The bed was unlike any I had seen and was huge. Elegant curtains of beautiful deep red blood-colored silks and satins, draped all around me in a haze of adornment. It was a bed fit for a queen in its elegance and grandiose style. I surveyed the rest of the room, and like the bed, the decoration, of red, gold, beautiful furniture and rich fabrics, were more befitting a person of high status - it was very French-looking, and extremely breathtaking to survey.
I noticed my luggage stacked against the wall, and was relieved that at least my personal possessions and my coffers had followed me untouched. Louis followed my gaze and his voice floated towards me.
"Ma petite...your possessions are all there, I am not unreasonable, and wish for you to feel...what is the word…oui…comfortable."
A raspy laugh escaped my throat, but I felt no joy, and it was a sarcastic laugh of contempt. "Why, Louis...why should I be comfortable when you keep me bound and poisoned, a prisoner...A PRISONER, LOUIS?"
Louis started to pace in front of me, irritation causing his movements to look jerky and awkward.
"I have no choice, mon amie, you will be my prisoner until you decide not to be...and then you will be my love, my sweet...but until then...I am sorry, ma petite, but you will be...as you say, my prisoner and my lover!”
His words confused me, I could not be his lover, I was his prisoner; how then, could I be his lover? Then his meaning vibrated inside my head with resounding clarification.
“You intend to rape me, Louis?" my voice escaped my throat in a croaky whisper, sounding weak and defeated, even to my own ears.
"Non! Non, my love...you wish this, tell me you wish this!"
He moved to my side, his face soft and loving, waiting for my consent.
"No, Louis," I whispered, "Never, NEVER!"
His face contorted with anger, and his hands reached out to the bodice of my gown. The sound of the material ripping filled the room. My body was numb, but I imagined the rush of cold sweeping my uncovered skin. I tried to lift my head to look at my now exposed and vulnerable body, but I no longer had the strength of will to witness his pillage of me. I closed my eyes as Louis climbed on top of me.
Louis' sighs filled the room. Hour after hour, I heard him take pleasure from my vulnerability. When the numbness of the poisoned wine wore off, I felt his grasping fingers delve into the soft and once yielding parts of me. Parts that should have felt pleasure from a man's touch, and not petrified disgust at an animal’s betrayal. I was bound by pain, as he bit into that softness, but he sucked none of the tainted blood from me, and so I remained motionless and weak. I felt his manhood, hard and stabbing, enter me, but there was no joy, and I felt his lust tear my skin in its relentless pursuit of pleasure.
When my body started to jerk and move angrily from the horror of his rape. Louis calmly slid off me.
"I think that is enough for today," he said, his voice breathless and triumphant.
He moved away from me, but I did not watch him leave. My eyes shut tightly, and my shame curdled like rotten milk inside of me. Louis once more returned to my side, lifted my head, and poured the tainted wine into my mouth, but this time he didn't have need to force me. I drank willingly, knowing that it would help me escape the hell of Louis's torture, and when the now familiar feeling of the poison overtook my body, I embraced it like an old friend.
Chapter Twelve
Day and night Louis subjected me to his lust and anger. Time had no meaning for me, and I lived in a perpetual loop that consisted of torture, horror, and strangely enough - love. I escaped into a world of fantasy, joined by the people that I had loved and lost. Sometimes the world I entered would turn ugly, and I would face the horror of watching Tom hang, or his mother Martha's body, grotesquely laid out on her kitchen table. Although mostly, my dreams, embraced me with love and hope, and my former loved ones held me gently in the aftermath of Louis’ frequent battering of my body and soul.
Every time Louis would ask me if I would come to him willingly, and many times I was tempted to submit to his will, but I could not, as long as I had my protectors in my dreams, I knew I would survive.
Sometimes Louis would inform me of what was going on in the world. I would listen to his irritating voice relaying events that I could not participate in and so I would will myself to escape into the fantasy world I had created.
Louis informed me when King Henry died, and when his nine-year-old son, Edward, became King of England. My thoughts drifted away and I conjured up the young girl that I had met, the girl who had been Henry's queen at the time. She was such a young girl to be married to an old tyrant like Henry. Poor Catherine Howard, so sweet, beautiful, and full of life, and Henry, the selfish, greedy king who had condemned her to death, and had cut short the sound of her musical laughter. Thereafter, Catherine materialized in my dreams and joined the people that held me when I laughed and cried. He told me when Edwards’s sister Mary became queen, and how she had gained the alias 'Bloody Mary' because of her lust for condemning her subjects to death. I listened to his tales of murder and pillage for a while, and then once more I would conjure my protectors to shield me from the violence of his need.
Then one day, I know not the day of the week or the date, Louis came to me and talked to me of Elizabeth, the new queen of England. I was somewhat more alert than usual on this day, because I answered him,
"But how is it possible that she is Queen, Louis...she is but a child."
"Mon amie...but the mademoiselle is no longer a child... she is a beautiful woman, or so I am told." His laughter surrounded me, and his voice was musical and light. It occurred to me, quite suddenly, that I had been Louis' prisoner much longer than I had realised.
I tried to lift my head, but fell back on the bed feeling faint.
"Louis," I said in a tormented whisper, "Louis, what year is it?" Louis' face moved close to mine, his face a mask of kindness.
"It is 1558, mon amie...you have slept for a long time...are you ready to wake?"
The year was 1558, but that was impossible! If the year was indeed 1558, then I had been Louis' captive for sixteen years. I heard Louis' words echo inside my muddled brain; Are you ready to wake? My thoughts returned to my son, my son who had grown into adulthood, as I lay captive, Henry, my beautiful son, who would become a vampire on his eighteenth birthday. Suddenly, I knew that I needed to submit to Louis and find a way to leave the prison he had created for me.
"Yes, Louis, I am ready to become yours." I saw a frown flitter across his brow.
"Why now… mademoiselle?" he asked, his eyes watching mine intently.
"Because I am ready, Louis, I want to hold you...I want...no, need...I need your love."
I must have convinced him I was sincere, for his face blazed with triumph. His joy was so great that he ripped away the chains that held me to the bed with his bare hands. He held my body in a soft and gentle embrace, and gently lowering my head so that it was positioned close to his neck, he whispered, "Drink, ma petite...drink, my love."
I drank from him, and instantly I felt my strength return, my body tingled as it awoke, and I felt my senses soar.
"Mon amie...steady...steady," Louis said as he pulled away from my grasp. I let him pull away, for it was my intention to gain his trust, and I wanted him to believe for the moment that I loved him.
"I thought you would wish to kill me, mon amie." Louis said, his hold on my body still tight, I giggled, and said, "Oh no, Louis...I need you...I need you, my darling...” I did need Louis, until the time was right, then I would kill him.
Chapter Thirteen
Slowly, very slowly, I regained my strength. I had been captive in my prison of the mind for sixteen years and although I was a vampire and my body healed quickly, I was still very thin, and at times weak. I also found it difficult to shake my protectors, my mind continued to search for them, and I would see them day and night. They appeared in the shadows when I needed them, and often I would see their faces peeking behind the curtain of the bed a
t the moment Louis arrived in my bedchamber to ravage my body.
I had ascertained that Queen Elizabeth had come to the throne in the middle of November. We were now at the end of December and I had just under a year to stop my son becoming a vampire. I needed to get well quickly, and return to England with all haste. I was aware that time was running out, and that my son needed me now more than ever.
Louis came to trust me very quickly. I believe that in his arrogance he believed that my imprisonment had broken my spirit, and that I was afraid of him. Of course, I let him believe his theory, and would often make a play of cowering slightly when he approached me. I became adept at deferring to him on his opinions and making those opinions my own, ensuring that his ego grew, and that his defenses lowered with the idea of his own self-worth.
It was approaching February when I decided that Louis trusted me enough to allow me to carry out my plan without complication. I was fit and strong again, although I pretended to be otherwise, and more importantly, time was moving on, I needed to make my way to England soon.
I had arranged for us to dine in our private dining room. The chateau had very many grand rooms, and they all were filled with treasures and wealth, but I needed privacy for my plan to work.
Louis, like many vampires, adored a live feast. I abhorred the thought of dining decadently on a live human, making it a pleasure and entertainment. Maybe I was a hypocrite, for after all, I drank freely from the servants in the chateau, but somehow it seemed wrong to make a spectacle of our deprivation, and more importantly our lack of respect for human life. Tonight, however, I would give Louis what he loved, for it was vital to my plan.
I had bewitched one of the prettiest serving girls and led her into our small private room already naked. I could tell from the way his eyes lit up, that Louis felt excitement by this change in me, and he was pleased that I offered to him that what he adored, even though it was distasteful to me.
"Ma petite...but you loathe the live feast...is that not so?" he asked, rising slightly from his chair as I helped the young woman arrange herself artfully on the table.
Walking around the table, I pushed Louis gently back into his seat, and leaning forward I whispered in his ear, "Shh, my darling...this is my gift to you, my love...sit back and enjoy."
"Ah, ma petite...” he whispered, his voice deep and passionate, he relaxed back in his chair, expectancy shining from deep within his eyes.
Once more, I returned to the woman and taking her soft white hand, I gently turned it over. I picked up a small silver dagger I had already placed on the table, and drew it swiftly across her wrist. I licked at the blood that squirted from her, and then placed a silver goblet, which I had already prepared, under her wrist to catch the blood and from which I would serve Louis.
I swirled the blood in the goblet as I made my way with swinging hips towards him. Lust shone out from his glowing face, and he was barely able to contain himself in his seat, his want of the gift I was offering him was so great. Running my tongue around the rim of the goblet before I lowered it to his waiting mouth, I said, "This will prove to you my love, my sweet."
His eyes never left mine as he took the goblet from my hand and gulped the contents down. I waited and I watched, and then I had the greatest reward as his hand started to shake, and his eyes glazed over.
"What have you done, ma petite?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
I walked behind him, placed my mouth next to his ear and whispered, "Oh Louis, Louis, did you think I would forgive you after what you did to me? No, Louis…Oh no, no, no, you have, my love, ingested the foul decaying blood of a rat that’s been dead and rotting for just over two days."
I giggled as Louis' answering gurgle reached me, I watched with glee as he slid, defenseless, to the floor. I pushed his chair back and out of the way, so that I had a clearer view of him. I then stepped over his pathetic body, and kneeling down beside him I said, "The difference is, Louis, I really do not want to take you as my prisoner, I do not want you in my life...and that leaves me with a dilemma! You see, my love, if I leave you alive I have no doubt that you will try and find me, and either take me once more as your prisoner or maybe even kill me. I do not want that, Louis, and so I have no alternative."
Reaching behind me, I took hold of the chair Louis had sat upon, and with slow intent snapped off one of the legs. His eyes followed my actions, and he knew, I had no doubt, what I was intent on doing.
"I'm sorry, Louis, but you stole my life, and my body, but more importantly you stole time… time I could have spent with my son...Goodbye, Louis!"
I thrust the improvised dagger deep into his heart and watched his body crumple. His skin faded to grey, his eyes became void of life, and his body became still.
I watched him for a moment, I felt no regret, but I did feel anger. I was angry at the fact that Louis had made the choices that he did, and in doing so, his actions had forced me into taking his life. I would have preferred not to have taken such action, but I really had no choice in the matter. However, having no choice did not make me any less a murderer, and I felt sickened by the fact.
Rising up from his side, I made my way wearily to my bedchamber. I had already packed my possessions, but I wished to take some of the treasures of the house. I rang my bell and asked the girl who answered my call, to bid Henri, Louis' manservant, to attend me.
Henri was a very powerful man, he was tall and strong, and his face shone with evil and malice. When I first made my plan on how to escape Louis, my first thought was: how I would I be able to win Henri's support, for I did not wish to receive his wrath.
"You wished to see me, mademoiselle?" he asked from the door of my bedchamber, his body taking up the whole of the doorframe. I smiled towards him, but he did not return the courtesy, and so I simply beckoned him into my room.
"Henri, are you a rich man?" I asked him and saw a look of bewilderment cross his face.
"Non… as you know, mademoiselle... I am not," he stated abruptly.
"No, I thought not, well, Henri...how would you like to benefit from the riches of the chateau while I'm away on my travels? I will leave the lands to your care, and you may keep all of the profit that you make. The only thing I will ask in return is that you keep, and pay, just a couple of servants in service, who will be engaged to look after the chateau whilst I'm away.” Once more a look of confusion chased along his features, but now I saw hope and greed flit across his face also, and I was certain that my plan would succeed.
"I have killed your master, Henri...” I waited for him to move towards me in anger, but he did not, although his hand did reach towards the sheathed dagger that was in his belt.
"I will be leaving for a while, but all I will be taking with me is a cart and horses, a few servants, my jewels and some of the fine cloths that hang around my bed. If you will allow this, then you shall profit from the lands, and on my return you will still hold the rights to this land…you will, of course, become a rich man."
Henri bent his head towards his chest. I was at first unsure of what his answer would be, and I started to doubt my earlier thoughts of success, but after a few moments, he lifted his head, and looked into my eyes, his shone with triumph, and I knew that success was mine.
The atmosphere in the chateau changed over the next few days, instead of dark and broody it became light and happy. Servants no longer crept around hiding in shadows, nor were they afraid to speak in my presence or look into my face. Instead of the wrath of these people, as I was expecting, they were instead grateful that I had freed them from Louis. I had discovered that his hold over the chateau had lasted for just over one hundred years, and that he had ruled the servants with violence and terror.
Even Henri, who had always previously seemed to be gruff and irritated, had changed radically. He now walked the corridors of the chateau, a smile ready on his face, and a merry whistle chirping from his lips.
He had changed so much, that he had even told me of his plans for the la
nd surrounding the chateau. He had decided to grow grapevines and he had asked many of the families already living in and around the chateau to join him. Apparently, many of them had agreed that they all would work together and profit from the gift I had bestowed on them.
Any guilt that I felt for Louis’ death evaporated in the face of the happiness of these people. I had taken their lives back from the tyrant who stole them, and in doing so, I had given them a reason to live and thrive.
Life for me changed also. Now that I was no longer Louis’ prisoner, I started to ride around the countryside surrounding the chateau - the area was stunning! The chateau was nestled in the shade of rolling spring green hills, very much like the English countryside, but more serene. The air was warm, and although it was wintertime, it was warm enough to ride along the lanes without the need of heavy furs and capes.
Several times, I rode into Bordeaux, the closest town to the chateau, and soon enough I became spellbound by the beauty and vibrancy of the town. The people were all cheerful as they strolled through the cobbled lanes selling their wares, laughing and joking with each other, and me also, as I passed them by. Unlike the peasants’ buildings in English villages and towns, here people grew wild roses around their doorways, the smell of which was intoxicating. They seemed to love life, their homes, and more importantly each other – I adored it.
Vampire - Child of Destiny (Vampire Series Book 2) Page 5
