Blood
Blood is the ruby red liquid with a slightly metallic smell that vampires desire and thirst for. To them, blood is more than just sustenance; blood can contain the emotions and memories of its owner. It is the link that connects two individuals. Among the vampires, it is said that the blood of a loved one is the only cure to quench their seemingly endless thirst.
As she pondered over the role of blood to her species, Shizuka felt the child's small frame slump against her, and she retracted her fangs. Quickly and elegantly she wiped her blood covered lips clean with a silk handkerchief, leaving a dark red stain on the light fabric. She glanced down to the unconscious child sitting on her lap with his head against her chest and brushed back his hair to study his face more clearly. She could tell the child was only going to last another week at most, and after that the servants will replace him with another. As usual, the blood tasted of despair and emptiness.
A few strands of her silky long hair fell past her ears as she peered closer at the child's face. He was a thin, sickly looking child, and had a deathly pale complexion. Shizuka estimated that he was around ten years old and touched his cheek – it felt cold, just like her. She made a wry half smile, thinking about how this scene must appear to onlookers. She was a cold-blooded, merciless monster slowly draining away the life of the poor innocent child, drop by drop. In a sense those people would be right, her heart had long gone cold. Even if her "meal" was in the form of a small child, she didn't flinch.
When she was still a child herself, a long time ago, she had felt some guilt devouring the blood of the sacrifices presented to her. That feeling was strongest when they cried or pleaded. But what could have been done? Even if she decided to spare them, another unlucky soul will just take their place. As the years passed, she stopped feeling anything when she fed. She was the predator and they were the prey, she needed to feed and they were her food; that was simply the nature of things.
She had grown immune to the familiar looks of fear, horror, and helplessness on their faces. The taste of their blood reflected their emptiness and misery. It didn't taste good, but that didn't matter, the aim was to alleviate her blood thirst for awhile. Every few days, sometimes longer, the servants unlock her cage and put in the sacrifice. Usually they last around two weeks before they finally give out and have to be replaced. Shizuka wondered where these people came from and how they were chosen. Most were adults and some were children. Given their poor, ragged appearances, she assumed some of them were criminals, petty thieves, abandoned or neglected children and the like. They were the ones at the bottom of the social hierarchy, those that were deemed insignificant enough that if they vanish, no one would notice or care.
The adults were easier to feed on then the children, sometimes the children cry, but they usually quiet down after a while. As she looked at their sad, pitiful faces though, she thought of how dark and unrelenting the world was. How cruel and irresponsible of the parents to bring children into such a wretched, loveless world. And thus she reasoned that perhaps it was better for her to end the sad lives of these abandoned children sooner. They have already seen too much horror and felt too much pain in the few years of their short lives. Their eyes already had that forlorn look that didn't belong on such youthful faces; there was no hope for them.
The only other blood she had tasted besides those of the sacrifices was the blood of her fiancé. It was an old custom for engaged vampires to exchange blood with one another, a way to establish a bond between the two. As she thought of her fiancé and their arranged engagement, her pink eyes narrowed in distaste. Despite his handsome countenance, she disliked him and found him unsavory. There was something lurking in his eyes, one colored red like blood, and the other a cold, steel blue, that she found repulsive. His blood had an astringent flavor to it, and after drinking it she had felt vaguely nauseous. She could sense a dark obsession in his blood, a dangerous, loathsome and overpowering feeling. It was the desire for something he could never obtain, and his subsequent fall into depravity and derangement she could taste. She much preferred the blood of her human sacrifices over his sickening blood, even if it was the powerful, desired blood of another pureblood vampire.
Shizuka was distracted from her reverie by small sounds the boy was making. The child still hadn't awakened, but he was shivering slightly and whimpering at a barely audible level. She wondered if he was having a nightmare, and started to stroke his cold face and head, gently running her fingers through his thin, scraggly hair. He appeared to be soothed by her oddly maternal gestures and stopped shivering and whimpering. As she listened to his light, raspy breathing, she thought about how all this darkness and suffering would soon end for this unfortunate child. At last he would be free…
Note: This chapter was inspired by that scene where child Kaname went to visit Shizuka and she was feeding from what appeared to be a child. I doubt that she is completely cold-hearted seeing how she is able to feel sadness and sympathy for others (i.e. Ichiru) so I reason that she pities to some extent the children she takes blood from. I always wondered about the role of blood in the VK universe. I suspect Rido's blood reflects his craziness and his unhealthy obsession with Juuri... I wonder how Shizuka's blood wold taste to another vampire. Probably has a hint of melancholy and loneliness to it... This one is a bit darker, but I wasn't in the mood to write light hearted stuff...besides, I can't really imagine her being happy, to be honest. She is one of those beautifully tragic characters after all.
Anyway thanks for the views and reviews! In response to a reviewer, I prefer to keep this pairing free and focusing on Shizuka. But if they were to write a pairing story I look forward to reading it :)