by J. E Hanson
“I already forgive you, Louie.”
He hugs me tightly. Leo hands Louie’s cell phone back to him, and he dials Sean's number. In ten minutes, his salon has extra people here.
Louie points at the strange people, “These are all my assistants. We will remove any excess hair on your body, since that’s what men prefer. You’re about to have a permanent wax job in a few minutes. You need to enter that dressing room over there, and take off all your clothes. That also includes your unmentionables,” he orders as he points at a room with a door.
I nervously enter his dressing room, and I slowly remove all my clothes. My body has sexy curves for a change, and the flab is slowly disappearing. My body has well-defined muscle tone, and I lost half of me. It isn’t hard, to notice all the changes in the mirror. From Louie’s recommendation, I remove all my clothes and my undergarments. He yells through the door for me, to wear the velour robe that hangs on a hook. He even yells that the slippers are against the wall. I change into the robe, and the slippers feel like soft pillows on my feet.
I cautiously return to the salon.
Louie looks me over. “You need a lot of work done to you. You desperately need a pedicure, manicure, eyebrows, and massive waxing to your body. Well… we better start now.”
Louie claps his hands and on cue, his assistants take me to adjoining room. The women remove my robe and slippers. There’s no way to hide my body from them, because they won’t let me. They gasp at me, after they notice that I have large breasts, and his assistants start their torture.
They hose my body down with hot wax, and then they cover me with sheets of off-white paper. They wait around a half-hour, and then they start to rip those sheets off my body. My eyes swell up with tears. They try to move quickly, but it still hurts like hell. My eyes remain shut through all the enormous pain. They take out a cooling cream, and they begin to rub the clear substance over my entire body. Louie enters the room, and he inspects every part of my body. It horrifies me that Louie is viewing a naked me.
I freak out, but he calms me down. “I never date women, sweetie. I only date men. You can treat me as if I’m one of the girls, and I hope you catch my drift.” Louie winks at me, and I finally catch on.
Sean and Louie are either an item, or flirting with each other for the hell of it. Louie gropes Sean’s ass right in front of me. Sean reciprocates the flirtation, by rubbing Louie’s ass.
Louie stops long enough. “This is an expensive sealant,” he explains and continues, “my assistants will sculpt your pubic hair next.”
I laugh nervously at him, wanting to believe he’s joking. The horror continues with his assistants strapping my legs down along with my arms. My dignity left the room, when I remain spread eagle on the table. His assistants actually sculpt my pubic hair. They make sure to rip out every piece of hair. The tearing commences, and I cry out in agony. They rip it out by the roots, and they only leave a tiny patch of pubic hair. The rest of it will never see daylight again. They explain that the sealant prevents hair from growing back. For the rest of my life, I will never have to shave—or wax anything. My legs will remain smooth, along with the rest of my body. The sting lasts for a few minutes, and then they wash the clear substance off me.
Louie takes charge in shaping my eyebrows. He uses a different technique with strings, and he calls it stitching. He stitches my eyebrows, and it hurts a little bit. The dark eyebrows are now trim. He does an excellent job shaping them. For extra, he waxes every piece of stray hair off my face. My eyebrows and eyelashes remain intact. I keep still as he directs. Any piece of hair that’s on my neck vanishes too. Leo works on a gadget in a spare salon chair. Louie carefully sculpts me one final time, and then he places clear sealant over my face and neck.
~~~***~~~
My face remains devoid of makeup. I can feel his enthusiasm. “I need to see your hair. I have to know how bad it is! That’s why, I presume you keep your hair in this big ball of shit!” he enthusiastically yells as he tugs at my bun.
I sigh as I take it out for him.
“Okay, shame on you for never mentioning that you have long hair!” he playfully scolds me.
Leo glances over at us and his jaw drops. My hair is long and scarlet red.
Louie walks around me tugging at a few strands of hair. “I will have to cut a few inches off here, to even it up. I think you will look better with a few lowlights and loose curls.”
I give him full authority, to fix my hair.
“I promise you that you will never want to leave your hair up ever again. You will never have to spend countless hours brushing those tangles out. After I am through with your hair, I will give you permanent curls that will remain loose, but add volume to your hair.”
Louie instantly has two of his assistants hold his scissors for him. He washes my hair, and his hands feel amazing. I love how his firm hands massage my scalp, while he works on my hair. He picks out sections of my hair to put lowlights in. He sections parts of my hair with clips. The rest of the hair, he quickly uses a paintbrush to give me a deep red color.
~~~***~~~
The hair dying process lasts for several hours, and I drift off to sleep a few times. Without missing a single beat, he removes the dyes from my hair, and he adds curlers to my hair. I fell asleep on him twice, while he fixes my hair.
Louie shakes me awake. “You have to stay awake, Princess.”
Louie sits me back underneath the hair dryer. This time he orders his assistants, to work on my toenails and fingernails. The pedicure and manicure pinches a little bit. I grimace a few times from the pinches. They manicure and paint my fingernails. My toes have a perfect pedicure. At least, I believe they did a great job.
The makeup is the only thing that won’t remain permanent. Louie carefully taught me how, to apply my own makeup. He explains selecting the proper foundation; base; lipstick; mascara; eyeliner; and how to make smoky eyes. I listen intently as he applies my makeup. Leo smiles at me, and he nods his head with satisfaction.
Sean Fierce takes over, and he’s almost a foot shorter than I am. He has narrow shoulders with narrow hips. He’s extremely petite, and he has a small face. He has large black-framed glasses over his eyes.
He has chestnut hair with dark eyes. “Okay honey… I will make you fabulous for your birthday! I highly recommend that you wear the ivory dress with the gold trim.”
I refuse to wear it, since I remember the last time it made me look like a huge cotton ball. They managed to talk me into it. The dress is strapless and incredibly short. I have gold trim at the top and the bottom of the ivory dress. They hand me my new undergarments. I resent wearing a thong, because it feels so damn uncomfortable. The men evilly coerce me into wearing them.
Sean should wear a pair of horns on the top of his head. “I have to turn you into a diva! That’s exactly, what I’m planning. Let me do my job, and put the thong on.”
I do it just to shut him up. I place everything on me, and I remember Willow showing me how to put the undergarments on. I even wear the strappy heels, and these heels reveal my toes. For once, the nail polish matches everything. I step out with the shoes, to unveil my transformation. Louie beams with pride, and he even claps his hands. Louie pulls out all my curlers, and my hair doesn’t feel the same anymore. Louie teases my curls, and he sprays them down with sealant. My curls are crimson, raven, and a dark red color. This is a different sealant, for hair only. He protects not only the colors in my hair, but the tips of my hair, to prevent split ends. It has more volume to it now. I can feel my hair, and it drapes past my shoulders. My hair ends at the middle of my back, and it’s no longer down to my ass.
“You can run your fingers through your hair, and it will never tangle. No matter how many times you wash it, this sealant will keep your hair intact.” I ran my fingers through my hair, and it never catches on my fingers.
Leo glances over, and he gives me the two thumbs up sign. I don’t know what I look like all together now. They only reve
al a curl or two, but keep the mirrors hidden.
Leo steps over to me, and he hands me two boxes of jewelry. “Christian wants me, to give these to you. He gave me these gifts right before your makeover.”
I gape at him with total confusion.
Louie places the necklace around my neck, and the bracelet around my left wrist. “One thing you should know about any of us. You should know that if you receive any gifts, you must accept them, or we will consider it an insult. Another thing to know is never return a gift. Remember, if you return a gift, it will be considered disrespect. I’m simply telling you to accept the showering of gifts, especially when they come from Chris,” he quickly informs me.
“Chris grew up in a gift-friendly place,” Leo explains. Leo holds his elbow out to me, and I can hear him mumble, “Chris, will kill me.”
My two male escorts brought me to the main floor. Sean takes tons of pictures of me. From a distance, there are rumblings of voices in the library. The men escort me inside the library. I stop dead in my tracks, after noticing a group of men gathering around two strange men. One man has long crimson hair that matches mine, and the other man has solid silver hair. The silver haired man wears a magenta with ebony velvet cape. The long crimson haired man wears a dark red velvet cape. He also has a crown upon his head. My escorts immediately abandon me, by dropping to one knee. Sean and the others follow suit. After watching all of them kneel on the ground, they confuse me. Alexander notices me, and he taps on the man with the crown. The man turns to where Alexander points, and he has my mother's eyes. His nose is prominent, but our facial features are similar. He has broad shoulders, and he’s stocky. Once again, there’s another person who is taller than I am. We share similar features, and he could easily pass as my father instead. That’s how close we resemble each other. I don’t need introductions, because I think I know who this man is.
The man smiles and he steps over to me. “I need to say that I’m eternally grateful you’re still alive.”
The odd man hugs me, and I don’t know what to do next. I have to make sure he’s really him. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
The man tucks a loose strand of my hair back. “My name is Saber Denali, and I’m your first great-grandfather.”
I turn around to face the others and they nod their heads yes at me. The great-grandfather term startles me.
“I wasn’t aware that I had any relatives left, except for my sister, Ava. How are you my first great-grandfather? Please don’t take offense, but why are you still alive?”
He cradles my hand in his. “I can see that you’re lost, but I’m not human either.”
When he says that he’s not human, that causes me, to open my eyes even wider, “Okay, you’re confusing me. How are you standing in front of me, if you’re not human? You appear human to me!”
Saber makes me sit down in a vacant chair. “I want you, to bring up mythological creatures, which I’m ninety-nine percent sure you have heard of through the years.”
The men wait with eager anticipation, to hear what I would guess.
Christian slowly walks over, and he squats right beside me. “Everything will be okay, Jeannie. Remember, to not panic. I hope you will not fear us, after you find out.”
Out of curiosity, I touch Christian's arm. I’m confused, because he feels warm to me. My hand covers my great-grandfather’s hand, and his hand feels warm too. I stand up and start, to pace around the room with a hand underneath my chin. All of them could be anything, and this guessing game puts me on the spot.
I thought to myself, “Surprise! You have an immortal ancestor, who wants you to play a game called, ‘Name that supernatural creature!’
The theme music from jeopardy commences inside my head. I’m lost in deep thought. Saber quickly motions for the others to stand up. Certainly, they can’t be vampires! I have never seen fangs from any of them. They can’t be Angels either, so I automatically eliminate them.
“I would say Angels, but you killed the guys who broke through my front door. I would guess fairies, but you don’t look like one. None of you is what I believe you are. I can definitely say it’s between these three elves; werewolves; or vampires. From everything I’ve seen thus far, I’m leaning towards vampires, but how come you’re not cold?”
“You’re almost the same temperature as all of us. That’s why you don’t believe we are cold to you,” Saber explains the coldness to me.
“We are indeed vampires, and we have a valid reason, to why we don’t feel cold to you. Jeannie. You’re a hybrid vampire, and that means you’re part vampire and part human,” Saber isn’t beating around the bush.
I don’t scream as I thought I would. My eyes close for a minute, to reflect on everything that I’ve done throughout the years. I remember all the things these men have done thus far, and everything adds up; the mugs; the chalices; the creepy water fountain; and even the paintings on the walls. Christian plants me firmly beside him, since he probably thinks I will faint or run. They have done too many bizarre things over the past few months. Everything finally makes perfect sense to me. Everyone in this room are indeed vampires. With a gentle sadness, I stare at him, and know that he’s too perfect, to be true. There are no men in my world, who appears this perfect. The bitter pill travels down my throat, and left behind a huge lump.
I remember exactly, what happened to Louie yesterday. I immediately hold up my hand, and I have to say something. “Louie, I’m sorry for yesterday. I will be more mindful from now on. I just want to warn you in advance that I’m not perfect,” I pause for a second, and continue to make a joke, “oh, and I love the protein shakes. I guess that’s blood, all of you have been hiding from me.”
Their jaws drop, and they don’t seem, to expect that coming from my mouth. I don’t even anticipate saying that either. Christian jumps in front of me, and he holds me close to his lukewarm chest. He tries to shield me from everyone. I think I shocked them, when I don’t shed a tear.
“Are you sure that I’m a princess?” I have to know, so I asked him.
Saber leans in to us. “I’m the oldest vampire in the world, and that makes all my heirs, royal members to my crown. You’re my descendent, so that means my blood flows through you. This makes you a princess,” Saber watches my face intently, and he continues, “unfortunately; I have to draw some of your blood, to certify it through the Courts of Meropis.”
I can feel my legs and arms start to tremble. “I have no idea, what to think—or do now.”
Christian makes me sit down in the vacant chair, and he reassures me, “I will advise you, to allow them to draw your blood. I promise that you will not feel any pain.”
“I probably should run for the hills; however; this intrigues me. I guess you will catch me, even if I attempt to run away.”
Christian grins and proudly nods his head yes.
My eyes peer at my grandfather. “Are you drawing my blood now?”
Saber nods a quick yes, and then he hands Christian a gold dagger. Saber introduces me to the other strange man, “This is Zohar, and he’s the king of the wizards. He will confirm what we already know. He performs all tests, to confirm royal blood.”
Christian helps them, by tapping on my right wrist. I give him my wrist, thinking it would be a tiny prick. He takes the gold dagger from Saber. With morbid curiosity, he slices open my right wrist. My face winces from the fresh wound. The tarry and thick blood slowly oozes out. Christian catches my blood with a gold chalice. There’s a strange clicking sound, and I gawk at Saber as he bites into his own wrist. This is the first time I notice fangs. This scares me, but it’s also fascinating.
“Since Christian will remain your guardian, he will ingest your blood, to keep you safe,” Saber informs me of what will happen next.
I should be physically ill, and upset at the thought. Christian nods to Saber with approval. I watch Christian’s fangs descend out of sheer intrigue. He takes my wrist, and he starts ingesting my thick blood. I was expecting p
ain, but instead, this arouses me. The pure pleasure relaxes me enough, to close my eyes.
Zohar chants in an unfamiliar language, and he places dust inside the gold chalice. He lights the gold chalice with a zap, and the tip of his index finger emits a strange translucent glow. The glow sets the contents in the chalice on fire, and the fire turns into a crimson opaque cloud of smoke. The cloud surfaces above our heads. To their amazement, a set of red fangs appears out of the opaque cloud of smoke.
Zohar announces without smiling, “Jeanne Zorelle Justice is the direct descendant of Saber Denali, and this blood bond will remain in the books for all eternity. We will hold a sacred ceremony for the Vampire Princess in precisely one week from today.”
The whole room gawks at me. I thought he was finished, but he gives the gold dagger back. Christian slits his own wrist, with the gold dagger. His dark blood pools out, he tips his wrist over mine, and then his blood oozes inside my open wound. The instant thought turns into a fear of contracting AIDS, but a sudden reminder that he’s a vampire—eases me.
“I’m healing you this way,” Christian carefully explains.
With a look of astonishment, my gaping wound heals and disappears. If he weren’t a vampire, I would swear that this is some kind of great magic trick. He shows me his wrist and mine. Our wrists are perfectly healed.
“Vampires can heal instantly, and that is why it makes it difficult to kill us. You would heal on your own, but it would take you longer. We will probably have to do this again next week,” Christian carefully explains.
“Why are there so many men in one spot?” That’s the next personal question I want answered.
Saber smiles warmly at me. “I originally created this group a long time ago with Christian and Alexander. There are twelve vampires at all times. There are no less, and no more. They maintain the safety of the public from rogues. There were accidental deaths that happened throughout the years, but we improve every single day, especially with the grace of new technology. You are safe here at the hands of the Brotherhood In Blood, or better known as the Vampire Enforcers. Alexander and Christian retain equal shares as leaders over the Vampire Enforcers. They decide equally, what’s best for you and others. Every single mythological creature you can think of also retains at least twelve Enforcers at all times. They enforce the laws from kings and queens of every supernatural group. We have laws in place for making new vampires; vampire marriages; money; and things of a more political nature that we must enforce upon other vampires—or hybrid vampires. We don’t acknowledge all mortal hybrid vampires the same way you are. There are thousands of hybrid vampires and other hybrids walking around the world, right this very minute. They are completely unaware of who they truly are. We have to report to one board, and one prison for all supernatural creatures. The Enforcers are equivalent, to your local law enforcement in the mortal world. I hope all of this will make sense to you eventually.”
