Secrets in the Shadows

Chapter Eleven

Kramer made his way downstairs and stopped when he noticed Maev lying down on the floor in front of the fireplace. He walked slowly towards her and noticed that she was sleeping. The deer was up and walking around the sitting area, Kramer walked slowly towards the animal and grabbed it, he calmed it down as it tried to wiggle its way out of his arms. He went to the front door and slowly opened it carrying the animal outside. He walked behind the house and opened a gate that was hidden behind some creepers. He put the little animal down and it ran towards the woods. Kramer hurried back inside since it was extremely cold and he didn't grab his coat on the way out. As he walked up the stairs Maev was standing in front of the door looking at him.

" Where is the deer?", she asked as she pulled the blanket around her tightly.

" Where it's supposed to be", Kramer answered as he walked past her.

Maev rolled her eyes as she didn't expect any other answers coming from his highness. She closed the door behind her and walked inside.

" It's freezing!", Maev said as she watched Kramer putting some logs back in the fireplace.

He didn't answer as he turned his back towards her.

" So, what are we doing today?", Maev asked even if she knew that he will not bother to answer.

" Great!! I think spending the day talking to myself sounds very enjoyable!", Maev said as she walked towards her bedroom. Kramer turned around when he realized that she was no longer in the sitting room, he shook his head as he stood up.

" That woman will surely drive herself crazy!", Kramer said with a soft lingering smile as he walked towards the windows. He slightly draw opened the curtains and looked outside. The weather was dull and it had started to rain. He felt hungry and he needed to feed again even if last night he had some blood but it wasn't enough. Whenever he travels to the other world it seems like he grows an appetite for more blood, but he will only have to satisfy with what he is given by the donors. Kramer knows that he will have to go out again otherwise he will get sick and might attack the civilians to get the amount of blood that he needed and it wasn't something that he wanted to do. He thought about what Maev had asked him and decided that he will take her out of the house and drop her somewhere where she could entertain herself as he wasn't in the mood to put up with any more whining coming from her.

He made his way down the corridor and softly knocked on her slightly open bedroom door. He slowly pushed open the door and was about to call her name but stopped when he saw her standing there close to the bed only in her bra and panties. Her long greenish hair cascaded down her back almost covering her black panties. She had her back turned towards him, unaware that he was outside of the door staring at her with desire flowing through her veins, she turned towards him and removed her bra letting it fall to the floor. Kramer tried to look away but he couldn't stop staring at her perfectly sized breasts. He tried to turn away from the sight of temptation, but the sight in front of him was too beautiful not to admire. He let his gaze roamed over her body which was surely holding his interest and increasing his blood flow down there as he put his hand to control the bulge in his pants . His heart started to race, the effect beautiful women have on Vampires. He merely stood there staring at Maev, he had to control his vampire impulses so that he didn't walk in there and consummate his marriage with his wife. When she started to remove her panties, he quickly took a step back and took in a deep breath begging his body to calm down. That woman was making his heart race like never before and he needed a minute to get rid of that hard-on. Kramer knocked on the door again but this time louder.

" Wait a minute!", he heard her shout out.

Kramer slowly calmed his breath before he opened the door after he heard her said to come in. Thinking that it was the maid, Maev was surprised to see the King himself walking into the bedroom and she wished that she was still dressed up instead of standing there in that see- through robe. “What do you want?", she asked him with a serious tone. Kramer kept looking straight at her face as the robe didn’t leave much to the imagination. In his mind Kramer could still see every inch of her naked body and it was helping to keep something under control . He glanced away from her looking towards the windows, he cleared his throat so that he could speak up." After breakfast, I'm going out and if you want I'll give you a ride to the town. It's a small town, but you might find something for you to do there ", he said and she nodded yes. No other words were exchanged between them, Kramer quickly left the room and as he closed the door he stood there with his hand curled around the doorknob for a few seconds. Then he walked away quickly, he met the maid who greeted him with narrowed eyebrows as if she was wondering what he was doing in this part of the house. He wouldn't blame her as he had referred to Maev as a prisoner when he had asked her to prepare one of the maid's quarters for her. He was sure that Ulia was aware of what was going on back in the Kingdom but like always she would only obey and not ask any questions. He instructed Ulia to prepare breakfast for him and Maev and that they will be going out straight after breakfast. Still, the maid looked at him with narrowed eyebrows, probably wondering where he was taking the prisoner.

As he stood under the shower ,Kramer closed his eyes letting the water ease down those cravings from inside his body. He had to do this to remind himself of what that woman was to him. A cold shower will make him come back to his senses, but it was surely not working as the images of Maev nakedness flashed through his mind making him growl. Her skin looked so soft, she wasn't as ivory white as most of the girls in her kingdom. She had an olive complexion, which she didn't get from Alanon as he was a typical White Kingdom man with ivory skin and silver hair. She must have gotten her skin tone from her mother, a woman whose whereabouts remained a mystery. His mind wandered back to Maev, even if she had those panties on, they left little to the imagination. It wasn't the first time that he had felt some sort of attraction towards Maev and he didn't like that one bit. " She is my enemy and I have to keep reminding myself of that. I would not let her curves get the better of me!", Kramer said as he grabbed his towel and wiped his face. Wiping the mist off the glass, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He saw a tired face looking back at him, he hasn't been sleeping well since the death of his brother and he hadn't been feeding as often as he should to recover his strength. He couldn't and shouldn’t let his people down. He needed to get back in shape and fight for justice, he thought as he splashed some water over his face. No one will bring down Kramer The Grand, surely not the people of the White Kingdom, that was his last thought before he threw the towel in the bamboo basket and walked into his bedroom.

Kramer made his way downstairs and heard Maev speaking to the maid. He heard her laugh and her laughter filled up the cottage. Her laughter irritated him, he grabbed onto the handrail of the stairs and squeezed his hand around the wooden handrail. Listen to how she’s laughing! She’s still alive, breathing, laughing … whilst her people killed my brother. They will pay, we shall see who will have the last laugh, Kramer silently said to himself as he slowly walked towards the dining room.He stood there in the doorway of the dining room with his hands inside his pockets observing Maev and Ulia chatting softly. The gossiping stopped and the dining room was quiet as soon as they noticed his presence. The little woman bowed to Kramer and then she hurried and left the room. Maev wondered why she had to do that since she was enjoying her little conversation with her. Every time he walks into a room people run away, Maev thought and smiled.

They started to eat after the Master had taken his seat at the head of the ten-seater dining table. They ate in silence and Maev felt the loneliness once more. She felt being around Kramer only made her feel cold. She hurried and finished eating, she excused herself at the table as she stood up taking her plate towards the kitchen. “Leave that, it’s Ulia’s job”, she heard Kramer said but she didn't listen as she took her plate to the kitchen and placed it in the sink.

She walked back to the table and was about to grab the other things when Ulia walked in. Kramer glanced at the maid who hurried towards her.

" I'll clean up!", the maid said almost shouting.

"It's ok Ulia. I like to make myself feel useful around the house ., after all, I am sort of a prisoner around here!", she said finishing her sentence in a whispering tone as she walked past Kramer. She was sure he heard her since at the corner of her left eye she saw his face twitched. Kramer glanced at Maev and then at Ulia wondering if the maid had said something to Maev about her being a prisoner, thus the reason why she made that comment. But he didn’t ask the maid any questions, he chose to sit there eating quietly.

Maev grabbed one of the coats on the coat rack and put it on. She put on a pair of boots which she had found on the wooden shoe rack and even if they were almost too big for her, she had to wear it to make her way to the car. Maev opened the front door and took in a deep breath as she stood there in the doorway. Even if it had been pouring a while ago, now there wasn’t a trace of black clouds in the sky. Only the puddles that remained outside tell the story that it has been raining. Maev walked out and stood on the stairs, she opened her arms and closed her eyes. She was surely enjoying the breeze of the cold air against her cheeks. Maev thought that she'd rather wait for Kramer outside which made no difference since the weather matched the atmosphere inside that house whenever she was around him.

" Are you ready?", his voice behind her startled her.

" I am", she replied.

Kramer turned and spoke to Ulia who nodded. She couldn't figure out what he said since once more he was speaking in this strange language.

Maev didn't pay much attention to them as she walked towards the car and got in the front seat.

Kramer got in the driver's seat and started the engine. They drove in silence and Maev spent the time looking outside. As they drove past some tall trees which made the area looked even darker Maev wiped the mist off the window for her to be able to see outside. Glancing towards the tall trees which had formed a canopy, she noticed a few men standing and staring towards the car. She got goosebumps as she looked at Kramer who was staring at the road.

Kramer felt Maev was staring at him and could feel her heart beating faster. He turned and looked at her and noticed that she was a bit pale.

" What's wrong with you?", Kramer asked annoyingly.

Maev swallowed before she answered,

" I saw some men staring at the car back there!", Maev said pointing towards the back and Kramer looked at her again.

" Why didn't you say so?! What did they look like?!", Kramer asked as he looked in the rearview mirror and then the side mirror but outside it was too foggy now to see anything.

" They were men, dressed in black.. they looked like,...Vampires!", Maev said with wide eyes looking at Kramer.