by Simon Archer
The old lady waved her hand at Rozmarin dismissively. “Oh, you stop that, you charming girl.” But I didn’t miss the adoration in her eyes. Nor did I miss the curious flick of her gaze to my face or the meaningful look she sent Rozmarin’s way.
This was yet another whole new side of Rozmarin that I hadn’t seen before. Beatrice had put it perfectly: the charming girl. I wasn’t sure if it was just the atmosphere of the shop or the youthful energy that Rozmarin was emitting, but she somehow managed to look younger in the midday light of the bakery. An easy smile graced her lips, and for once, her face was free of lines caused by worry or anger or confusion.
When the faerie in front of us finished getting rung up, he bowed to the Queen and me before ducking out the exit. Then, it was just us and Beatrice. Rozmarin led me up to the counter, and my pulse kicked up a notch. For some reason, I wanted the old lady to like me. I didn’t want to mess up my first impression.
“And who might this be?” the old lady asked, her sharp, pale blue eyes settling on my face. They were kind yet calculative. This was a woman who did not miss a single thing that went on around her, even if she led you to believe that she did.
Rozmarin smiled up at me before returning her attention to Beatrice. “This is Christoff. He is… a new hire at the castle. He has never been to this end of the kingdom, so I thought we would take the day to get him acquainted with the East Village.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed in confusion before widening in sympathy. To my surprise, her wrinkled hand stretched across the counter to rest on my own. “You’re from the West Village.”
I only nodded in response, unsure of what to say.
“Well, you are welcome to the East Village and my bakery anytime, son. I trust that the Queen has offered you fair compensation for your services?” It came out as more of a question than a statement as she eyed Rozmarin sternly, and I immediately decided that I liked the old woman. After all, anyone who dared to stand up to the vampire Queen in favor of ensuring fair treatment of a west sider was a legend in my book.
I smiled gratefully and nodded at the old woman, my gaze flicking to Rozmarin’s face for the briefest of moments.
“Yes, miss. The Queen has been quite generous,” I answered vaguely.
Beatrice waved her hand dismissively again, and I was beginning to recognize it as a signature mannerism of the woman. “I haven’t been a ‘miss’ in years. You can call me Beatrice.”
The woman extended her hand across the counter to me, and I took it firmly but gently before giving it a small shake.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Beatrice,” I said, smiling genuinely at the woman.
When we released each other’s hands, Beatrice clapped hers together in front of her, linking her fingers. “Well, I already know what Rozmarin’s order will be. What shall I get for the handsome Christoff?”
Rozmarin looked up at me and smiled. “What will it be, my lord?”
“What do you recommend?”
“Everything.”
I turned to face Beatrice. “What do you have that’s chocolate?”
15
Christoff
When we arrived back at the castle, the sun hung low in the sky, and the temperature had begun to drop. Markus dropped us off in front of the castle, and I saw Rozmarin hand him a small pouch before he rode off to take care of the horses. Though it was still light out, it seemed fairly quiet around the castle.
“Will you be in the Great Hall for dinner?” I asked Rozmarin when she strode up to me after seeing off the driver. We slowly made our way across the courtyard to the entrance of the castle.
She offered me a small, regretful smile and shook her head. “I’m afraid not, my lord. I must prepare for my trip to the eastern side of the continent.”
That piqued my interest. My curious gaze found hers.
“Oh. What brings you to the eastern side of the continent?” I asked, fighting the disappointment at the thought of her leaving for an extended amount of time.
She hesitated, and it occurred to me for the first time that she may not be able to talk about it. She was the Queen of Constanta after all, and therefore, she likely held many, many secrets. It could be a breach of security to share such information with a commoner.
“Sorry,” I said, sheepishly, when she didn’t answer right away. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s probably sensitive information or something…” My voice trailed off awkwardly, as we made our way through the side entrance of the castle.
Rozmarin stood up a little straighter at that. “The matter of the trip is something I would prefer kept within my circle. Besides, with any luck, I will have nothing terribly noteworthy to report.”
I nodded in understanding, trying not to let the fact that her circle definitely did not include myself get to me. Not that I cared. Who wanted to be on the Queen’s council, anyway?
“Right, of course,” I replied and looked down at my feet, at the stone steps that we were slowly climbing.
Rozmarin looked at me from the corner of her eyes, seeming to contemplate something, but whatever it was, she must have decided against sharing it because she said nothing further.
We climbed up the castle steps in silence until we reached the sixth floor. I half expected Rozmarin to bid me farewell and keep climbing to her own floor, but she didn’t. Instead, she opened the stairwell door for me, and we both strode down the hall until we stopped outside my door.
For some reason, when I turned to face Rozmarin outside my room, I felt my pulse spike, and an odd sort of restlessness coursed through me. An odd picture that I had seen from the Old World flashed in my head of a young couple on the doorstep of a house. The girl had been looking at her feet, a shy smile playing at her lips. The boy had extended to the girl’s face, a gentle look, as if to brush a strand of hair from her eyes. He looked at the girl as if she was the string that held him to this world.
I blinked, and the image faded away, replaced by the vampire Queen’s uncertain expression. She looked like she wanted to say something again, but couldn’t find the right words. Feeling the tension rising, I scrambled for something to say to ease the awkwardness.
“So, when do you leave?” I asked, my fingers flexing and stretching at my sides.
“I leave at dawn,” she answered.
I rocked back on my heels, taken aback. I hadn’t expected her trip to be so soon. Was that why she had decided to take the day trip to the East Village today?
“So soon.” My voice came out in a volume that was just above a whisper. “When will you be back?” As soon as the question was out of my mouth, I immediately wanted to snatch the words back and shove them right back down my throat.
A smug grin lit up Rozmarin’s face, and I knew what was coming. I’d practically invited it. “If I didn’t know any better, my lord, I’d think that you were going to miss me.”
I forced my lips into a smirk that mirrored the Queen’s and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling entirely too vulnerable.
“You wish. I’m just worried about you keeping your promise to teach me how to better practice with the dagger you bought me,” I said, nodding to the bag in her hand that held my new gifts. It wasn’t a total lie. I did really want to learn how to wield the dagger with skills that Rozmarin must have gained from slaying zombie hordes.
The Queen’s gaze softened at my excuse. Her eyes drifted for a moment as she seemed to contemplate something before they focused on me once more.
“Meet me in the armory after tonight’s meal. Adriana can escort you if need be. Eat light for your meal and wear something comfortable,” she ordered. And, with that, she left, striding down the hall and disappearing into the shadows.
I made sure to eat light that evening, settling for a plate of fruit, cheese, and bread. I opted to eat in my room after receiving multiple curious looks and whisperings, just as I stood in line to have my plate filled. I threw on a pair of loose, comfortable joggers and another loose short-sleeved top that
had magically shown up in my closet while I was gone.
Sahar. I wasn’t sure how she knew I’d be needing them, but I was certain that she did, and I was glad for it.
When I opened my door to go searching for the armory, Adriana was already standing there, in her usual guard uniform and the same serious expression that she always wore.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite bodyguard,” I greeted her, teasingly. Knowing she would say nothing in return, I continued to speak. “Are you here to escort me to the armory?”
The gargoyle nodded once, before tipping her head in the direction of the staircase with a silent question.
“Just let me grab my bag.”
I grabbed the small sack that held a towel, my dagger, and an extra pair of clothes just in case before yanking the door open once more to find Adriana in the same exact position as she had been when I first opened the door. Typical Adriana. Strong, silent, and steady as a mountain.
As we made our descent down the stairs, I resumed my favorite game that entailed saying the most ridiculous things in the hopes of making the serious guard-goyle smile.
In the first few days at the castle, while she had been my own personal prison guard, I had made it my new mission to do everything in my power to break Adriana’s grim expression by making her laugh. So far, I’d only succeeded in drawing a simple lip twitch from her when I’d tripped and landed on my rear-end one day while walking down the stairs, and I was lucky to have caught her expression out of the corner of my eye.
Adriana was still giving me a look that said, ‘Seriously?’ after I delivered the punchline of a particularly bad joke when we entered through the heavy doors of the armory. It surprised me to find that it was right down the hall from the alchemist lab. Even better. I tucked that bit of information away for when the Queen left, and I would be practicing the moves that she taught me alone.
I looked up, taking in the armory for the first time. Oil lanterns were mounted on the stone walls everywhere that there weren't weapons, and a giant chandelier, holding more lanterns, hung from the middle of the ceiling above a big open space that I assumed was for sparring practice. A few miscellaneous chairs sat against the wall and around the open space, and at the far end was another door that I assumed led to the real armory. The weapons that hung on the wall couldn’t have been everything they had.
When my eyes landed on Rozmarin, who now stood against the wall near the entrance, I paused, soaking in the view of her. Sweat dripped from her dark hair, and her white shirt clung to her breasts and chiseled stomach, showing each labored breath. She wiped her face with a rag as she registered our presence.
“My lord, what have you said to make Adriana look so sorely offended?” Rozmarin asked teasingly, her voice barely sounding the slightest bit breathless.
I looked back at the gargoyle behind me and shrugged, suddenly realizing that my mouth felt entirely too dry and my stomach a little too fluttery. “A bad joke. It’s kind of our thing.”
Adriana gave Rozmarin a long, suffering look before the Queen dismissed her with a promise to gift her with a muzzle next time that she asked her to escort me somewhere. When Adriana was out of sight, Rozmarin turned to me expectantly, then gave me a curious look.
“What is it?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone as she gave herself a once-over.
“Hmm?” I replied distractedly.
“You’re staring at me. Have I got something on my shirt?” She swiped at the sweat-ridden material.
Oh, for the love of Constanta. Had the vampire Queen just caught me staring at her impressive six-pack and large chest? I couldn’t tell if she was letting me off the hook by calling me out so indirectly, or if she really had no idea how beautiful she was.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, no. I mean, yes.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly through my teeth. “I’ve just never seen a vampire… sweat before.”
Thankfully, she seemed to buy it. It wasn’t a lie, but it certainly wasn’t the main reason I’d been staring. Rozmarin nodded, understanding. “It doesn’t happen so easily with vampires as it does humans, and the longer you’ve been undead, the harder it is to sweat.” I didn’t miss the tiny hint of sadness in her tone like she resented the fact.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Sweating isn’t exactly one of the better parts of being a human,” I said, slowly making my way towards the selection of weapons that hung on the wall and stuffed in a large storage trunk. I looked over my shoulder and saw that a ghost of a smile had appeared on Rozmarin’s face.
“I suppose not,” she admitted, “but it’s one of the few human experiences I am still able to enjoy.”
I got it, then. Rozmarin missed being human, her old life before the traumatic day her entire family had been murdered, and she was forced to turn into the very thing that killed them.
“Do you miss it?” I asked, quietly, as I slowly made my way across the floor to where she stood, all thoughts of weapons and dagger lessons forgotten.
Rozmarin’s eyebrows pulled together for the briefest of moments before they smoothed out again, the shadows of her brows hiding her eyes. Then she dipped her head.
“Every damned day.” She punctuated each word with such pain, such hollow loneliness, that I knew she wasn’t just talking about being human.
Rozmarin showed me how to hold the dagger she bought me without stabbing myself. Though she quickly realized I didn’t need basic training. I already knew how to fight, although my fighting was the scrappy style taught to me by other Westsiders. She, however, showed me the proper fighting stances that would allow for the best balance to prevent me from tripping over my own feet or losing my weapon. Her teaching rapidly showed me the hundred-plus years of combat experience she had, and she went deeper into how the stances would hold up against an enemy. She showed me where to strike to do the most damage, even to armored guards.
“If you stick it just beneath the chest piece in between the little gap here,” She demonstrated positioning the dagger, so it hovered above her ribs. “Then shove upward between the fourth and fifth rib. You will probably puncture the heart.”
She handed the dagger to me to try my hand at it, and I did my best to copy the movement. It was easier for me since I already had some skill with a dagger and sword. She made some minor adjustments before we moved on to another drill. This time, she taught me a multi-step exercise.
She started in one of the stances she had just taught me with her legs spread apart, right foot forward, and her dagger positioned out in front of her. Then she slid her left foot up and around and swung her dagger behind her so that she spun around, but as she turned, she tossed her dagger to her left hand for a quick forward jab.
I tried to mimic her steps, but each time I went for the toss, I stupidly dropped my dagger.
“That’s okay, you’ll get it,” she comforted me with a pleasant smile.
No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t manage to get all the steps, or for the love of me, catch my damn dagger, but I did improve considerably. I knew that if I practiced more, I’d get it.
Eventually, she called it a day, and by the end of the session, sweat dripped down my back and stuck my matted hair to my face, and my muscles were sore from moving and holding the dagger in different positions throughout the drills.
“You did well today. You are stronger than most humans, and you are a quick learner, though that does not surprise me,” Rozmarin said, matter-of-factly, as we both wiped our sweaty faces with our towels.
“Thanks,” I replied, not bothering to hide the blush that was creeping up my throat since I was probably red in the face from exertion, anyway. I bent down to retie my boots, my fingers shaking from gripping the dagger. “You’re a good teacher.”
When she didn’t respond, I looked up to find her already looking at me with an odd expression.
“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. “Is there something on my shirt?” I asked, repeating the same words she had sai
d to me earlier.
My words seemed to make her snap out of it, and she blinked rapidly, coming back to the present. “No, my lord. You look… fine.”
“Gee, don’t get too crazy with the flattery. It might make my head swell.”
A spark entered her eyes, and the smug Queen was back. “I’ll try not to, my lord.”
I saw that spark, and I knew what it was. Desire. Desire for me… and I felt desire for her as well.
I stood up slowly, gazing into those silvery pools, feeling my body ripple with excitement. It felt like time slowed to a standstill, or maybe it was just me wanting to savor every moment I could with the beautiful woman before me. My heart pounded so loud I’m sure she could hear it. Unable to stand it any longer, I touched my lips to hers in a fiery kiss, and heat coursed through my body. All the tension and desire that had been building between us pumped blood through my veins.
Rozmarin felt it too. She leaned into the fiery passion now unlocked between us. She kissed me softly at first, and our mouths worked together. I tasted the sweet flavor of her lips and pulled her body closer to mine.
16
Christoff
Rozmarin disappeared out of the armory, and as I watched her go with her black hair flailing behind her, I couldn’t help but smile. I had just made out with the Vampire Queen herself, and what’s more, I still had all my limbs attached.
Better still, our little make-out session proved to me that she had been holding in the same feelings I had for her. Ever since I’d laid eyes on the Vampire Queen in the hallway while I was smuggling out the artifact, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Even when I was back in the West Village, I continued to see her beautiful face with her silver eyes and long dark hair.
During our times together, I was sure I picked up on all the hints she was giving, all the flirting, and then, she had paraded me in front of her people and taken me out to the East Village on an impromptu date.