to him.
"What?" I said. "I know I'm a captive here, and that you'll just use me to get what you need. And I'm probably going to die. But can't a girl enjoy the royalty treatment in the meantime?"
"Okay," Adrian sighed and nodded. "As long as you know your place here. You- when's the last time you've eaten?"
My stomach rumbled at the mention. My hands flew to cover it, and I looked down at it. It had been a while. Probably approaching a full 24 hours.
"I'll have a meal prepared and brought up," Adrian said. "Can't have my secret weapon starving to death. And I will send someone up with clothes for you to wear."
He left with that. I looked around the room some more. From one prison to the next...