by Juniper Hart
The tone in Flavia’s voice made Sawyer concede. “I’m twenty-two.”
The women arrived at another set of doors, which opened almost immediately upon their arrival. The room was unwelcoming and sterile, like an operating room. A variety of tools that looked like torture devices were placed on a table. Sawyer gulped.
“Your Highness,” said two very large men as they bowed, greeting the princess.
She returned their greeting with kisses on their cheeks.
“A little cozy with the help?” asked Sawyer.
Flavia whispered, “Have you seen some of the guys around here? Of course I’m a little cozy with the help. When you’ve been alive as long as I have, you have to some kind of hobby to pass the time.”
“Men are your hobby?” laughed Sawyer. “And, how long have you been alive?”
Before Flavia could answer, a loud shout was heard from across the room.
“It’s about time, Flavia. Bring her here. I don’t want to be here all day,” screamed Atticus.
Sawyer looked across the room and caught his gaze. Atticus looked angry, but Sawyer believed the scowl had been on his face so long it had become permanent.
Sawyer released a sigh of relief when she saw Henry, allowing Sawyer to relax. He smiled at Sawyer, and she smiled back.
Atticus noticed the exchange and shot Henry a menacing look. Henry cast his eyes downward.
“Oh, dear brother,” said Flavia. “You must relax. Our girl needed a shower.”
“She’s not ‘our girl’,” roared Atticus. “Bring her here.”
A large man with dark hair and muscles that rippled from beneath his stark-white t-shirt grabbed Sawyer and threw her over his shoulder. He lifted her without effort and showed no signs of exerting any energy. It was as if she weighed as little as a piece of paper.
“I can walk just fine. You don’t need to carry me,” bellowed Sawyer. “Put me down.”
“I am the only one who gives orders around here,” said Atticus, appearing annoyed at how long the process was taking. He shouted, “This has taken up half the day. I’ll take the blood myself.”
A man with gloves and a lab coat backed away as Atticus moved closer to Sawyer.
The guard placed Sawyer in a hard metal chair that had restraints for her arms and legs. Sawyer fell silent as her heart rate increased. She watched as Atticus inhaled deeply and quickly looked away. Is my heart rate having an effect on him?
“Atticus!” screamed Flavia. “If you can’t handle a living, breathing human, you need to get out of here. If you harm her, I will never forgive you.”
Atticus exhaled, “I am fine, sister. I will not hurt her… yet.”
That last word took Sawyer by surprise, and she couldn’t hold back the tears. Would anybody ever find her? She had no idea where she was, but she felt like they were underground. The entire fortress smelled like earth, and since she’d arrived, she hadn’t seen one window. She was anxious that she’d never be able to escape.
Flavia wiped a tear from Sawyer’s face and offered a friendly caress on her arm. “This won’t hurt, Sawyer. Just a small prick.”
Atticus grabbed her arm, and a jolt of energy shot through Sawyer. Her entire body tingled from her head to her toes. She looked up into Atticus’s blue eyes and saw the same surprise that she felt. Did he feel that too?
Atticus, whose eyes were still locked with Sawyer’s, changed his expression to anger once again. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth turned into a snarl. Sawyer knew they both felt something, but what was their connection?
Atticus grabbed a large metal contraption from the table of tools, and Sawyer closed her eyes, waiting for the torture to start. Atticus grabbed her finger, and she felt a prick, just as Flavia had said.
“Test it,” demanded Atticus.
Sawyer opened one eye, looked around, and then bravely opened the other eye. She watched as the gloved man moved across the room and placed her blood in a glass tube that was filled with thick black liquid.
“That’s it?” asked Sawyer, with her voice barely above a whisper.
“I told you I was testing your blood. What did you expect?” asked Atticus.
“I…I don’t know. You to drain all of my blood. I thought that’s what your type did.”
“Our type? What’s that’s supposed to mean?” asked Atticus.
Sawyer wish she had kept that thought to herself. “Umm… never mind. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Atticus ignored her reply and walked over to the glass tube, leaving Sawyer strapped to the chair. Flavia’s eyes were fixed on the tube as well. Sawyer’s eyes joined everyone else’s in the room and stared at the vial, not knowing what she was expecting to see.
The liquid turned from black to green, and the green continued to get brighter and started to bubble.
“It’s her! I can’t believe it’s her!” screamed Flavia as she jumped up and down.
“Flavia, what is wrong with you? We don’t know what this means for us. This is not a reason to celebrate. You remember what happened to our parents, don’t you?”
Flavia’s enthusiasm quickly dissipated, “Of course I remember, brother. But hopefully you also remember why I am alive.” Flavia stormed off, leaving Sawyer with Atticus, Henry, and the other guards. Oh no, why did she leave? Why did she leave me alone?
Atticus walked over to Sawyer and undid the restraints on the chair.
“Henry, see that the preparations for her living quarters are complete. Sawyer will be our guest for a very long time.”
Relieved she was being left in Henry’s care, she took his hand as he offered to help Sawyer to her feet.
“I will make sure that everything from your apartment is brought here.”
“Does this mean I will never go home?” asked Sawyer.
“Likely,” said Henry. “There is too much at stake if we let you leave. There could also be dire consequences if Atticus kills you. Honestly, I don’t know what will happen. But, I will try to find out as much as I can.”
“Why won’t they let me leave? What does my blood have to do with any of this? Why won’t anybody tell me anything?” asked Sawyer.
Henry turned to face Sawyer and cupped her face tenderly. “Sawyer, I wish I could tell you, but I don’t have all the answers. Atticus has ears all over the fortress, so I have to be careful what I say. But I can promise you that I will take care of you.”
Comforted by his touch, Sawyer relaxed, feeling lucky that she had someone advocating for her in a place where nothing was normal.
She wanted to go back home, even though there wasn’t anything or anyone important waiting for her. She knew she didn’t want to be held captive in a windowless fortress for the rest of her life. She never had any family or close friends, but she always held onto the hope that she would find her family. And if not, maybe she would fall in love and start her own family. She wasn’t ready to resign to the fact that she was no longer in control of her own destiny.
3
Sawyer took in her new surroundings, which she was told would be her permanent home. The living quarters had a bedroom, a living room, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It was furnished more lavishly than she could ever afford. Unlike Flavia’s room, Sawyer’s living quarters were very modern. Her living room was decorated with a gray couch, adorned with baby blue pillows. The walls were painted a dark shade of gray and were accented with the same baby blue to match the pillows. A dark wood armoire held a large television, which had any channel she could ever want. A bookshelf to match the armoire was placed against the wall. The shelves were lined with some of her favorites, such as Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, and works by Shakespeare. The bookshelf also held mystery and romance novels that she had never read, which just happened to be genres she loved. Her captors really did know a lot about her.
She made her way into her bedroom, and explored her very large closet, which was the size of her entire apartment back home. Not only was the closet filled with casua
l wear, but she also had hot little party dresses and beautiful gowns as clothing options. Sawyer couldn’t imagine where she would ever wear those types of clothes. A custom-made shoe rack was stacked with shoes she had only seen in magazines, much to her excitement. Drawers built into the closet contained panties, bras, socks, nightgowns, and active wear. Everything was her size and looked like she would have picked it out herself if she had a very large bank account.
Henry had told her that he would get everything ready for her, but how did Henry know what books she liked to read and how she liked to dress? Most importantly, how did he know her bra size?
Just as Henry promised, Sawyer’s belongings from her apartment in Minneapolis arrived within hours.
“I didn’t bring the furniture or anything else that we already have for you here,” explained Henry. “We only packed your personal belongings that looked important. Please, let us know if we missed anything.”
Sawyer stared at the boxes sitting in her living room. My whole life packed in six boxes, thought Sawyer as a sadness took over her whole being. Nobody was going to look for her. When she didn’t show up to work or pay her rent, she was sure that someone would eventually call the police, but the search wouldn’t last long. Nobody cared enough to make sure the search continued until she was found.
“So, that’s it?” asked Sawyer. “I just have to stay here forever?”
Henry placed an arm around her shoulders in a consoling gesture. “Forever? No. But you will likely have to remain here for the rest of your life. It’s not safe to let you go. Trust me, this is for your own good.”
“This doesn’t seem like it’s for my own good. How is making me a prisoner keeping me safe?”
“Others want you dead, Sawyer. By staying here, we can keep an eye on you. And besides, you’ll be here with me.”
Sawyer didn’t want to admit to herself that she was slightly excited by the thought of spending more time with Henry. “Do I have to stay in this room?”
“Not at all! You pretty much have free reign of this place. Although, I’d stick with an escort in the beginning. We’ve never had a human here, and the smell of your blood is tempting. Although we’ve all been instructed to leave you alone, you still need to remember that you’re surrounded by vampires.”
“So, it’s true. You’re all vampires. How is that even possible? I thought vampires were a legend.”
“There are truths to many of the legends. Humans are pretty much kept in the dark, as a whole other world exists around them that they are completely oblivious to seeing.”
“I see,” said Sawyer, feeling overwhelmed with emotions she didn’t understand.
Henry grabbed Sawyer’s hand and brought it to his lips as he placed a soft kiss on the tops of her fingers. “I am going to leave you for now to get unpacked and settled. But I will be back. I will come by later and show you around. If you’re hungry or need anything, all you need to do is ring that intercom on the wall. Tell the person on the receiving end what you need, and they will bring it to you. Really, you can ask for anything: any type of food you want, magazines, clothes, or a new computer. Anything at all. Princess Flavia wants you as comfortable as possible.”
“Can I ask the intercom for help escaping?”
“Anything but that,” said Henry with a wink.
Sawyer thanked Henry as he left.
After unpacking her boxes, Sawyer had just started to relax when the door swung open, and Flavia and Atticus stepped inside.
Atticus didn’t waste any time, and immediately began to speak. “My sister and I have met with our advisors and have decided to keep you alive.”
“Well, that’s great news,” said Sawyer. “Does that mean I can go home?”
“No, you can never go back home. This is your new home. Get used to it.” Atticus said as he turned to leave.
“Atticus, sit down right now. This girl is probably in shock and has no idea what is happening. You need to explain it to her.”
“I don’t owe her anything. I didn’t kill her, which is generous in itself,” said Atticus.
“Fine, then I’ll explain,” sighed Flavia.
Atticus paused, as he contemplated his sister’s words. “So be it,” he said as he left the room.
“What’s wrong with him?” asked Sawyer. “I don’t want to be here. I never wanted to be here. If he doesn’t want me here, I have offered to go home several times now.”
“I know you don’t want to be here, but we can’t let you go. We need to keep other vampires safe from you. Also, you are no longer safe in your own world. We can protect you here. If you went back home, they’d kill you,” said Flavia.
“You have to protect people from me? I promise you that nobody has anything to worry about. And, why do people want me dead? I work as a bartender. I have no money. I have no power. There is nothing out of the ordinary about me.”
“Oh, but there is. In fact, you are quite extraordinary,” said Flavia.
Flavia’s story began thousands of years ago, when a powerful sorcerer blessed her family and another family when they saved him from a fire. What the sorcerer didn’t know was that immortality also came with a strong thirst for human blood, which was a source of life.
Flavia’s family, the Klassens, learned to kill violent criminals for blood and take blood without killing people.
The Vasile family started out the same way, but then they changed. The Vasile King and Queen discovered a drug that came from the roots of a fiery willow tree. The drug gave them extra powers, such as reading humans’ thoughts or being able to move objects with their minds. The downfall was that the drug increased their thirst for blood. They began killing people for fun.
They created an army of vampires and terrorized the world for more than one thousand years. Even though new vampires never took the drug and had no extra powers, they still had the insatiable thirst for blood. To stop the killings, Flavia’s family also created an army of vampires. Two kingdoms were formed: the Vasile Kingdom and the Klassen Kingdom.
The only member of the Vasile clan that refused to kill innocents was the royal prince, Dimitri. He was the only child of the Vasile King and Queen who accepted the sorcerer’s blessing. Dimitri fought alongside Flavia’s family and against his parents. Dimitri and Flavia fell in love and planned on spending eternity together. During the final battle, all Vasile vampires were killed, except for Dimitri and his father, the Vasile King. Atticus took pity on the Vasile King as they had all been friends at one point in time.
When Atticus let his guard down, the Vasile King killed the Klassen King and Queen. The Vasile King then turned to kill Flavia, but Dimitri blocked the kill and ended up dying in her place. Atticus killed the Vasile King, and the epic war finally ended in 1398. All fiery willow trees were destroyed. Atticus was devastated by the death of his parents, as was Flavia. However, Flavia also grieved the loss of her love, Dimitri.
Although Sawyer was wildly entertained by the story, she was confused. “I don’t see what any of this has to do with me.”
“You are the last survivor with Vasile blood,” explained Flavia. “That’s why your blood burned the vampires who attacked you before you were brought here.”
“I thought all the Vasiles died. How do I have their blood?”
“You come from the Vasile bloodline. Your ancestors were Dimitri’s sisters, who refused the sorcerer’s blessing.”
“Also, I thought that your clan doesn’t kill innocent people. Why did those vampires try to kill me in the alley?”
“They weren’t going to kill you. They were going to use glamour to make you forget the experience. And sometimes accidents happen. We crave blood. Newer vampires have trouble controlling their urges and sometimes kill an innocent person who is bleeding. We forgive that, as long as they show they are trying to control their urges. Also, your blood smells different from other humans. It’s almost irresistible,” said Flavia as she licked her lips.
Sawyer’s eyes widened, sudd
enly afraid of the blonde beauty in front of her.
Flavia sensed her fear, “Don’t worry, Sawyer. I am not going to hurt you, but you do smell delicious.”
“What are you talking about? How is any of this even possible? And, I am not a vampire, so I can’t possibly harm anybody.”
“When all of the Vasile clan died, the sorcerer foretold a prophecy that was to be fulfilled. He explained that too much blood had been spilled and the magic needed to be balanced to bring good back into the world. He left Atticus and me with a piece of parchment paper where the prophecy was written with fire. We have never seen him again.”
“Wait, the sorcerer is immortal, too?”
“Well, we don’t know what happened to him. He just left us with the prophecy and disappeared.”
“What prophecy?” asked Sawyer, more confused than ever.
“I think I have told you enough for now. Let’s just say it gives people a reason to be scared of you.”
Sawyer asked, “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
Flavia looked down, “I was before I met you. But then, I saw of lot of Dimitri in you. You even have his eyes. I loved Dimitri, and I know he was good. I don’t believe you are here to kill us, but other vampires aren’t so sure.”
“I don’t know what to say,” said Sawyer. “I still don’t believe the prophecy is about me. I don’t feel that important.”
“Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. I am just going to leave. I will come back later and bring you to the dining hall for dinner to meet more of the residents who live here. I feel like the more people get to know you, the less likely they will be afraid of you.” Flavia left the room without another word.
Sawyer let the story and her fate sink in. She wasn’t going to be killed, but she was stuck in the fortress with no way out. Vampires wanted her dead. She would never see her friends again. She would never get married. Who knows if she would ever see sunlight again. Even though her new living quarters were luxurious and cozy, she wanted to go back home to her own bed and her job at Howie’s. The bartending job was a dead-end, but there was something familiar and comfortable about it.
