The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)

By necessity, my day aligned with that of the coven. They would rise from their sarcophagi at sunset, a macabre spectacle that sent shivers down my spine. I would wake and quickly hide my gag beneath a loose floorboard before unlocking the door to the bedroom, where I had concealed my secret. It made me tense every time I did it, as the fear of discovery hung over me like a dark cloud. Then the whole world would know what must not be known—that I was an embarrassing, mentally defective disgrace to my family. No one would talk to them, and it would all be my fault, the source of their shame. Each morning, I was tense in case Mary mentioned hearing something. For the vampires, the morning would last until midnight, and their day would be the early silent hours before dawn. Some familiars, like the soldiers, mostly served on guard during the day, while the servants toiled through the night. This was their routine, and it became mine, a constant reminder of the strange world I was now a part of.

Today just before the first strike of midnight, I had finished breakfast, and then I had been painstakingly dressed. In the morning, Mary continued to instruct me on how to walk gracefully in the stiletto-heeled shoes the vampire women favoured. Life trapped like this made even such events that lacked any virtue, worth spending time on. It was a skill I had no need for in our kingdom's camps, but it was not as simple as I had first guessed. While I practiced, there was a knock at the locked door.

The Duke arrived with two familiars, clinging to him like serpents.

Mary had told me of some of the coven customs. One was for vampires to visit each other near midnight and share conversation and blood. The Duke's eyes widened noticeably as he walked in and witnessed me.

"My lady, Duke Sadismann," Mary announced as the Duke entered to the room. Perhaps it was the coven clothes, but in the huge dress, I felt warmer and more regal. My shoulders were level, naked but proud, exposed, and vulnerable.

The Duke smiled and began to clap. "Bravo, Bravo," he began, clearly pleased. "My princess, you look beyond exquisite. You are opium for my eyes. I swear before the blood god that Mary has the power of a necromancer. Look at you; you will massacre men's souls with those eyes. Bravo, Mary, your reputation is not undeserved. I give you a feral and anonymous colleen, and you return me a Queen."

"The Duke flatters me and rightly complements Mary." I said sitting down. Mary didn't need to tell me how I was expected to act in court.

"Nonsense. There is no language on this earth that could sweetly and rightly sing your praises, no words to rightly describe how the curve of your hips so sweetly captures the light of the room. There is no word in any tongue that could capture the delight of your form framed in such immaculate perfection. My dear, it's like the blood goddess herself has taken human form. Selam, my dear, don't you think she looks stunning?"

"Lord," said the first familiar girl called Selam, Selam was a vision of gaunt tall ethereal beauty in the dimly lit room. Her form was graceful and delicate, accentuated by her slender frame. Her raven-black hair cascaded in a silken waterfall down her back, contrasting starkly with her porcelain skin. Her lips were a deep crimson, enticing and alluring set in high cheeks. Selam's eyes, pools of darkness framed by long, dark lashes, held a mixture of adoration and reverence whenever she gazed upon her vampire lord. I thought she smelt of a forest at midnight. Her every move demonstrated the elegance that characterised vampires and their familiars. She moved with a feline grace. Her unequivocal charm and otherworldly appeal was to everyone in her presence.

"I would proudly say you could rip out my eyes because I have seen beauty and am content I will never see its like again." She said her words extenuating her high cheekbones.

He turned to his other familiar, "Meona?"

"It's true, my lord, I have never seen such stunning beauty. It's as if her clothes were entirely created for her personal pleasure; she has a countenance that lights up the coven," said the second Meona.