by Emma Glass
I growled. “Then you what, Jerald?”
He hung his head in shame. “That poor girl. I attacked her. She didn’t provoke me, but I… I just couldn’t stop myself.” His shoulders slumped in defeat. “I needed to drink from her.”
The tailor’s pained words rustled up further murmurs from the crowd, and I turned my gaze towards them. There was no need for common vampires to drink from one another; in fact, it was detrimental to the health. There weren’t many explanations that would allow them to understand the compulsion Jerald had felt.
It was obvious that they were exploring the possibilities among themselves. Various stares in the throne room floated my way. I knew that they were questioning what I might add to this story.
Forlornly, I glanced in the faint direction of the medical bay. I felt myself wondering what Clara would think of this.
When I brought my attention back to Jerald, standing there as obediently as ever, I realized the room had fallen silent. I had announced myself as present for the crime, and the tailor had already admitted his guilt. Every pair of eyes was on me as they wondered what would happen next.
“Jerald Puckett,” I spoke with a heavy heart. “You stand accused of violating one of the oldest laws of Stonehold. You plead guilty?”
My servant stiffened up. It was clear that he’d face his fate with dignity. I wished I could offer him more than that – he deserved so much more. “I do, my Lord,” he answered sadly.
I held up an authoritative palm, silencing the collective whispers before they started.
“I speak now, not as your Lord, but as one who has grown up around you,” I spoke to him. “You have always been kind to me, if not stiff. Your reputation precedes you, and there are none in the castle who speak ill of you. But the law is the law, no matter the factors involved. It brings me no pleasure in doing this, but I am bound by what is just. I want you to understand that I…”
Jerald remained silent.
“…That I am sorry. That I have failed you.”
The tailor shook his head. “Nay. It is I who has failed you, my Lord. Whatever came over me, I must accept responsibility for it. That means that I face the consequences.”
It was good to see that he had worked the pity out of his system. However, seeing him proud and resolute only made the sentence harder to give.
But give it, I must. Lorelei was not here to win the people over, or for me to deflect judgment. Perhaps she had left me to face this alone because this moment would serve as a new lesson in ruling over the hold.
“Jerald Puckett, in response to your crimes against the crown, I hereby sentence you to…”
My words faltered, slipping off my lips as the room hung on every syllable. Jerald seemed like he was a good man, Clara’s words echoed. I couldn’t find the conviction in my heart. This wasn’t right. I knew it wasn’t, deep down in my heart. There had to be another way…
I gazed among the subjects.
Centuries, I’d spent living with these people. I recognized every last face in the crowd from one place on the castle grounds or another. They all had lives here; most had lovers, and some had kin. They depended on me for guidance, even without faith in my abilities. I knew they waited the day that Lorelei would arrive to take back the throne, playing this all off as an elaborate joke.
But that reality would never come, no matter how badly I agreed. I knew I wasn’t ready for this. Dominion over the hold had been thrust into my unwilling hands, but there was no turning back. Lorelei had seen it, long before I had: this tragic accident was the crossroads that would define the rest of my rule. Childishly resisting my birthright was no longer an option; it was time that I began to take ruling these people seriously.
I rose up from the throne, my mind resolved.
“There is a detail I have withheld from this trial,” I spoke to the gathered subjects. “Because I know few of you believe in me; I feared hysteria. But what is happening here…” I motioned to my humiliated caretaker. “This is not justice. I cannot – no, I will not – stand by and order the execution of a faithful servant when I know the truth.”
I did not care about their murmurings now.
“What I say now, I’m sure that many of you may have heard, and fewer have believed. But this man,” I gestured towards Jerald, “is guilty of an atrocious crime with extenuating factors. I do not feel that it is just for him to be punished. Not by death, at any rate…”
Silently, I descended the stairs towards him. The tailor glanced up faintly with a questioning gaze, listening to every last word and movement I made. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Jerald, I will not execute you.”
His blind eyes looked up with confused relief.
I kept my grip on him as I turned and faced the equally surprised crowd. “I want your trust,” I addressed them all. “I know it is something that must be earned. Allow me to take the first step in gaining your confidence…”
Oh, the nobles will regret missing this.
“Recently, a human appeared in the castle.”
Gasps filled the room, but I remained fearless. “For her safety and ours, I had her confined to a private chamber. Acting without my knowledge, Jerald was sent there to take her measurements...
“That was when he learned firsthand that the tales are apparently true: human blood has an insatiable draw for us. Jerald knew not what he was doing. He simply couldn’t control the urges. Regardless of the crime, I will not forfeit his life for being unknowingly led into danger and thus unable to help himself.”
Jerald looked at me with milky, blinded eyes filled with awe. I ignored it.
“Lorelei has met her. I have interrogated her. The human doesn’t know how she came to arrive here. She is young and, to be frank, she’s scared. So, until we understand more, the human is our personal guest in the castle.”
Nobody looked angry, and nobody said a word. I privately dared to think that the crowd’s collective gaze was one of reluctant admiration, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Do you testify that all I’ve said is true?”
Jerald nodded. “It is as he says. The girl in that room, I felt her skin. It is warm and full of vitality. Being so close to her… she walks like a vampire, talks like a vampire, but she is not one of us. This strange girl is not one of us,” he repeated.
The crowd listened to him with reverence, turning between him and me. His word added to mine only galvanized their surprise.
“I did not wish to make any trouble, but… if our Lord is being frank, then so shall I: there is a human among us. I testify that I’ve been alone in a room with her, and… I attacked the poor girl. I tried to stop myself. She was so afraid…”
Sternly, I addressed the crowd. “Now you all know the truth, and why I must treat this matter so delicately. For the first time in the history of our world, a human is here on Earth.” I returned my attention to Jerald. “That is why, my dear servant, my sentence comes with leniency.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” he gasped. “Thank you for your mercy. I live only to serve.”
“You have done well for that,” I agreed, sadly removing my hand from his shoulder. His blind gaze vaguely met mine with restrained caution. “But that time,” I continued, “has come to an end.”
Taking my seat back upon the throne, I held him in my gaze. “Jerald Puckett, it is with a grave heart that you are hereby sentenced to exile.”
His awed expression visibly faltered.
“You have a son; it is up to you whether you take him or not. I will send you with a horse, some supplies, and five hundred gold coins. From there, you must make your own way.
“I will give you one full hour to make your arrangements. When you are done, you will never be allowed back into this castle.” My voice carried as I looked at the rest. “Let it be known that I will show this mercy once. The human is invaluable, and she is under my explicit protection. From this moment forward, any vampire who dares to harm her will be painf
ully executed by my hand.”
With a flick of my fingers, I summoned over a guard to escort my stunned servant away. As the rest of them flanked me, I silently stepped around the throne and behind the backing wall. The sounds of rising rumors and speculation hit my ears as I moved towards the chrysm teleporter node tucked behind, leaving them all in my wake.
I was the vampire lord of Stonehold.
I would be a fair and just ruler.
But no second chances.
16
Clara
One of the royal guards eventually came to escort me to the vampire lord’s private quarters. Funnily enough, I recognized her as the one who found me in the first place.
She was sadly far less talkative than Wilhelm or even the serious Viktor – I could only guess the consequences they would face, and what the other guards had been told in the aftermath.
When she escorted me out of the medical bay and its lavish, casual décor, we stepped out into a familiar stone walkway. At first, I thought it was due to consistent architectural design, but then I passed a few paintings I recognized.
“Wait. Elliott’s room is in here, right?”
The guard nodded, replying in a distinctive Slavic accent. “Yes. This is Craven Keep.”
Thinking of the imposing tower during our little run along the castle, I couldn’t help but miss the closeness that I’d felt to him. I wondered if Elliott had trouble resting, knowing that while he was in bed, I was sleeping off a coma a few floors below.
As silent as the grave, the royal guard held me back around a corner with a splayed hand; I heard a servant passing nearby, and realized again the extent to which I needed to be protected. When the passerby was gone, the guard led me around the corner, down a short hall, and into the middle of a winding stone staircase.
“What about the elevator?” I asked.
“Everybody takes the elevator,” she replied curtly. “I am under instructions to keep you away from the others. So, we take the stairs instead.”
At her behest, we marched up the winding staircase. The steps were wide enough that four people could ascend them shoulder-to-shoulder. Unfortunately for my calves, our destination was the top step; we passed several landings to the other floors.
“Does Lorelei live here too?” I thought to ask.
“Her Royal Highness has quarters in Craven Keep, yes,” the guard spoke in her thick, eastern European accent. “But she does not sleep often. It is rare that she is in them. Usually, she prefers to see the garden.”
I remembered seeing the garden from afar, and wondered if Lorelei would ever let me take a small tour of them with her. I didn’t have long to think about that before we finally stopped at the top landing, with only a door to Elliott’s quarters.
She unlocked the door and ushered me inside. “You are to remain here,” the royal guard ordered stoically. She moved to close the door and lock me in. “Lord Elliott will return later.”
“Wait,” I stopped her.
“What is it, human?”
My stomach answered before I could.
“Ah,” she replied. “You are hungry.”
“I’m starving,” I complained. “I really don’t want to be a burden, but is there any way that you can have some food sent up to me?”
The guard looked uncomfortable. “The last time that someone came to help you, you woke up a day later. We are under strict orders to keep you from harm. Your request is too dangerous.”
“If it’s a royal guard, it’s okay though. Because all of you have been, what’s the word… ‘treated’?”
“My predecessors have slippery tongues,” she replied coolly. “We royal guards are here to serve the royal family, not you. You must wait until Elliott returns for food.”
“But I’m a guest of the royal family, yes?”
“That is… true.”
“And you’re meant to keep me from harm?” I felt a sly, devious smile creep up. “I’d say ‘starving to death’ kinda falls under ‘harm’, right?”
“I suppose so…”
“Then just have someone else send me some food. You don’t have to do it yourself.”
The guard sharply narrowed her eyes. “Fine. I will have food prepared and brought up to you by another guard.”
She started to close the door again.
“Wait!”
The guard stopped with a sigh. “You have another request? What is it now, human?”
“Your name,” I asked. “What is it?”
She paused. “I do not see how that matters.”
“It matters to me.”
The knight stared expressionlessly into my eyes. “Very well then. I am Asarra.”
“Good to meet you,” I smiled. “I’m Clara.”
Asarra looked briefly perplexed. “You as well, uh, Clara. I must leave now. Duties elsewhere.”
The door closed and locked shut.
To my astonishment, who else would arrive later?
Quiet, contemplative Viktor carried a crate containing most of the books that Elliott had previously sent me; the energetic Wilhelm stood beside him with a plate of dinner. “Hullo there!”
The two pushed their way into the room. Wilhelm set down the plate and whisked off the steam bowl, while Viktor dropped the crate over in a corner and pulled it apart.
“How glad am I to see you!” I grinned, sitting down to a home-cooked meal that looked a lot like a gourmet version of fried fish and chips.
“Hopefully glad enough!” Wilhelm cheerily replied. “Although, we really should do a quick bit of housekeeping first, just a formality really…”
The two of them exchanged a glance.
“You’re better with words,” Viktor said.
I paused between bites, looking between the two of them in no small confusion.
“Well… listen, Clara,” Wilhelm smiled weakly at me. “We’re horrendously sorry about our mild oversight yesterday. It occurs to me that I might have slightly forgotten about that whole ‘human blood drives vampires crazy’ thing…”
I put my hand on my hip. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“Is that a trick question?” Wilhelm tilted his head. “That sounds like a trick question. Are you a ghost? Did you have us brought up here simply to repay the favor?” His eyes widened as he turned to his friend. “Viktor! Quick, get your sword!”
Viktor looked unamused. “If she’s a ghost, my sword will mean nothing.”
“Sure it will! You’re the distraction!”
“And what would you be doing, then?”
“Running away to fight another day!”
I could barely contain my laughter as Viktor heavily rolled his eyes. “Guys, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again. The way Elliott made it sound, you were both banned from having anything to do with me.”
They exchanged a meaningful look.
“Oh no! What are you doing here, then?”
“Well…” Wilhelm smiled. “We just wanted to see that you were okay for ourselves, for one. But then again, you are the only human that we’ve ever seen, and Lord Elliott hasn’t quite gotten around to specifically telling us we couldn’t…”
“He’s going to be mad,” Viktor noted.
“Probably!” Wilhelm sounded optimistic. “But I’m one of those ‘Cross that portcullis when you come to it’ sorts.”
“You’re not worried?” I asked.
“He should be,” Viktor noted dryly.
Wilhelm stuck out his tongue, and I almost choked on my food in laughter. It was strange to see vampires acting so… human. We even spoke the same language, and they used the same letters and numbers.
I thought back to the first book I opened here, when first waking up in that forgotten storeroom in the dusty, abandoned wing. The letters in that ancient tome had looked incredibly different for a second, like no alphabet I’d ever seen before. But then, they all rearranged and made themselves into English letters… like they were adjusting to me, or was it me adjusting to
them?
What if the rest of the world was like that?
They all spoke my language… it occurred to me that maybe I could just understand and talk to them, but we weren’t really speaking English.
I remembered something about two vampires that I’d seen, down in the abandoned wing. They had slipped my mind before, and Jerald’s attack rattled me a little too much to properly remember now… but what had they said, while they were down there, something about magic?
Is it true?
Is this world really full of magic?
17
Elliott
Standing at the portcullis with Lorelei and a large group of assembled servants, I watched Jerald and his son Gerry finish saddling their horse.
Were it not for his many years of sightless experience, I’d have considered this a cruel mercy. But his other senses were second to none. There was no doubt in my mind that he would carve out for himself a fine living in the settlements on the mainland, once he reached the distant nodes.
It angered me that only a few nobles could be bothered to appear. Jerald had served as the royal tailor for centuries; he had an intimate working relationship with many of us. I had made it clear that most castle duties could be briefly dismissed to see the tailor’s leave, and his people were here. But the noble class was apparently too lazy to show their faces at the loss of such a trusted and longstanding friend.
That will have to change, I told myself.
Perhaps another time…
I shelved these thoughts as Jerald and Gerry finished their work and walked back towards us. The two wore travelers’ cloaks to stave off the cold; Jerald walked with a cane, tapping it in front to keep his footing. When they came to a stop in front, Jerald smiled in the general direction of my face.
“Master Craven, thank you for your mercy.”
I took his free hand in both of mine. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this, Jerald.”