Blood Slave

by Roseau, Robin

  "Will you play with me?"

  "Do I get in trouble if I whack you with a racquet?"

  "Only if it's intentional."

  She laughed.

  She had her own locker, so we both dressed and she set a timer. We were down to thirty minutes, so we made it count, only a few minutes of warm up before playing a game.

  I wasn't used to playing for regular points, and the score was nine to one before I began aiming for hard-to-hit shots. She beat me by three points, but I gave a good showing and thought the next game may be different.

  "The lady used to play with me," she said. "But now I play with Tamara."

  "I never see you here."

  "We are not allowed when you are here," she replied.

  "Oh, I'm sorry-"

  "Don't be. I wouldn't trade places with you."

  We changed and showered. She had to dress afterwards, so she asked me to take myself back to my room. "I will be up with your breakfast," she said. "Ten minutes."

  I used the time to draw the racquetball game. The balls had teeth and the racquets were dark portals to hell, but at least neither she nor I looked like monsters. It was just a sketch, and I was just finishing it when she arrived with my tray.

  "None for you?"

  "We need to keep you moving or you'll be late," she said. She nodded to the pad. "May I see?"

  "I want to ask you something, and you must think carefully before you answer. If the answer is 'yes' you must do nothing to tell me where. Have you been seeing my other pieces?"

  "The pretty ones or the scary ones? Well, yes, I've seen both. I don't know if I've seen all of them, but a lot."

  "Do they frighten you?"

  "Some. Some are, I don't even know what word to use. They grab me, you know? I can't stop looking at them. I've had nightmares about a few." She paused. "The lady wouldn't kill us like that one you did. She wouldn't."

  "I know, but that is what my eyes saw that night, watching all of you together." I paused, then flipped open the sketchpad and turned it to her. She took it and looked at it.

  "This is awesome!" she said. "What are you going to do with it?"

  "It's just a sketch. I'd probably throw it away."

  "May I have it?"

  I took the pad from her, signed it, then pulled the sheet out and handed it to her."

  "Who is Grace Faire?"

  "I am, now, only in my art. I am still Melissa. Ashlyn, you must show this to The Lady and accept her judgment. She may not let you keep it. If she does not, she has reasons."

  "All right. Now hurry, you have to eat quickly."

  I moved to the table and sat down. While I ate she showed me the new features on my tablet, and she had her own. I saw that I could email my lady, Maria, Madame Cathalina, or Ashlyn. I was surprised by the last.

  "Is that permanent?" I asked, pointing to her name.

  "The lady hasn't indicated otherwise," she replied. "Now, you cannot initiate a video conference, but you can accept incoming requests. I'll show you." She used her own tablet, and a moment later, mine was chirping. She showed me how to accept or decline the call. I accepted, and she appeared on the screen.

  "I'll step out into the hall," she said. She closed the door behind her, then I saw her lips moving, but heard nothing.

  "I can't hear you," I said. "Can you hear me?"

  She poked her nose back in. "Volume controls are on the right."

  Then I saw her talking, and when I found the volume, I discovered her saying, "One-two-three, one-two-three."

  "I hear you!"

  She grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"

  "Pretty cool," I agreed. "Are there rules?"

  She stepped back in and showed me how to mute the audio or hide the video and how to end the call. Then she showed me how I could indicate my willingness to chat, and she showed me on her tablet what the various statuses looked like.

  "If you say 'Do Not Disturb', I won't bother you, but I bet The Lady ignores it."

  I smiled. "I'm sure you're right."

  "I was told to email you before interrupting you, except in an emergency," she said. "And that's all there is to it. You have email though."

  She showed me, and sure enough, there was an email from my mistress. I read it quickly. "I still prefer paper notes," the email said, "but I will at times use this method. Please do not abuse the new privileges, but you now may have someone to talk to when you are lonely." Then she had my schedule for the next few days.

  I wrote a reply. "Thank you. Please, will I see you tonight?"

  I finished the rest of my breakfast then collected sketchpads and pencils and declared myself ready to go.

  Ashlyn escorted me downstairs.

  "It is too cold to go outside," I said.

  "You have clothes in there," she said, pointing to the front closet. She held my things while I dressed, and a car pulled up just as I was tying the shoes.

  "Will you escort me every day?"

  "Just today," she replied. "You must sign out now. There is a new option for you."

  I looked through the application that was used to track my whereabouts, and indeed there was an option labeled, "traveling". I clicked it, and a moment later, I stepped into the waiting car.

  I didn't recognize the male driver. He greeted me as "Miss" and didn't offer any scorn for my tattooed face.

  It was not a limousine this time, just a regular car, but I rode in back, and the driver reminded me to buckle up. We began moving, and I asked, "Will it distract you if we talk?"

  "No, Miss," he said.

  "Is this a taxi?"

  "No, Miss," he said. "It is my personal car. The windows are tinted, however, and no one can see you."

  "My name is-"

  "No, Miss!" he said, holding up a hand. "No names."

  "What do I call you?"

  "Sir."

  I laughed. "Yes, Sir."

  "Very good, Miss."

  I decided secrecy was the word of the day, so I stared out the windows after that. I thought I could get used to someone else driving me then realized I may never want to drive again. Somehow the thought didn't bother me, but I didn't expect it to matter.

  We arrived at Cathalina's, and I tried to step out, but the door wouldn't open.

  "I'm sorry, Miss," he said. "I must open it for you. For your safety, you understand."

  "Oh. Of course." I wouldn't have tried to escape, but it was best to have no temptations.

  He tapped twice on the horn, and a moment later the door opened. That was when he stepped out and released me from the car. I gathered my things and thanked him for his kindness.

  "Very good, Miss," he said.

  "Thank you for not staring," I added.

  "At what, Miss?"

  I smiled and stepped to the house. It was one of the maids waiting for me. She took my coat and exchanged the boots for slippers. Then I followed her through the house. She knocked at a door, paused, then let me in.

  "The blood slave, Madame," she announced.

  "Thank you, Leia," Cathalina replied. "That will be all for now."

  "Yes, Madame," she said.

  I stepped past the maid and found myself in Cathalina's office. She was seated at her desk but rose as I entered. She came around the desk and shook my hand.

  No one had shaken my hand in nearly two years. I returned the gesture automatically, but then asked if this was her preferred greeting.

  "Were you offering to kneel to me? That is not the nature of this relationship."

  "Hmm. Never mind, Madame Cathalina," I replied.

  She studied me then smiled. "You were offering a hug, weren't you?"

  "It was far too presumptuous."

  In response, she pulled me into her arms. My hands were full, so my ability to return the hug was limited, but the contact felt nice. Then I realized what an odd thought that was.

  She released me after a moment then led me to a sitting area at one end of the room. She gestured, and we both sat.

 
"Tell me what you need."

  I smiled. "Permission to draw. Permission to walk around. Understanding of any limits you may have. You may talk to me if you want, or you may continue to work. A chair I can move would be nice. If this is to be a long session, then water or tea."

  "Preferences?"

  "Soothing tea, no caffeine. I am not allowed caffeine. If it is unavailable, water is fine."

  "We have your limitations," she said. "The staff will not even tempt you with anything you are not allowed. You are to remain today for as long as you wish or until shortly before dinner, whichever comes first. If you need a break, let me know."

  "Today I will draw for a while then perhaps I would be permitted to walk and rest my hand."

  "Do you want me to talk to you?"

  "Whatever fits your schedule and needs," I replied. "There will be times my responses become monosyllabic."

  She laughed. "But I would not distract you?"

  "No."

  "Then we shall talk for a while here, and perhaps after we take a walk together, I will work. Your lady told me about a light chair, so there are several near the door for you to choose."

  I glanced over and immediately said, "the stool and the folding chair," I said. "They will give me different perspectives. But I can sit here for now."

  "Give me a moment to request your tea. In the future, you may make any requests with the maid when she escorts you."

  "I presume I am not to wander."

  "It is not that. You may not know where I am. She always does." She paused. "Your tablet should work here. If not, give it to my maid, and she will contact your household. You need to check in."

  I set my pads down and checked the tablet. "It seems to be working, but I don't know if it is."

  "Send me an email," she said.

  "Ah. Of course." I composed an email, and a moment later something on her desk dinged. She got up to check, declared my tablet was working, and then ordered my tea before returning.

  I checked in my new location and dropped Lady Dunn a very brief note. "Have arrived." I set it aside and gathered one of the sketchpads.

  "Can you explain the process?"

  I began sketching her while talking. The tea arrived, and I barely noticed, lost in the sketches. I sipped at it subconsciously while I drew quickly, just getting a feel for her dimensions.

  She had some interesting mannerisms, a set to her mouth, and I tried to capture it, but it didn't last long, so I stopped drawing and said, "Can you freeze for only a minute or two?"

  She froze, but not in the position I wanted.

  "Um. You have a mannerism I am trying to catch." I tried to duplicate it.

  "I do not make a face like that," she said.

  "Then I am doing it wrong. Let's just keep going, and the next time you do it, I'll ask you to freeze. It's fleeting, but I think it's important."

  So she went back to talking, and I kept trying to freeze her, but I kept missing. I finally set my pencils down and asked, "Will I offend you if I touch you?"

  "No."

  I moved closer to her and manipulated her body. I got the posture correctly, but not the facial expression.

  "You have no idea you're doing it."

  "No, clearly not."

  "It's like you're remembering something, and you freeze for just an instant, and it's always the same expression, and you even hold this posture- Freeze!"

  And she had it.

  "Just like that. Please. Just like that."

  I ran back to my seat and began drawing frantically, first her mouth, then her eyes, then the set of her head, then her hands. I moved and did more drawings, then moved once more and drew from a third angle.

  "I got it," I said. "What is that?"

  "You are right," she said, relaxing. "I am remembering my daughter. You remind me of her, you see, just slightly. You do not look at all like her, of course. She looked far more Greek than I do. But you both share an intensity."

  "Is that why you wished my friendship?"

  "Oh, no. I have only recognized the likeness this morning. You are more relaxed with me than you have been in the past, and the intentness comes when you draw."

  "Why the gesture?"

  "I don't know," she said. "Some ancient memory, perhaps. Can you do your painting without including my daughter or this gesture?"

  "I don't know. I am sorry."

  She looked away for a moment. "Let us continue."

  "How long has she been gone, your daughter?"

  She turned back to face me. "Since before the time of Caesar."

  I stared.

  "Go ahead and ask. Every human wants to know."

  I smiled. "Was Jesus real?"

  "If he was, I did not know him. There were many prophets then, and there may have been such a man, and he may have been the son of whatever gods there are, but if so, I can neither confirm nor deny it. To be honest, I doubt the stories for purely practical reasons."

  "Oh?"

  "Rome and Galilee are a great distance apart, and no one traveled those distances. He would have been poor, so he could not have taken ships with no way to pay his way, and it is a very, very long way to walk." She shrugged. "There may be an explanation, but I have not bothered to listen to it. I have never been a follower of that religion."

  "You grew up believing in the Greek gods?"

  "There is a part of me that still does." She smiled. "I pray to Athena, but she does not come to me. Perhaps she is gone from this Earth, or perhaps she does not listen to the prayers of vampires." She paused. "You must not mock Athena in my painting."

  "I promise I will not." I took a breath. "Will you tell me of your daughter?"

  And she did, talking for a long time, and while she talked, I drew, but I drew her daughter, as best I could, and it was not ugly. I stared down at it, and then I turned the pad to her.

  A moment later, two red tears squeezed from her eyes.

  "The tears," I said, and she dabbed them away.

  "May I have this?" she asked. "Please."

  I took the pad back, signed it "Melissa Walsh" and tore it off. "May I have a photocopy?" and she nodded.

  "Tell me about Athena."

  She didn't talk as long, but I drew as she talked, quick sketches, and then I asked her to slow down, close her eyes, and tell me what her goddess looked like. "What is she wearing? Is she standing or sitting? Does she have a totem or spirit animal? A symbol? What is the setting?"

  I wrung her out, and she noticed me clenching my hand.

  "Time for a break?" she asked.

  "Yes. You said you pray to her. Do you have a temple or shrine?"

  She studied me for a long time before answering. "If you disrespect my god, I will destroy you."

  "I won't."

  She waited a little longer. "You vow to never speak a word of what I show you."

  "I promise."

  "Not even to your mistress."

  "I promise."

  She rose fluidly, and I felt clumsy beside her. I left everything where it was and followed her. She led the way outdoors, but I said, "Madame, I am human."

  "Oh, I am sorry." She led me to the front door and helped me with my coat and boots, and then we exited out the back. We walked down a path through her garden, and it was cold, but I said nothing.

  We came to a building in the center of her garden, and it was obvious what it was.

  "This can't possibly be a secret," I said. "No one can see this building and not know it for what it is."

  "No one asks," she said. "And my enemies are not invited here. My friends would never speak of it."

  We entered, and it was stepping back in time. The light was dim, and I stood in the entrance, trying to see. She stopped and turned around.

  "I am sorry. I do not bring mortals here. I should have brought light."

  "If you lead me and describe what my eyes fail to see, that will suffice."

  So she did, taking me gently by the arm and leading me forward.


  "I require you to kneel, not to me, but to Athena," she said. "Please."

  "Of course." I knelt, and then a moment later, she began lighting candles, many, many candles.

  It was beautiful. I do not have the words to describe it, and I will not sully what I saw with my poor words, but it was beautiful. Athena was beautiful.

  "It is only marble," she said. "I have never seen my goddess myself, and I do not know if the sculptor did or not, but in my eyes, this is she." She paused. "If you promise to be respectful, you may draw this space, but your drawings do not leave my property, and you will show them to no one. I can provide better light. There is no electricity, but there is heat. Perhaps not enough for you."

  "It is fine," I said. "It is beautiful, Madame Cathalina. Thank you for bringing me here."

  "I will pray for a moment. Please be silent and bow your head."

  I did as she asked. She knelt beside me and began speaking. I knew the words were Greek, but I could not have told you what she said, but I heard my name once, early amongst her prayers. Finally she finished and grew still. We knelt quietly for two minutes before she spoke in English. "You may speak now."

  "Will you tell me what you prayed for?"

  "Not all of it. I told her I knew I didn't deserve her love, but asked her to watch over you anyway. I told her you faced difficulties, and that you could use her strength."

  "That was very kind of you," I said. "Does she hear our thoughts?"

  "If she does, she has not told us so."

  "Do you believe she has learned English?"

  "You would pray to her?"

  "Would it bother you if I did?"

  "Not as long as you are respectful. She does not care for obsequious."

  "What address should I use?"

  "Just her name."

  I bowed my head again, paused, then said, "Athena. I have nothing to ask of you. I only wish to thank you for your beauty."

  Beside me, Cathalina translated into Greek.

  Again we were silent for a while, and then I said quietly, "Thank you."

  "You are welcome." She blew out the candles, and then she took my arm and helped me from the temple.

  "Did you wish to tour the grounds?"

  "I am not dressed warmly enough," I said. "I am sorry."

  "It is not your fault. We will return to the house and see to your comfort."

  We took a different route back, and she showed me her house, or at least the public areas. When we arrived at the ballroom, I wandered around, looking at the weapons. "These look old."