by Emera Rose
***
"Child! Child! Wake up!"
I shook my head with a start, where was I? What was happening? I looked up and saw Helene, clearly frightened.
"Child, wake up now!" She was shaking my shoulders, clearly trying to hurry the process along.
"Laramie!"
My name echoed violently off the walls.
"Oh, no!" I said, barely audible to my ears, I’d fallen asleep. I don't know how long he’d been calling me, but it sounded like it’d been a while. My first day on the job and I was going to be sent back after one good sleep in the bed.
I scurried to my feet, almost knocking Helene over. I dashed out of the room, not even remotely trying to be stealthy about it.
I skidded to a stop in front of an aggravated Prince. "I am so sorry, my lord! I am.."
"Silence!" He stood in front of me, anger and dominance exuding from every one of his pores. "I warned you; I told you this would not be an easy assignment. Yet you choose to push me to my limit! My quarters are in turmoil, I’ve not had my blood cup, and I have called for you five different times! Do you think this is a game?"
"No, my..." My head snapped back from the force of his blow. I looked at him under my eyelashes; it didn't even look like he had moved.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
Nothing.
"I should send you back to the squalor you came from, give you back to Davorin!"
No reply.
"Your favor with me is through, and when I look up again, I want all the chores done." He walked away from me, cleaning my blood off his hands on his tunic. He pulled it up from the hem and over his head and threw it at my face.
I held my tongue; I had to be strong even if it meant my pride taking a hit.
I gathered myself and walked to his quarters. If it was possible, it seemed he’d destroyed the room worse than before. I cleared all the clothing to one side, gathered all the dishes and garbage to be sent out, dusted everything, and laid out an outfit for him to wear. All in all, it took me about an hour to get things in tip-top shape.
Ten bongs in slow succession startled me from my work. His blood cup! Where do I find his cache? I searched the room for the cache and located it near the wardrobe. I opened the door and had to step back, away from the door, the heat coming from the small room was enough to make me break out in a sweat. There was row after row after row of bagged blood in the seemingly never-ending cache. I pulled one bag down and found a solid gold chalice, I cleaned it and emptied the heated blood into the cup. Walking out of his quarters, I nearly bumped into him as he was walking toward me. Checking to make sure I was actually on the job.
"Hmmph, took you long enough."
No reply.
"Next time, the cup should be in my hand before the final bell."
No reply.
"Are you daft, girl?" He nearly screamed at me.
No reply.
He looked at me sideways, then said, "Answer me, do you understand my instruction, or shall we have another demonstration of punishment today?"
"No, my lord, I understand completely. Every two hours before the last toll rings."
I looked down, not sure how to broach the subject without being subject to his wrath. There was so much I didn't know, and if he really did not want to wait, it would be best if I knew everything.
"Milord?" I asked, hoping that he would allow me to speak.
"What do you want now?" He started walking back toward his throne.
"I understand that you want things done in a certain way, and it’s my only duty to make sure that it gets done-" he cut me off.
"What’s your point? I don't have all day to dally with you, girl." He slouched in his chair, clearly bored by anything besides his blood cup.
"Is there someone else that had previously acted as your aide, in the manner you have me doing? There are so many aspects I’m not clear on, and I want to make sure that everything is correct. It took me a while to find your blood cache, that’s why your cup was late." That was only a half-lie, and I certainly wasn’t going to admit I forgot until I heard the clock going off.
He seemed to think about my request for a second, let out a sigh and said, "You can speak with Helene, I will permit her to have the day off so she can adequately train you on everything I need and where it’s located. As far as a previous aide, I killed my last one; she tested my patience," he said casually. "Let's not have you suffer the same fate, shall we?"
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed me. Helene was at the door before I even got there, a small smile again playing on her lips.
"Let's go over everything, shall we?" She said as I reached her.
Chapter 5
The days that followed were some of the easiest of my life. Helene had explained to me everything she knew the prince would like and where to find everything. At least to the best of her ability. I was the fifth aide the new prince had since he arrived here. He was very picky and did not like to be played for a fool. Of course, to him, any other opinion but his own was not welcomed. All of these changes were brand new, as he had only been on the throne for a few weeks. This scared me if five separate slaves had lasted only a few weeks, how long did I have? What would be enough to have him kill me?
"Don't you worry about that child. Just follow the rules and anticipate his needs." Helene had said while we were going over everything, "He’s a smart man, and knows that everyone is watching him for weakness. If he does have a soft spot, don't make him reveal it."
So far, though, things had been good. I’d managed to anticipate his needs and managed to get a grumbled ‘thanks’ once or twice. I’d been so scared to move around, I’d neglected some major personal health issues. The wound on my chest was not healing as it should, and a pungent yellow fluid was leaking from the area. It was warm to the touch, and it was excruciating for me to move my arm. I tried once or twice to take care and wash it out, but every time I would go to do it, he would call for me. No longer was I able to deny I had a problem, I needed to speak on it. Today.
"Laramie!" He called for me, anger lacing his voice.
What had I done? What had I missed? As far as I could tell, I’d done everything right today. I hustled my way into the main room, where he was in the process of moving one of the larger tables into the middle of the floor.
"Yes, milord?" I stopped in front of him and waited for instruction.
"Get the maps from the records room."
"Which region?"
"All of them," he walked toward the back of the room, picking up other items as he went, "now!" He screamed over his shoulder when he realized I was still standing there.
I practically ran to the records room, trying to locate all of the maps. These parchments were large and heavy, and each weighed at least three pounds. I had ten in my arms at the moment, and my shoulder screamed from the stress of the situation. I could feel my heart beating in the wound, and heat seemed to be radiating from the area. My arm started to tingle as I made my way to the main room. I gritted my teeth through the pain and waited for instructions as to where to put them.
"Lay them there on the table." He barely looked at me.
I put this set down and went back to get more, by the time I was done, I had gone back and forth to the records room and had towed a combined weight of one hundred pounds at minimum. My arm was throbbing, and my stomach flipped in nausea. Sweat glazed my face, and the only wish I had was to go lay down in the bed.
"Will that be all milord?" I prayed it was.
"No, stay here. Some of my military advisors will be here in a moment, and I may need you to get a few other things." He was busy arranging the maps to his liking, paying me no mind.
"Yes, my lord." I stood off to the side and watched as one by one people came in through the doors. My heart dropped when Davorin walked in. A soft growl, aimed directly at me when he spotted me in the room.
"I have received word that the Makins have already taken the Lian Castle. If that sm
all outfit can do this much damage, we must be prepared for them to come here." The prince spoke with authority and was met with an uproar of words from everyone. Some were agreeing, some disagreeing, but clearly, this is a hot topic.
"My Prince, I beg to disagree. It would be unwise of them to come here and face us. We outmatch them in every way. We are far more superior." An older vampire spoke, others around him, agreeing with his sentiment. Just like a vampire, always so proud.
They went back and forth a few other times amongst themselves about how easy it would be to defeat this Makins army. The prince just seemed to observe and consider everything being said without much of any input at all.
"Yes, my Prince, if they did choose to come and face us, we would beat them back just as we did a few weeks ago. It would be foolish of them to show their face again after the beating their army just received." Davorin said, gaining a few chuckles among the group.
That was the Makins? No, there weren't enough of them. It couldn't have been their whole army, so why did they only send a few?
"It was a scouting party." I almost whispered. I sucked in my breath, wishing my lungs would just suck back the sound that just left my mouth. I turned from the group, hoping that my input was not heard.
"What did you say, girl?" Prince Jett stared intently at me. His focus, drawing the attention of the others to me.
"Nothing milord, it’s not my place." Please let him just drop it. Please.
"No, what’s not your place is to deny me anything I ask, and I asked you to tell me what you said." His stare never wavered.
I looked around the room, everyone still looking at me, waiting on my response. A clear grimace painted on Davorin's face.
"I will not ask again." The prince said.
I raised my good arm to my stomach, hoping that a slight pressure there would keep me from throwing up the little that was in my belly. "My lord, I think the last attack was not from the whole Makins army per se, but more a scouting party."
An uproar of noise came from everyone in the room, I tried to shrink back, but the Prince would not allow it.
"Quiet!" He shouted, causing the entire room to fall silent, "Why do you think this slave?"
"Well, there were very few of them for a full attack. The men that did come did not seem to be proficient in combat, and they also appeared to be moving from room to room, as if searching for something. They were dressed in cloth instead of the more suitable metal armor, and they came from behind us, sneaking in, trying to find the best way in." I stood a little straighter, I knew I had a valid point and was shocked he was entertaining me, "It would seem the Makins sent this scouting party to set us up for the larger attack, maybe they counted on this small skirmish resulting in us dropping our guard a bit." I stopped talking, my hands shaking, stomach still doing flips. "That’s just my lowly opinion, milord."
My audience looked from me, then to Prince Jett, almost waiting for the expected backlash. What we got, surprised us all.
"I agree," Jett said, raising one had to his face, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "I think we were being set up for another attack. They were easily able to breach our walls, and we weren't even prepared for the small party we encountered. If this were just a scouting party, we would be wide open for a full attack, and we would fare no better than the Lian's."
With that, everyone once again began speaking at once, allowing me to retreat into the background. The meeting seemed to go on forever, and every so often, I would catch Davorin looking at me, rather more like staring daggers through my soul. By the two hour mark, I had a hard time staying on my feet when I went to prince Jett's quarter to fetch his blood cup. I wobbled heavily, and the pain in my chest was now making it hard to breathe. Finally, right when I thought I would just pass out, the prince called an end to the meeting.
"We will prepare for battle. From now, all walls are to be guarded, and our men outfitted for battle. Notify all residents where to go in the event of a battle."
The room nodded in agreeance.
"I expect reports on the progress daily." He put his empty blood cup down, "Laramie, put these maps away." He waved his hand, dismissing the room.
I hustled to the table, grabbing as many as I could, but my arm buckled under the weight, and several fell to the floor. Two sets of eyes were on me in an instant, the prince's and Davorin's. The prince just rolled his eyes and continued what he was doing, but Davorin was focused. I bent down and picked up the ones that had fallen and placed them on the table. I only picked up a fraction of what I had before, five at a time, I would have to make more trips, but it was the only way. I made my way back toward the records room and did my best to keep my breathing under control. The sweat was now causing my body to shake, with chills. My eyes were blurry, my mouth dry. I just had to get through this last bit. Then hopefully, I’d be able to sit down and get myself together. As I walked back toward the main room, Davorin stopped me right in my tracks.
"Oh, my pet, you aren't looking too good." He ran a pinky finger through a tendril of hair that had snuck out from the confines of my bun.
"I assure you, I am fine," I said, looking straight ahead and trying to get him to leave me alone.
"No, I don't think so." He lowered the finger that had been playing with my hair and applied what looked like slight pressure to my wound; it felt like a ton of clay.
Immediately, I let out a small cry but snapped my jaw shut to refuse him the further satisfaction of seeing me hurt. Flashes of light danced in front of my eyes. My stomach lurched upwards, and my ears rang. It was some of the worse pain I’d ever felt in my life, and all he was doing was touching it.
"You need to learn your place, girl, and a council meeting is no place for you to have opinions. Be careful, next time you might have yourself a little accident." He raised his hand from my shoulder and strutted away.
I let out the air I’d been holding in and the whimpers that went along with it. I fell to my knees, willing myself to stop the world from spinning and the pain to lessen even a little bit. Neither wish was granted.
"Laramie!"
My head popped up at the sound of my name. I had to clear the rest of the table, and the maps were still there. Quickly I got up, wiped the sweat from my brow, and hustled to the table. I picked up five more and turned to make that next trip. The room was closing in on itself. I shook my head to clear my vision, but nothing helped. I tried to take a step, but my body was no longer listening to reason, it was shutting down, and for how long I didn't know. The last thing I recall before hitting the stone floor was hearing the prince shout, "Shit!" then blackness.
Chapter 6
My eyes opened slowly.
I looked around the room. Hard cot, saw, needles; I was back.
"Medical," I said to myself, just needing to hear a voice even if it was my own. "Priam, you around?" I called, waiting for the older man to come shuffling in. Imagine my surprise when prince Jett walked in instead.
Immediately I tried to get up out of bed and greet him as his station demanded.
He flashed to me and pressed me back down onto the bed. "Girl, know your limits."
"I am sorry, my lord."
I gambled a glance at him expecting to see his typical face of annoyance. Instead, I saw pity, maybe even some concern.
"You're sorry? Well, I would suppose you would say something like that. My quarters are a mess, and I have had to get my blood cup for the past week. You should be sorry." His mouth settled into something soft, not quite a smile but something different.
I did not know how to react, was he playing with me? Was that a joke? He was the prince; maybe I hit my head harder than I thought when I fell.
"Err, well, I will be out of here in no time and back to getting your needs met, my lord." I looked down, hoping the next statement wouldn't be true, "Unless you have already found a new aide, and I would need to return to Davorin."
"How cruel of a prince would I be if I fired the only aide that has nearly wor
ked herself to death for me? No, your position is still available for you when you get back." He looked at me pensively; for the first time, he seemed a bit unsure. "I would like to speak with you, and I would prefer it if you speak freely. I know in my position, even if I ask to be spoken to in plain tongue, a certain distance is maintained, and frequently I’m lied to keep me from chopping off heads. But I want, given the appropriate circumstance, to be able to speak with you plainly and you be honest with me in the same way." He waited on my reply. I lay there, mouth agape, clearly not understanding what he wanted.
