The Vampire's Maid

Part 24, The Vampire's Maid.

"Then why, Ashley, do your cars have retractable roofs?"

Ashley's face grew hard, reminding me of the first time I'd met him. He'd been so serious then, so afraid to speak to me in a way that didn't involve ordering me about.

"Dane and mechanic boy are in charge of the cars."

"Right. I reckon that Dane parks the car here with the retractable roof open. That way he can enter the car from that tunnel and through the roof without needing keys."

I grinned, quite pleased with my reasoning. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't seem to think that it offered an explanation. His eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.

"It doesn't make sense, any of it."

"Stop disregarding all of my suggestions." I sniffed, holding my chin up almost defiantly.

Ashley smiled, one of his beautiful, eye twinkling smiles. It would make any girl fall under his charm and I was already deep enough. His fingers trailed along my jaw bone, sending chills through me that were not from the wintry night. His hand stopped beneath my chin and there he held his hand for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever.

"You know, Elizabeth, this proud, defiant streak you have is what made me like you in the first place."

I fought down my laughter as I remembered the occasions where my defiance had caused friction between the two of us. Then I realised that I was tired of fighting my laughter, fighting the smile that wanted to appear every time I was in Ashley's presence. I giggled, letting the sound wrap around us in the cold tunnel. Ashley smiled in response and what happened next seemed natural, exciting of course, but still natural.

He kissed me. A burning kiss that filled my senses and screamed at me not to pull away, to just stay in this embrace of the lips forever. Whereas his other kisses had comforted me, this one had no other emotion but pure desire. A passion that I didn't know I had forced me closer to him, made me bring my hands to his head and pull it closer. His hands found my waist and neither of us were bothering to be gentle any more. Our kissed increased in speed and intensity and I wanted more of Ashley. My body was screaming that I wanted more. Ashley's hand trailed from my waist to my leg, shooting a shiver of desire through my body.

"You're cold." Ashley said, breaking away from me.

"No, I'm fine." I moaned in protest.

Reluctantly, I allowed him to drag me by my hand back to the house. Inside the significantly warmer entrance hall I realised how chilled my body was. My skin burned as heat gradually re-entered my pores. The house was eerily empty and only a few candles were burning in the metal holders on the walls. My heart was not beating fast out of fear though. Just having Ashley by my side was enough to make its rate rocket.

Ashley walked with me to the dormitory, kissing me on the cheek before he left. I had to laugh at that; he'd acted like we'd just been on a high school date rather than discovering a secret passage into the house. I bit my lip when he left me, wanting to be back in the tunnel sharing kisses with Ashley, not alone in my dormitory with no hope of getting to sleep. I could still feel my heart pounding hard against my chest. I could still see disjointed images of Ashley that I knew would be magnified if I lay my head on my pillow. Knowing I would regret it in the morning, I opted against going to bed and retraced my steps down to the entrance hall.

I was wary walking through the house, tensed as I passed Goliath's bedroom. Wary, not frightened; living in the house of vampires had changed me. Danger was now a fact of my life, something that I could choose to either fear or be prepared for. Besides, if I was attacked in the dark corridor Ashley would save me as he had before.

I passed the portraits of Ashley's ancestors, the empty space where his mother's portrait should have stood. Through the familiar door that led to the kitchen and Elizabeth Sancruor's room. The kitchen was warm, almost stiflingly so. Abriella had left the fire on and it lit the room comfortably without the aid of candles. I welcomed the heat. It slowed down my brain, stopped me from thinking of Ashley because he's invaded my brain. It wasn't healthy to think of him so much, not if I wanted to keep my focus on escape.

Intending to find some food I began searching the cupboards. There was no processed food in the house, no crisps or biscuits. The thought of these foods that I had once taken for granted made my taste buds dry and I had to bite down on my tongue to distract myself. I'd been starting to wonder how the food was delivered to the house, thinking of another escape route, when my hand brushed against something that erased food from my mind. I pulled a black book from the cupboard and saw the numbers 1322 illuminated by the orange firelight. Helena Sancruor's diary. I hadn't given much thought to it recently, my mind had been on escaping and, admittedly, Ashley. Intrigued, I settled myself on a stool by the fire and began to read.

Dear Diary,

War has taken hold of the fields. Byland Moor is all but destroyed. I would like to say that I understand the reason it is going on. But I do not. What would provoke a country to attack itself? It is madness.

Joshua is of the opinion that it is the fault of the Scottish. I agreed with him of course, I always agree with Joshua. Sometimes I wish that I was strong enough to tell him my own opinion. Perhaps then he would return my affections. But then again, perhaps he would not. What would Joshua want to do with a simple girl such as Helena Sancre?

Father is saying that we should flee. I do not understand why. If the English win we have no reason to run away. And Joshua is sure that the English will win.

I read the first entry over and over again. Helena had seemed like a normal girl; she had written about a boy in her first diary entry. How could such a girl go on to murder her whole family? I scanned the diary, passing over the irrelevant sections until I came upon the final, ghastly entry.

Dear Diary,

 

Their bodies are strewn on the beach. Blood trickles like tears into the water. Out there in the forest is another human, another supply of blood. I did not quite get to kill him before he fled. That's what he does best: He flees. I could chase after him, suck the life from his body. But I shan't.

 

 

The rowing boat is beckoning to me.

 

 

Joshua phan will be waiting for me. Not the simple girl Helena Sancre but indestructible Helena Sancruor.

 

 

 

 

 

Generating more questions that it had answered, I pondered over that last entry. She had not killed her own family, one member had remained alive. Eventually the words blurred on the page and my body felt heavy. I slumped on the table, exhausted and confused. As my eyes shut I saw Ashley, his beautiful eyes portraying so much more guilt at murder than Helena Sancruor.

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yet again, i apologise for the short entry. If it's not up to standard I'm sorry; I've not had the best week x