Blood & Butlers

by S. J. Frey

  I feel like ever since the whole finding out everyone is a vampire thing, she is distant and careful around me. I guess I wouldn’t blame her. If you kept a secret like that from your best friend for over four years, you would be distant as well. Turning to face her, I smile. I sit down on the bed and tap the seat next to me. “You don’t have to act differently towards me. Just treat me like you did when we were in school. You’re my friend first and whatever you are to me second,” I grin, trying to repeat the same words she once told me.

  Amy chuckles. “Good. I thought you were still mad when you didn’t answer the door.”

  “No, no. I thought you were Darren at the door. He’s making me take this vampire bootcamp tomorrow,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “I heard. It won’t be so bad. Darren is an excellent teacher.” She grinned mischievously.

  I rolled my eyes again and threw a chip at her. I wasn’t about to open that can of worms.

  “How is everything else?” She questions.

  I know what she was referring to. I barely talk about my mother since the whole vampire fiasco. To be honest, I try really hard to block her death out. “I got an email yesterday that the house sold, and the lawyer will see that the money goes to the realtor fees and mom’s medical bills. There will be a little left to pay, but not much.”

  Amy nods her head and eats a chip. “And how do you feel?”

  I sighed and laid back on my pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “I miss her, especially now, with all of this going on. I wish she were here to tell me what to do. I feel so conflicted and angry because she never told me anything about my dad. When I asked, she told me he walked out, and that was the end of it. Did she even know he was a vampire?”

  Amy shrugs her shoulders. “Your father didn’t talk about his personal life too much. All I know was the day your father telling us about you. That’s all I can remember.”

  I wonder if mom knew anything about him. If she truly understood that he was a vampire and that could be the reason why she hid the will. Or, maybe she really didn’t know that he was a vampire and she was trying to protect her only daughter.

  “Hey, don’t get so gloomy. Let’s watch a movie and relax. You’ll need it for all the training tomorrow,” Amy kids.

  I fish for the remote on my nightstand with a smile. As I flip through the millions of channels, Amy snuggles up next to me with our snacks.

  “You know Lizzy, no matter what choice you make. I will always be here for you,” Amy whispers quietly.

  “Thanks, Amy. It’s good to know that, no matter what, I’ll still have a friend after all of this.”

  Ten

  “Again!”

  “Darren. I’m exhausted! We’ve been at this for hours!”

  My feet start to protest after the third hour of dancing. I am still salty by the rude wakeup call Darren gave me this morning. He couldn’t wait a few hours after sunrise to wake me up. No. He had to throw open the curtains, so the bright sun shines in my face. I’m pretty sure I hissed at him in retaliation. Darren was unphased and practically dragged me out of bed. Meanwhile, Amy snoozed away in the comfortable bed.

  “We will stop at lunchtime for a break when you master the waltz,” he commands.

  I groan and run my hands over my sweaty face. The stray hairs are sticking to my cheeks, making me undo my ponytail and redo it over and over.

  Darren is unusually bossy and persistent today. It makes me wonder if he is worried that I am going to embarrass him instead of myself.

  “Let's go, Elizabeth,” he barks.

  I peel myself up off the floor and walk up to him, wanting to step on his shiny shoes in objection.

  “If you got the rest, I told you to get you wouldn’t be so tired. Instead, you stayed up all night watching horror films with Amaryllis,” he taunts.

  Even though he's right, I hated him at this moment. My face turns red as I place my hand on his shoulder and my other hand in his.

  “Let's hurry up and get this done,” I growl.

  Darren grins, seeing how he is able to get under my skin. Reginald is standing by a stereo and presses play when Darren gives the signal. As we moved across the ballroom, our feet didn’t miss a beat. Darren twirls me across the room, and I look up at the decorated ceiling. I wasn’t surprised that the ballroom is beautiful. Everything in the manor is clean and furnished to the full extent.

  The windows are tall and allow a lot of light into the small space. The marble floors shine as if they were just polished, and a small chandelier hangs above us, sending low rainbow light through the crystals on the wall. It is easy to tell that Reginald and Darren took outstanding care of this manor. I stop moving the moment my feet hit something hard. I stumble and quickly look down to see that I stepped on Darren’s foot by mistake. He didn’t flinch and just stares at me with annoyance.

  “I’m sorry,” I clear my throat.

  Darren sighs, “Elizabeth, you need to concentrate. How are you going to learn the dance if you keep spacing out?”

  He's getting more and more annoyed with me as I shrugged. I didn’t want to go to this party in the first place, but I need to go. I want to show Lorcan that I am more than just a human in his eyes.

  “I don’t know why I am taking the time to learn this dance anyway. I’m not taking over the council seat,” I retorted.

  Darren gave me a look. I wasn’t sure if he is relieved or hurt. His face breaks into a smile and shrugs. “It’s your choice. If it were me, I would do everything in my power to try and walk away. However, in the harsh reality of it all, each decision will have a consequence. Elizabeth, I am not here to persuade you otherwise. I am merely here to protect you. If you want to decline the position, then you need to make that clear at the party. All of the council members will be there, and if you want them to take you seriously, then I suggest we take it from the top and pay attention,” he orders.

  This is a losing battle. At this point, the only thing I can do now is to follow Darren’s lead. Reginald presses play again, and our bodies begin to move. I focus as hard as I can on the steps, counting the movements in my head as we glide across the floor. I'm improving, but the thought of me dancing in front of complete strangers is nerve-wracking.

  “Good, now keep up,” Darren instructs.

  The music starts to gradually increase to a faster pace, and Darren spins me around in time with the music. The further we get through the song, I begin to worry because we didn’t get this far in the step explanation as we twirl one last time. I held onto his hand and trip over my foot.

  Darren breaks my fall by catching me as I land softly on top of him. I look at him and want to curl up in a hole from embarrassment. “Oh, geez, I’m so sorry!” I gush.

  He chuckles and reaches out to push a sweaty strand of hair from my face. I am confident he can feel my heartbeat through my chest. I went to look away, but he captures my chin with his thumb and turns my head back to him.

  “You are doing exceptionally well,” he says softly with hooded eyes as his face leans closer to mine.

  “I beg your pardon, but lunch will be served momentarily,” Reginald calls out.

  The moment Darren and I were just sharing quickly dissolved as he got up and brought me to my feet. He brushes off his black pants and his white V-neck shirt.

  “Yes, we will pick this up after lunch,” he says, clearing his throat.

  When he leaves the room, I stand there dumbfounded. Was Darren going to kiss me? The idea seems to shake me slightly because he’s always so proper and focused. When we are alone, he shows more of his softer side and more relaxed.

  After enough time passed, I walk out of the ballroom and trail after the sounds of plates and silverware to the dining room. The only time I walked into this room was when I first came to the manor. The long, dark, cherry oak table matched the chairs and shined in the low light.

  Reginald and Amy were putting food on the table, and Darren is nowhere to be found. I touch one of the chairs and
pull it out, so I could sit. The tops of my thighs are throbbing from all the dancing and practically sang to me the moment I can sit down. I feel like this basic training is a legalized form of torture for the out of shape soul.

  Amy places sandwiches and veggies on the table, along with different fruits. My mouth is watering, looking at the delicious morsels, and I reach for a finger sandwich. Just as my fingers touch the soft, spongey bread, a hand came down hard on my skin, shocking me from my trance. I wave the sting from my skin and look up at Darren, who is hovering over me.

  “Why did you do that?” I scowl, irritated that he is keeping me from my food.

  “A vampire aristocrat doesn’t simply reach out like some savage. We may be monsters, but we are more civilized than that,” he scolds.

  I frowned and said nothing as I slumped back in my seat. Darren is quick to lightly smack me in the back of the head, causing me to sit up again. “This is your next lesson. Etiquette,” he states.

  I'm a little confused and want to groan. I didn’t know vampires keep up with manners in the first place.

  “First, you must always sit up straight, don’t slouch or lean on your elbows. A proper posture is important as it represents your upbringing,” Darren instructs.

  My eyes roll to the back of my head as I sit up straight and gently lay my hands on my lap. I notice Amy as she sits across from me, mimicking the actions. I'm not sure if she is being helpful or trying to be funny.

  “Now, when you drink from your glass, you must do so quietly. Don’t slurp,” Darren continues.

  “Do vampires ever eat food? I mean, they drink blood and stuff, right?” I ask in defiance. I’ve seen Amy eat regular food all the time, but the more I thought of it, it was always in small portions.

  Amy slumps over now and rests her elbow on the table, propping her head up with her hand, proving my hypothesis that she is just mocking. Darren is pouring a cup of hot tea and sighs at my question.

  “All animals and mammals adapt to survive. Vampires are no exception. Humans and vampires used to live in unity for hundreds of years. Vampires fed off the blood of animals mostly. They only fed on humans who were dying or sentenced to death. It was a peace treaty of sorts,” he explains. “However, because of the war and with the human’s uprising against vampires, we went into hiding. Thus, having to adapt. Without human blood, we had to rely on animals.”

  Reginald clears his throat, causing Amy and me to jump. We completely forgot he's still in the room because he is quiet. He smiles, seeing our reaction and pours himself some tea.

  “To be honest, it was more of a way to make sure we were fed. The humans feared us to the point where they would offer the convicted or the sick to please us. The blood was given to us as a way to keep us in check."

  The way Reginald looks up at me sends chills race up my spine, making the hair of my arms stand up.

  “Before your father took over the vampire court, there was a man named Claudius. He treated both races as if they were just his subjects, and he was the king. He was cruel and killed for fun. It was him that discovered that vampires can increase their power by the amount of human blood consumed. Claudius started a war where countless humans and vampires were slaughtered. He wanted vampires to be the supreme being. It was your father that stopped the war by killing Claudius. When the war was over, the remaining council members named your father the leader, not because he was one of the Ornigem, but because of his act of peace between the two species,” he pauses to sip his tea.

  Amy looks bored as she traces circles into the wooden table as if she heard this story thousands of times before. Darren and I are fixed on Reginald as he sits at the head of the table. The many lines in his skin move with his motions as he puts his teacup down.

  “How old are you, Reginald?” I blurt without thinking. Instantly I get embarrassed as I wave my hand for him to dismiss my comment. “Sorry, that was rude of me. Just ignore me."

  Reginald chuckles with a smile. “It’s no trouble, Miss. I’m about 400 years old. I was dying from sickness and turned into a vampire at the start of the war. I am still alive, thanks to your father. When he took over the council, all the vampires went into hiding, no longer allowed to consume human blood or be involved with humans. He was trying to protect both species,” he sighed.

  The story about my father’s heroic nature surprises me. He put himself out there to protect humans and vampires by going up against one of his own. And in the end, it was his own rules that killed him. I wanted to ask Reginald more questions, but Darren beat me to the punch.

  “Well, I guess that covers our history lesson for the day. Thank you, Reginald. We can walk in the sun and don’t have to rely on human blood as much. However, some vampires still believe in Claudius’ teachings, and kill humans for fun, draining their victims like it’s a sport. We adapted to survive, not to take over.” He describes.

  Darren looks at his pocket watch. The day is slowly slipping into the early evening, and there is still so much to do.

  “Speaking of food. I must apologize in advance for the lunch preparation. The steaks I had prepared for today were too tough to cook. Someone sucked them dry and completely forgot their manners.” Darren glares at Amy as he arches an eyebrow in annoyance.

  Amy gasps and places a delicate hand over her heart, acting as if she was offended. However, the smile she wore told a different story. “Me?! Why I never! But, if I can be frank, the cut of steak you got wasn’t even that good. I prefer a juicy Ribeye.” She snorts.

  For the next few hours, Darren teaches me proper food etiquette and introductions. I understood most of the protocol, but the dancing is not working out.

  By dinner time, my legs were on fire, and I couldn’t move. I was lying on the waxed floor of the ballroom staring at the ceiling. My back feels sticky with sweat making my shirt cling to me. I'm fighting the urge to pass out as I think again about what Lorcan said, how it was only a matter of time. Time for what? It bothers me a little, not knowing what he meant. Did it have something to do about the council position? Or was it something else?

  My eyes trace over the deep gold designs against the burgundy ceiling. The large chandelier stands still as the setting sun dips below the tree line. The once rainbow reflections are now dim and vanishing. The fake candles within the chandelier flicker on, bringing the room into a warm light. I often forget how beautiful the manor truly is.

  “Is everything okay?”

  I look up to see Darren standing over me with two water bottles in his hands. Carefully I sit up and could feel every muscle scream, begging me to not move. “I’m fine,” I lie. Besides the physical exhaustion, I’m still worried about Lorcan.

  Darren scowls at me and sits down beside me. He hands me a water bottle, which I instantly open to guzzle down the precious liquid. Once my insides are cold and happy, Darren stares at me, not convinced by my words.

  “You don’t seem fine. What troubles you?” He persists.

  This is going to be another losing battle. He is going to bother me until I told him what is on my mind. I sip my water and spread my hands out in front of me to stretch. “I was thinking about what Lorcan said. It bothers me,” I say reluctantly.

  Darren looks at the large window in front of us. The tall evergreen trees sway gently in silence. “Before you take over your father’s place, you have to be a vampire. No human can take the seat,” he says.

  “Well, that shouldn’t be an issue, right? Don’t you have to just bite?” I shrug. I must be insane. I'm talking as if I ultimately agree to the idea of being turned into a bloodthirsty monster to uphold my dear old dads’ legacy. What am I thinking?

  Darren chuckles, “How much television did you watch as a child? A bite isn’t enough to change someone. Did you not pay attention the last time we went over this?” He pauses to take a sip of his water. It sounds like Darren is trying to be irritated, but his tired voice wouldn’t let him.

  “There is an exchange of blood and a blood ritu
al that needs to be performed to transform a human into a vampire. However, in your case, it’s more complicated. Since your bloodline is that of the Orinegem, there is a different ritual. The ritual must be done by a pureblood from the Ornigem bloodline before your twenty-first birthday. The year twenty-one is a pinnacle year for our race. It’s a ceremonial moment where the vampire has reached maturity. It was also when the first vampire was created, and it must be done under the red moon, which only happens every couple of years,” he emphasizes.

  I blink and think hard about what he said. “My twenty-first birthday is on June twenty-first. This is all too weird.” I whisper.

  “And the red moon will appear on that same night,” he responds.

  Which meant I have about a month to decide if this was the life I want. If I don’t take the position, then the manor will be gone, and Lorcan will have full rights to the council.