4
2312 Words
Three men, three vampires, all standing right in front of me, who were they, and what business did they have with the castle? As they all turned around, I got a better view of their appearances, they were all surprisingly tall, much more than Atlas and all the other males around, the one who I made eye contact with first was quite handsome, his long hair fell on both sides of his oblong face and his thin lips turned up into a welcoming smile.
The second man I looked at had a diamond-like shaped face, his hair was at ear length and he had a beauty spot on the left side of his chin, it was made visible by the paleness of his skin. And the last man seemed quite angry, his oval face accommodated his side fringe really well and his jaw was rather sharp.
In unison, they approached the ladies and me, standing mere inches away from us they introduced themselves one by one to me;
“A very good day to the beautiful lady of the castle, my name is Mykel, I hope we didn’t frighten you too much”
The man with the long hair spoke with much charm
“Pleasure to serve you, my lady, I am Darias”
Next in line was he with the beauty spot, he was more gentle
“And I am Adan, I look forward to serving you, my lady”
Lastly, the one who looked angry wasn’t angry at all, just serious
“These are lord Nikolai’s most trusted men; their jobs are to take care of everything the master sends them to do”
Brigitte explained
“And right now, we were sent by the Lord himself to keep you company until he arrives”
Mykel announced
“That’s…very kind of him”
“He cannot wait to finally meet you”
He can’t wait to meet me or take my blood?
“Likewise, if you don’t mind me asking, what sort of transportation was that?”
“Once again, we apologize if it frightened you, it is the quickest way we had to get here”
“So, you fly?”
“Not exactly, for a more simplified explanation, we merely jump as high as we can and let the wind direct us from there”
“Sounds…interesting”
I would have gotten more questions in if Atlas didn’t interrupt, he was very strict with the men, as if they were younger than he was, which did not look like the case.
“If you are done with lady Astrid, I would like to talk with you all in my office”
“There he goes, apparently that’s how you receive people these days”
Darias commented with much sarcasm
“You know better than to be making acquaintances with the lady before the Lord himself”
Atlas retorted
“Excuse me, but is that a law? If so, then I shouldn’t have met the ladies of the courtyard or you”
“That’s the spirit, tell him who’s boss”
“That’s enough! We are being requested, stop behaving like children and listen for once”
“Thank you, Adan”
Atlas cleared his throat, I did not mean to embarrass him but I did not like the way he spoke to the men who had only just got here after their journey, if indeed that was a law, I did not like it, speaking to another man does not mean I will become their blood bride so the dark lord has nothing to be insecure over
“We will talk again later my lady, please excuse us for now”
Adan bowed his head and left alongside the other men with Atlas
“Talulla”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Am I not allowed to talk to the men that just arrived?”
“You are allowed to talk to whoever you see fit, my lady”
“Then why did Atlas react that way?”
“He is very loyal to the master, be believes everything meant for the master must be touched by only the master”
“A rather daft way of thinking, if you ask me”
“Do not take it to heart, he is simply doing his job, please, you must be hungry”
“Let us take you to lady Priscilla where you can have your breakfast”
“Alright, thank you”
***
Priscilla was seated by a window reading from her book of poems, her dedication for it was most amusing. I took my seat right across hers and was immediately served tea, once done we were left alone.
“You seem to be awfully busy these past few days, I hope you’re not overworking yourself”
“Not at all, I wouldn’t call my limited movements busy at all, as a matter of fact, I feel quite lazy”
“There’s no shame in that, women are not supposed to move around so much, that is the man’s job”
“If that is so why does this castle have more women than men attending to everyday chores?”
“You’ve made your point, now eat”
“I’m actually not very hungry”
“And why is that?”
“Anyone in my position would lose their appetite as well, the dark lord is almost here and my nerves are on edge”
“There’s no need for them to be, after all, you’ve been trained all your life”
“Just because a knight trains for battle does not mean his armor doesn’t quiver when on the battlefield”
“A well-prepared knight charges whether to victory or death”
“And what if I end up dead?”
“That will not happen”
“How are you so sure”
“Because there is proof from your ancestors”
“Times have drastically changed Priscilla, you cannot confirm that he is the same as the dark lords before him, can you?”
The issue required for her to close her book
“Why are you so worried? I thought you had already come to terms with this situation”
I took a breath
“Brigitte and Talulla gave me a tour of the castle in its decorating process, I will be meeting Nikolai Vastara for the first in my life, the sudden realization has thrown me off my feet…I don’t know why I am suddenly feeling this way but I trust my intuition enough to know when something disturbing is around the corner”
“You think something terrible will happen when you meet the dark lord?”
“I don’t want to judge him before meeting him in person but yes, I do feel like our encounter will not go too well”
“Do not jinx yourself already, give yourself time to breathe, you will realize that it is only anxiousness talking”
Whether Priscilla was right or wrong, my nerves will only settle once I’ve met that dark lord himself
“You could be right”
“Of course, I am, let’s change the topic to something more cheerful to get your mind off the ball”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I just received word from the messenger I had sent to the village”
“Really, how is everyone?”
“Happy and healthy, according to him, Nikolai has already started with the restoration of the village”
“Has he?”
“Yes, more provisions have been brought in like seeds, farming equipment, and new clothing materials, there is finally a clean supply of water and the dilapidated buildings are under reconstruction to be turned into new homes, schools and shops”
“Amazing, he moves fast”
“He is doing everything he promised he would, I am glad”
“It’s the least he could do considering he is sentencing a maiden to such a fate”
“Don’t be so ungrateful Astrid, do not forget why we are doing this in the first place”
It was manipulation and she knew it but I couldn’t really argue, as one who has lived below the line of poverty, I understand the desperation for a better life, my people craved it so much they were willing to send me off before I was ready.
“I too am glad Priscilla, but won’t you allow me to vent my frustrations a little?”
“I believe you have vented enough, now we wait for you and the dark lord to finally meet”
“You behave as if our meeting will change my feelings”
“Who knows, maybe seeing him face to face will ignite some passion into you”
“Very unlikely”
“But not impossible”
It was always frustrating going back and forth with Priscilla, she always believed she was right and never missed an opportunity to prove her points.
“As I said before, I am not hungry so I will leave you to your book of poetry”
“Lighten up child, better days are ahead”
“We can only hope”
***
The day was too beautiful to be spent in my chambers, I allowed myself a solo tour of the castle, watching as workers decorated from top to bottom. I was astonished by just how much they got done in such little time, they were obviously exhausted, it showed on their faces yet they continued to work with conviction. I somehow felt like I was to blame for their tiredness, after all, if I wasn’t here this ball wouldn’t be happening.
As I was crossing the massive ballroom where the event would be held, a young man suddenly fell from a ladder and onto his back, I immediately rushed to his side to see if he was fatally injured.
“My goodness, are you okay?”
“I’m…alright my lady”
He grunted in pain
“Sorry for the inconvenience”
“Don’t apologize, you are hurt, aren’t you?”
“That simply won’t do”
Darias joined us
“Young man, you are not immortal like me, take caution of your movements”
“Yes sir”
“You may rest and return to your activities when well”
“Thank you, sir,”
He assisted the young man onto his feet and escorted him out of the ballroom, after a moment he returned to talk to me
“That was quite noble of you my lady, I can see you have a big heart”
“Thank you, Darias”
“I am flattered, you remember my name”
“Why wouldn’t I? You are kind enough to assist me even if I didn’t ask you to”
“It is my pleasure; I still can’t believe you’re here”
“Oh really, and why is it hard to believe?”
“Well, we have been waiting for quite some time, and the fact that you are here feels a little unrealistic”
“I can agree with that statement, I too have been waiting for a long time and now that I am here, I am extremely nervous”
“Would you like to take a walk with me, to clear your mind?”
“Atlas won’t like that very much, will he?”
“Atlas isn’t lord Nikolai; I am sure he wouldn’t mind his most trusted friend taking a walk with his bride to be”
Darias seemed like a genuine man, his smile held no malice whatsoever, he actually made me feel comfortable
“I guess you’re right”
***
I was taken to one of the many gardens in the castle, this one, in particular, was filled only with white and yellow flowers, it was beautiful, the colors complimented each other very well. There was a small wooden bench where I took a seat while Darias remained standing.
“Now then, what’s this about nervousness, are you frightened of the dark lord?”
“Frightened isn’t that word I would use, more skeptical, I guess”
“Why, if I may ask?”
“With the title of ‘dark lord’ how would one believe he has good intentions; I have been told of how much he had helped people but I can’t help but feel he always needs something in return, after all, that is our bargain, in exchange for my blood he helps restore my village”
“Ah yes, a give and take relationship but perhaps you need to know the real Nikolai before concluding on your feelings about him”
“And who is the real Nikolai?”
“Would you like me to tell you?”
It wouldn’t hurt to know from someone very close to him, perhaps I have the wrong image of him and by talking to Darias I might become calmer and accepting, and as the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together", perhaps he and Darias are the same
“Yes, please”
“Well, how to phrase it properly? Ah, Nikolai Vastara is a tyrant”
“E-excuse me?”
- Writer
