by P. Mattern
“Well,” he said contemplatively, "First, you have to think about where you are. You seem like a smart girl. Have you figured it out yet?”
“The servants are speaking Norwegian,” I answered evenly, ”Norway perhaps?”
“Oh not JUST ‘Norway perhaps?” he teased imitating my inflection perfectly. “Svalbard, Norway. 24,000 square miles above the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is sacred to us by the way…a kind of Mother Goddess if you will. We were banished here for over two thousand years, but now the spell is broken, the portals are open and functioning, and we have the run of the planet. We were thrilled to note that the population of humans exceeds 30 billion now…
Because we exist on their blood. And keeping a human herd going in captivity has been quite a bitch actually. Humans tend to die off quite easily. Now we needn’t bother. We import them.”
“What do you EXPORT?” I asked, stalling for time, wondering if there was a way to escape whatever was going to happen later. I was sure RAPE was on the menu, especially from the intimate encounter that I’d had with the Prince in the shower .I wasn’t exactly sure what else was supposed to happen this night.
I wasn’t precisely sure it WOULD be rape, at least in the legal sense. I blushed as I considered the feelings that the meeting under the waterfall had evoked in me.
The Prince smiled again.
“Why, Immortality of course…for the chosen few. Like yourself Tristina Macabee,” he replied. Tell me, is it real for you yet? Do you think that you are still ‘tripping’ on a drug, or having a ferociously bad dream? Have you caught up with your ‘New Normal’ yet?”
“Not quite,” I responded curtly,” But I know that I’m not dreaming.”
The prince seemed to consider my words.
“What would it take for you to want to stay here?” he asked.
His question caught me off guard. I answered as honestly as I could.
“I have no idea,” I said, “I only just arrived, and I’m not even thinking in those terms yet. I miss my life, the one that you probably despise and look down upon. I know next to servants and exotic surroundings and probably fabulous wealth my life must seem pretty dismissible…but it wasn’t. There was love and connection there, and some unfinished business I need to attend to. It was wrong to take me out of it. I want to go back.
I WANT TO GO BACK!” I finished, wailing at the end, and shocking myself by splurting out an unexpected torrent of tears. But at the same time I knew that every word that I’d spoke was true, and I hoped that he still had a soul and would let me go back.
He waited until I finished my spontaneous cloudburst, wiping my nose on my sleeve because I didn’t have a tissue.
“I am sorry,” he said, and it seemed as though his voice held a note of genuine compassion. “I can’t explain all of it to you, and you wouldn’t understand if I did…but it is impossible that I return you to your home. Not only for your safety but the safety of everyone you knew and are now separated from. This is a permanent change. A young woman that has braved as much as you have thus far has shown a propensity for adaptation and survival. THAT”S what I’m counting on. You weren’t selected to be merely decorative you know. What is the modern expression? Oh yes—“eye candy”!
...although you ARE… quite stunning actually…” he ended softly, as if he were talking more to himself than to me.
Typical male, he was staring right at my breasts. I wanted to use the standard line of “I’m up here!” pointing to my face, but before I could he rose and came toward me, clearing the distance of 15 feet in mere seconds.
“The days go on endlessly up here,” he told me, his voice low and seductive, his hands resting gently over my upper arms, "And then the nights take over, and descend on us like a velvet curtain, lasting for months at a time. In some such strangeness can cause madness and malaise. But I rather like it, and I think that you will grow to like it also.
Stepping back, he offered me his hand.
“Come with me Tristina,” he said. I could see his eyes shining behind the mask, and was startled to realize that they weren’t black after all, but a strange dark blue, almost a violet blue.
“We have much to do. You and I must get to know each other…and your transformation must be completed before any more time elapses.”
I felt mesmerized as I looked into the depths of his eyes. I felt my body relax, not in stages, but all at once, as if I were a candle melting before a white hot flame. My heartbeat echoed in my ears. Guards suddenly appeared out of nowhere and flanked us as he pulled me confidently along a corridor behind the right side of the throne display. Eventually we came to a door at the end of the hall that was arched and massive and stood open. I could smell incense wafting through the open doorway, and glimpsed a massively huge bed positioned across the room from an equally massive fireplace in which colored flames crackled and danced.
I was entranced.
I only came out of my reverie as the door to the chamber closed with a heavy resounding thud and the guards left us. The lights in the great room were muted, consisting of only a few sconces along the walls and the flickering light from the fireplace.
As he stood before me I realized that he was taller than I’d imagined. Even though I was 5’8” and considered fairly tall for a girl, my head only came up to his chest. Strangely enough his hest was rising and falling rapidly, as though he had just run a race…
…Or was aroused.
I looked up into those strange eyes.
“Are you ever going to take the mask off?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said, "Because I’m going to blindfold YOU Tristina. You are not yet one of us, and also not yet Chosen. Tonight I will be ‘Turning’ you permanently. Do you understand what I mean by ‘Turning’?”
Although Seth and Eutropia had decidedly underplayed their status as vampires I understood what he meant, my assumptions having been cobbled together during my stay there by bits and pieces of overheard conversations, each of which had revealed a glimpse into what my future would hold if I remained there.
“You’re going to bite me—fang me—whatever you call it…then I will be a vampire. Permanently. I won’t be human anymore. I won’t be myself anymore.”
His long artistic fingers played lightly up and down the length of my arms on either side, making me tingle from head to toe, as if he gave off an electrical charge.
“Very astute,” he responded,” And also accurate, except for the last part. You may not believe me now, but I tell you that you will be MORE yourself, your authentic, unfettered self than you would have ever had the opportunity to be in your dreary human life. Trust me.”
His use of the word dreary piqued my anger.
“Dreary?” I asked rhetorically.”My life was NOT dreary. I had things to look forward to every day. I had a best friend. I had lacrosse, ice skating, great books, nice teachers and two early acceptances on my college applications! Just because you have huge fireplaces and indoor arenas and lots of servants stumbling around doesn’t make this the Taj Mahal you know. It still cold and gray and stony and, yes, even ‘dreary’ in an over-the-top kind of way.
So there!” I finished, running out of breath and surprised at my own outburst.
The Prince removed his hands from my arms and, reaching down, untied one of the sashes from around his waist. It was a black silk length of fabric edged with tassels, and doubled over made a convincing looking blindfold.
“Turn around,” he said gruffly,” The sooner I blindfold you the sooner I can take off my mask and bed you.”
I turned away from him automatically, patiently enduring the process as he wrapped the material around my head several times, typing it off finally at the back of my head.
The silk was cool against my eyelids, tight enough against my skin so that I couldn’t open my eyes, but not uncomfortable. He turned me around and I heard a plastic-y sound as he removed the golden mask from his face.
“Damn sweaty thing,” I he
ard him mutter. "Excuse se me a moment, Tristina.”
I felt him walk some distance away, heard the sound of a door opening and water running briefly. Soon he was back, and his arms encircled me.
Returning his kisses. I relaxed against him as he pulled me ever more closely against him. Heat rose from both of us.
With the mask gone, we were skin to skin, our cheeks touching, my lips leaving his couth to travel over the smooth skin of his face. I had thought that he might be scarred somehow, and that would explain why he wore a mask on every occasion that I’d seen him. But his skin was smooth and clear.
My second suspicion was that he might be so ugly that his visage would detract from his Princely demeanor, but once he had carried me over to the huge bed and laid me gently across it, whispering to me as he removed my many layers of clothing, kissing all the newly bared parts of me, I abandoned that theory also. Even though I was blindfolded he held still and allowed me to trace each of his features with my fingers. What I felt through the discernment of my fingertips was a broad forehead, a straight nose that seemed fit for it, and a generous mouth that smiled and kissed the ends of my fingers as I traced it.
I was amazed that all my fears had dissipated and in their place a feeling of deep overall relaxation descended upon me. My hands wandered to his broad shoulders, his firmly muscled chest. Our kissing became more intense, and he slid his wet hot mouth from my lips and trailed his lips down my throat as I arched my back to receive the hot wetness on my breasts. They rose to meet his welcome embrace, the exquisite sensations founds echoes in other parts of my body as he expertly sucked on and teased with his tongue one engorged nipple and then another. Our bodies seemed melded together.
The pain was unexpected as simultaneously he thrust himself into me and at the same time sunk his fangs deeply into my neck. I heard a woman’s scream echo and rebound throughout the chamber. I felt as though I had died and been reborn into a world of pleasure so intense that it, too, became pain.
I didn’t care. For those long minutes of my Turning I had become his creature, and glad to be so.
Afterwards he lay countless minutes on top of me, his cheek against my chest. I thought that he might be listening for my heartbeat, which seemingly had fade away into silence and now returned with stridency.
“Tristina, are you…all right?”
His voice was husky and low, and sounded wonderful in my ears.
My voice seemed to come from very far away.
“Yes, I think so.” I responded, still enjoying the after echoes of pleasure reverberating over parts of my body. Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to say the words that were waiting to erupt from my lips. They were words that I had never said to any male in my life ever outside of my father. I felt beautiful, lying there naked beside him, encircled by his arm as he held me close.
He excused himself, ducking behind an almost hidden alcove. When he returned he reached gently underneath my head and untied the blindfold. My heart beat wildly at the though that he might finally reveal his face to me.
But when I looked up at him he was wearing the same golden mask again. On the low stone table by the bedside was a small pile of dampened linen cloths. And he picked one up and began to wash the wounds on my neck.
“Not so bad,” he told me matter-of-factly. “I did try to exercise some restraint. And hopefully you were distracted—maybe even impressed-- by my lovemaking.”
His tone made me laugh quietly.
“I was …VERY distracted.” I told him honestly.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment. The aura of our lovemaking had permeated the atmosphere around us.
His voice softer, he asked, “And? Did I please you Tristina?”
I was surprised as my eyes misted over before I could respond to his question. The mask he was wearing became a golden blur.
“Yes,” I told him, “In so many ways. And I hope…” I continued recklessly on even though my inner voices cautioned me to stop, “I hope I pleased you as well, Prince.”
I could tell that he was smiling. I decided to take an even greater risk.
“Am I allowed to know your name now?” I asked.
The Prince’s smile disappeared instantaneously.
“I’m sorry,” he said stiffly, “But my name contains a unique power. And it has never been revealed to another creature, human or vampire, outside of my birth family.”
I sat up on the immense bed.
“I guess I understand that,” I said slowly, “Butt can’t I ever see your face? The first man that I ever slept with? “
I reached over for his hands and held them in my own. They were beautiful hands. Long and strong. The hands of an artist, I thought, rather than a warrior.”
The fire crackled loudly, startling us both. We both started laughing simultaneously. He reached out and smoothed my hair away from my face.
“Maybe someday,” he told me, ”And that’s the best that I can do for now. There is a reason for everything here, Tristina my sweet. Most of it has to do with protecting our little kingdom from discovery and encroachment. I don’t have enough time to explain all of to you now, but if you keep your eyes and ears open you may come to a completely different understanding of us in time, In the MEANTIME,” He continue, pulling my face back to his and kissing me full on the lips, “All you need to know is that I have chosen you to be Princess of Svalbard. The rest will come with time.”
There was a resounding knock at the door. Even though I was still nude dozens of servants poured in at the Prince’s invitation to enter, the female servants whisked me away to an area that seemed to be a bathroom of sorts. The males, lead by a gentleman with a long white beard and wearing anachronistic attire seemed to be intent on stripping the covers from the Prince’s bed for some reason I couldn’t fathom. I could hear the Prince speaking in low tones with the bearded gentleman.
After a steamy lily scented bath in a huge stone basin I was dressed and coiffed while numerous imbibements and delicacies were offered to me. I was content with several glasses of ruby liquid that I knew was blood, and it was delicious. Although I wasn’t hungry for the plates brought to me I did taste mushroom caps stuffed with seafood and a small cup of salad prepared with dates and goat cheese.
I felt floaty and wonderful. I couldn’t wait to see the Prince again. I felt like a schoolgirl again, carefree giddy and happy.
And the bonus was….I was a Princess.
VAMPIRE PRINCESS #2
PARADISE LOST
THE ICE PALACE
The next few months passed like a dream. Three days after my tryst with the Prince Theda was allowed to visit me. I was having a cup of tea in the conservatory which was a few doors down from the Prince’s Royal Suite of rooms. It was my favorite place to hang out while the Prince attended to business. The ceiling of the room was glass done in a geodesic dome pattern, and since this was the season for light it was the brightest room, and one that offered up spectacular views of the icy mountains and streams that surrounded this aboveground portion of the Silo.
What pleased me the most were the unexpected signs of life in the snow covered terrain below us. At temperatures that hovered just above zero it was often too frigid outside for humans or even huskies. Still, there were a few hardy species that made occasional appearances in the glacial landscape, and they were always a welcome sight to my eyes. Red beaked Terns cartwheeled across the sky at intervals, particularly at dawn. They were in a constant war for survival against predatory gulls. Occasionally I would catch a glimpse of an arctic fox, a moose or a beautiful white arctic bear. It was startling to realize that the constant daylight meant that we were in the warm spring/summer season.
This was my kingdom, and for a time I was almost happy. Although the shadows of my former life haunted me on occasion, my daily reality had improved. The Prince was kind and courteous and an attentive lover. I had made some friendships with my ladies in waiting and I was picking up Norwegian fairly rapidly so that I could hold co
nversations with them. I loved to hear the Prince talk in Norwegian to the servants, for some reason it gave me a thrill. I teased the servants into telling me the Norwegian phases that related to body parts and lovemaking. The tutorial made all of us giggle and blush and was cause for some bonding between us. The night when I revealed my new vocabulary to the Prince he seemed surprised and then enflamed by the ‘bedroom Norwegian’ that I had learned to speak.
I found myself wanting to please him. I had stopped seeing him so much as my captor and more as my mate. He had quite a quirky sense of humor too.
Most of all though I was impressed by the way he treated me. He was always tender, with the exception of his lovemaking which was very passionate and direct and forceful without being hurtful.
I loved the way that he looked at me: his eyes always shone as if he believed that I was the most beautiful and enchanting female on the planet. I had gotten so used to his wearing a mask that it began to feel normal to me. When we made love he was as naked as I was, and I loved running my hands over his face as he kissed the tips of my fingers. There was still much that I didn’t understand, but we were becoming closer.
It seems strange how quickly I accommodated to my new environment. It had its perks.
Theda burst in on me one morning and without hesitation we rushed across the expansive room to embrace. She seemed genuinely happy to see me, and sported an attractive eye patch covered with some finely embroidered damask material that was actually attractive in an Avant-garde way.
“You look like a pirate princess,” I teased, ”And I still don’t understand why you sacrificed for me. Theda everyone says that you are an excellent swordsman. Doesn’t it bother you?”
Theda stepped back and surveyed me from head to toe.
“And you look every bit the PRINCESS! Look at you! I never knew what a beauty you were behind your frizzy hair, unibrow and glasses. And of course your Turning has enhanced your natural beauty dramatically!”
I looked down at myself, at my attire. I had gotten so used to being dressed by the servants that I never paid much attention to what I was wearing. Today I was in a brown velvet dress with a fitted waist, the bodice smocked and decorated with tiny pearls of a rare blue green luster. I was wearing larger matching pearls of the same hue around my neck and dangling from my ears.