Blood Slave

by Roseau, Robin

  "Is it that the kind of relationship?"

  "I don't think I am allowed to answer that."

  "You may answer that question," m'lady said from across the room. Her and her damned vampiric hearing.

  "No," I said, "we do not have that kind of relationship, but she is possessive." I pushed away. "It's good to see you, Pru."

  "We weren't sure we'd see you again. When Tegan told us what had happened, everyone was shocked." She looked over at the vampire. "Perhaps that's also not a topic of conversation."

  "Right."

  Archie, my boss was there. I turned to him and thanked him for coming. He stepped forward and enveloped me in a hug. We didn't have that kind of relationship, but I wasn't going to complain. "We miss you at the office," he said. "You hurry up and get back there."

  "Another year," I said. "And then we'll see."

  "We'll ease you back in, if that's what you need."

  The last person was Mom's sister, my aunt Molly. She and I had never been close, but she stepped forward and hugged me warmly. "I've been watching over your mom," she whispered. "Mason and I are making sure she's okay." Mason was my uncle, Molly's husband.

  "Thank you," I whispered back. Mom was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and had never needed my help, but I was happy to know she wasn't alone.

  I took hugs from all of them, then plastered myself between mother and Tegan for a moment before saying, "I must introduce my mistress." Cathalina had disappeared, and it was just Lady Dunn waiting. I held my hand to her, and she approached, taking it. I stood between her and my friends.

  "Mama," I said, "This is Lady Dunn. My mistress. M'lady, this is my mother, Nancy Walsh." I introduced everyone.

  Lady Dunn was quite proper, shaking hands with all of them, calling my mother, "Mrs. Walsh" for instance. My friends all eyed her carefully, and I decided they were sizing her up, perhaps for a stake.

  From where I stood, I spoke very quietly; only my vampire would hear. "May I tell them you take good care of me?"

  She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

  "Lady Dunn takes good care of me," I said. "I may not have survived if I had been bought by another vampire." I paused. "Whatever happens to me, I want you to know that she has done the best any vampire could have done and far better than most."

  I looked around and spotted the serving cart. "Would anyone like anything?"

  "I will serve today," my lady said. "You all sit. What would you like, Melissa. No restrictions."

  "I may have a soda?"

  She nodded.

  "You have to ask permission?" Mother asked.

  I turned to Lady Dunn.

  "She does," she replied for me. "She eats and drinks only what I allow. She has a very healthy diet, carefully monitored. She earns privileges for good behavior and loses them for poor behavior. A soda is a privilege."

  "That's-" Pru started to say.

  "The life of a blood slave," I said quietly. "Let's not fight about it."

  The room stilled. I sighed. "I guess today I'm the elephant in the room." I turned to Lady Dunn. "May we get this part over with?"

  She nodded. "I'll retrieve drinks and will stop you if you head in a direction I do not care for. What does everyone else want?"

  She took their orders, serving the older women first, then me, and then Tegan and Pru. In the meantime, we settled into the available seats. Mom sat next to me, Tegan on the other side. I clasped both their hands for a moment.

  I said, "I broke the law, a fairly serious law. I intended no harm to anyone, and I did not directly cause harm, but a woman died."

  "The accident wasn't your fault," Mother said.

  "No. But because a woman died, the case carried a certain amount of publicity. And so the law must be applied, and it was. I did not like it at the time, and I still don't like it, but the facts are simple. I broke the law, and this is the punishment. I am a blood slave, and I will remain one for one more year. I have, by and large, accepted it."

  "But-" said my aunt.

  "But what?" I asked.

  "Your face. What are those rings for?"

  "My lady?" I asked.

  "You may answer," she said, handing me my soda.

  "When leaving my room, I am frequently leashed," I said. "It attaches here."

  "That's barbaric!" Pru said.

  "That's the life of a blood slave," I replied. "We have all seen them before. They are not always leashed, and when they are, it isn't always the same way. This is how I am leashed." I shrugged. "I didn't care for the implications, but in the scheme of things, it is minor."

  "You aren't a dog," Mrs. Benchley said. "Oh dear, I am so sorry."

  "It wasn't your fault," I told her. "It was mine."

  I answered a few more questions, asking permission for each, but then Lady Dunn said, "That is enough and more than I should have allowed. Perhaps all of you can share what is going on in your lives."

  "Does she have to be here?" Pru asked.

  "She does," I said. "Pru, be nice. For me. Please."

  "Will she beat you if I am not?" Pru asked.

  "No," Lady Dunn said. "I will simply question her taste in past girlfriends."

  Tegan snickered. She'd never thought I should have dated Pru.

  I reached for Pru. "Please. I have missed all of you. Someone, tell me about your lives."

  We talked for hours. They all caught me up on their lives. Pru was in an on-again, off-again relationship. It was currently lukewarm, and she wasn't sure what was going to happen.

  Mrs. Benchley caught me up on her latest health issues and the goings-on in the apartment, but she spoke only of the people I knew and seemed to be keeping things from me. I wondered if the people who had moved into my old apartment were unwelcome, but I didn't ask.

  Tegan took a moment to step away, ostensibly to refresh her drink, but somehow Lady Dunn ended up next to her, and I could see them talking quietly. When she returned to sit next to me, she said, "Melissa, I've taken care of all your things. I can't offer details, but I can tell you that I've had to sell nothing, and your accounts are not suffering. Andre and I get together quarterly to review, but there has been very little to do. Your paintings are all fine, and everything is well stored. It will all be waiting for you when your sentence is over.

  I hugged her. "Thank you, Tegan. I'm sorry I left that with you on such short notice."

  "It has been no trouble," she said. "I'm glad I was able to be there for you."

  Mom and Aunt Molly took turns catching me up on the family. I missed a second cousin's wedding, and a first cousin's divorce. There had been a few graduations and new jobs, and a few of the older generation had new physical complaints. But no one had died, and there were no new babies.

  I heard about work, although it was hard to muster much interest. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be going back, but I didn't want to burden anyone with that.

  And then Lady Dunn leaned over the back of the sofa and whispered to me, "I'm sorry. Soon."

  I nodded.

  "I would like to speak to Mama for a few minutes," I said. "You can all sit here. We'll move to the corner."

  I pulled her with me, drawing her to a couple of chairs near the window, as far from the rest as possible. We leaned together and spoke quietly.

  "Mama," I said, "I want you to know how much I love you."

  "I know, dear, and I love you."

  "I'm so sorry I did this."

  She reached over and clasped my hands. "You need to stay strong. You need to come home to me. You must do what is necessary to survive."

  I glanced over at Lady Dunn, and she shook her head 'no' just once.

  "I'm trying, Mama," I said, looking back at her.

  Mom lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I have talked to a lawyer. You were not treated fairly."

  "We will not discuss that. There is nothing that can be done about it."

  "I also know that it is rare for a blood slave to survive more than the first few we
eks."

  "I cannot talk about that either, Mama," I said. "But it has been two years. Perhaps I am a rare blood slave. I believe I have learned how to please my mistress, and perhaps I will survive and come home to you."

  She began to cry quietly.

  "Oh Mama," I said. I held her hands tightly.

  "You come home to me! You do whatever you must to please that... that..."

  "That woman," I said.

  "Fine. You do whatever you must to survive. You come home to me. I need my baby."

  That was when the door opened. I glanced over, and Madame Cathalina entered the room.

  Lady Dunn crossed the room to us.

  "No!" Mama said. "It's not enough time."

  "I'm sorry, Mrs. Walsh," Lady Dunn said. "It is time, Melissa. You may have one more minute here, and then quick hugs goodbye with the rest of your friends."

  She stepped away again. I moved into Mama's arms and told her I loved her. We held each other tightly. "I'm sorry, Mama."

  "I love you, baby. You come home to me!"

  She didn't want to let me go, but I pulled away slowly. Aunt Molly squeezed my hand and said, "I'll take care of her."

  "Thank you."

  "You survive."

  "I'm trying."

  I shook hands with Archie and took a hug from Pru. She didn't want to let go, but Lady Dunn cleared her throat, and I pushed away. Then I pulled Tegan into a hug and whispered, "Thank you," to her.

  "You made it this far," she said, "you're going to make it. I have a good feeling about your vampire. I think she cares about you as much as the rest of us do."

  "If the worst happens, I want you to know, I have always valued your friendship. I couldn't have had a better friend."

  She squeezed me tighter, and then I felt my vampire's hand on my shoulder, and I separated from my friend. I let her pull me backwards from the room, but I squeezed Cathalina's hand on the way and said, "thank you". She nodded, and then the door was closed.

  The maid was waiting with my coat. Lady Dunn placed it over my shoulders then wrapped her arm around my waist and drew me out the front door. She put me in the car and even buckled my belt, but when she climbed in the other side, I put a hand out.

  "I know you did that. Thank you. I couldn't have received better compensation for the painting."

  "You are welcome. And you are going to listen to what your mother told you. And what Tegan said, too, there at the end. But I did not like Pru."

  "There are reasons she's an ex-girlfriend."

  She smiled briefly, and then we were driving away.

  Vampire Bar

  I went into a brief funk for a couple of days. Partly it was from knowing I had hurt my family and friends. Partly it was being at a loss for what to do; I had spent over two months with an exceptionally full schedule, seeing to Madame Cathalina's paintings while managing my duties to Lady Dunn. Suddenly I was at a loss.

  She called me on it, thinking I was sulking. I apologized and told her what was going on. "Oh. I've been giving you time to recover, and you didn't want it."

  I smiled. "Perhaps not."

  We began spending more time together, even more than we had before. She took me with her more often, even bringing me to her business meetings. To those she let me wear clothing that was marginally less revealing than what I normally wore when we went out.

  True to her word, she warned me she would be taking me to a vampire restaurant. For the three days prior to the night in question, she drank only very lightly from me, and she even topped off my blood. I was positively bursting with energy.

  "I thought you said I wouldn't be on the menu."

  "You won't be, but sometimes these things go strangely."

  "Should your blood slave look so healthy?"

  "I prefer my blood from you than a bottle," she said. "That is a simple fact. There are blood slaves who receive daily transfusions. They are hooked up to a blood supply and then their vampire begins to drain them."

  "A big blood filter."

  "Something like that. Bottled blood loses the finer tastes."

  I thought about it. "Why don't you do that with me?"

  "Because if I did, I would start thinking of you as nothing by a meal. That's not how I see you now. Taking your blood is a part of our relationship, but I do it because we both enjoy it, not because I must to survive."

  "That does not sound like the normal relationship."

  "It's not, so don't tell."

  I laughed.

  "I'm serious."

  "I know."

  She had a new outfit for me. It was exceedingly provocative and included shoes I literally couldn't walk in without help. Furthermore, they were locked to my feet, and I couldn't remove them myself. During the drive, she gave me a lengthy list of directions on how to behave. I finally said, "I'm not going to remember that. If this is so dangerous, why are you taking me? I thought you wanted me to see the far side of my sentence."

  "You're going to. I am the only one who can drain you dry and get away with it. But that doesn't mean I can't be forced to let you be used for some sort of entertainment."

  "I ask again: why are you taking me."

  "Frankly? I want you to know what could have happened to you."

  "I already have a good idea."

  "It's going to be driven home. Do not argue with me."

  I sighed. "I'm not trying to argue. I'm trying to understand."

  "Then understand this. You are my blood slave, and you will do as you are told."

  I lowered my eyes. "Yes, m'lady."

  "There is human food. You will not like it. Do not eat any. Do not drink anything unless I hand it to you myself."

  "Yes, m'lady."

  "That's for your own protection," she said. "It is legal to drug blood slaves."

  "Drug them and do what?"

  "The list is lengthy. There are drugs that can make you misbehave in a wide variety of ways. They can make you belligerent, which is the most common choice."

  "Let me understand this: I have a three year sentence as your slave for drinking one glass of wine and driving, but there are drugs legal to possess that cause personality changes? Shouldn't those be controlled substances and illegal to even possess?"

  "As long as they are only given to a blood slave or under medical supervision, it's legal."

  I shook my head. "I believe the vampire nation is showing its hypocritical side."

  "I agree with you," she said.

  We arrived. The restaurant was in a non-descript warehouse building near the river. We pulled up to the front door, and my lady said, "Wait for me to open your door."

  She stepped out, handing the keys to the attendant, and then helped me from the car. She took my leash immediately, and she didn't release it again.

  She treated me cruelly. She frequently did when we were out. Oh, I use that word perhaps a little too loosely. She tugged me sharply enough to cause discomfort each time she did it, even though I remained deeply attentive to her needs. Her reactions were far faster than mine, and I could only anticipate when she allowed me to do so. Furthermore, she had a tendency to change her mind when she was in this mood. If I successfully anticipated her move, she would intentionally change it.

  It was all part of her game, and I knew it pleased her to so obviously own me, and it pleased her for others to see me trying unsuccessfully to anticipate her.

  It was petty, but it didn't cause me any real stress.

  We stepped inside, and an attendant came up to us. "Left arm or right?" she asked.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Right," my lady said. She tugged me to face her and kneel, and then the attendant wrapped something around my upper right arm. I looked over at it, but I couldn't have told you what it was.

  "Health monitor," my lady explained. "It begins to alert if your blood pressure drops precipitously. All the humans here wear them."

  I immediately understood why. If someone were being drained too low, the monitor would alert t
he vampire in question and perhaps the management.

  As soon I was outfitted and the device activated, my lady led me further into the establishment. We arrived at a hostess. She was wearing one of the monitors, so I knew she was human and perhaps that she could find herself someone's dinner. I tried to look around, but my vampire tugged me into a kneeling position with my head down.

  "Ah, Lady Dunn," the woman said. "Public or private seating?"

  "Public, but with curtains," she replied.

  "Very good," the woman said. She reviewed her computer screen. "I see you have made specific requests. Are you sure-"

  "I am sure," she said. "Send her."

  "We have others that will serve your needs better."

  "Is the donor in question ill or otherwise unavailable? Perhaps there is a scheduling conflict."

  "No, she is available. I had just thought-"

  "Don't think," Lady Dunn said.

  "Very good," the hostess said. She gestured, and a young man stepped up. "Station thirty-two," she said.

  There was a rough tug on my lip, and then my vampire had to help me stand and steady me so I could walk in the horrible shoes she was making me wear. We weaved our way through the restaurant, but the light was dim, and I had to focus on Lady Dunn too much to be able to look around.

  There weren't tables. Instead, there were small sitting pods, I guess you could say. Some of them were deeply shadowed. Others were wide open, and the things that were happening in some of them left me shocked.

  "They're- Um."

  "Eating their dinner," my lady supplied with a smirk. "She seems to be enjoying it."

  We were led to our location. It was then I realized I was wrong. There were tables, but they were low and dark. The sofa wrapped around the table. As soon as we were seated, my lady released my leash, but then she attached it to a subtle clip built into the table. My leash wasn't quite long enough to lounge in the chairs once I was attached like I was.

  I didn't say a word.

  "Did it excite you?" Lady Dunn asked me.

  "What?"

  "What was happening to that donor."

  "No, it didn't excite me."

  "What if I told you that I have thought about doing that with you?"