You'll Love The Night Life
The second I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I felt . . . warm . . . comfortable . . . well rested. Not even the slightest bit hung-over. And that just didn't make sense. I'd been at a party on Selkie Lake last night. I should have woken up sprawled in the grass feeling like hell with a massive headache. Not all cozy in bed with the blankets pulled up to my chin.
I opened my eyes to see that I was lying in some sort of canopy bed. I was lying under royal purple sheets, surrounded by black lace curtains. I pushed the blankets off me and saw that I was wearing an unfamiliar, red silk robe. I got up onto my knees and pulled the curtains aside to see the rest of the room. I was immediately sure that I had never been here before in my entire life. The room looked like it belonged in a hotel; only it was a little too dark and archaic to be the Holiday Inn. The walls were painted a royal purple and the floor was carpeted in black. All the furniture was made of wood and intricately carved; all painted black.
I slid off of the bed and glanced around the room, getting a more complete view of the room. I noticed there was a window on the opposite side of the room covered by the same black curtains as the mosquito styled canopy bed was. I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains apart, hoping to gain some insight into where I was. I didn't. The windows were completely blacked out.
I rubbed my temples irately, trying to recall memories of last night. I remembered going to Selkie Lake and meeting Aldous. I remembered going off into the woods and Aldous pressuring me to have sex with him. And then . . . And then the vampire had appeared.
"Fuck," I cursed, running over to the mirror on the other side of the room. I gripped the edge of the vanity and stared at my reflection. I looked . . . different. My tan was gone, replaced by skin the color of snow. And my eyes, they weren't red but they were still different. They looked bigger, and the green irises seemed brighter, with a gold ring around the pupil. My face too; it seemed different. Not so different that someone who I fleetingly meet, like Aldous, would notice. But different enough so that anybody who saw me on a daily basis would certainly notice. My face was more angular; more attractive but almost more dangerous looking.
I gripped the vanity even tighter and I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Oh my - oh God," I chocked out, "Oh God." The only reaction I had to this discovery of my own transformation was astonishment. I couldn't decide if I was happy or scared or angry. I was too shocked to even fully register that I was a vampire.
"Oh my . . . God," I repeated, "God oh God oh God oh God!"
"I think he's in a meeting. But I'd be glad to take a message."
I immediately grabbed the heavy brush off the vanity, whirled around, and threw it in the direction of the voice. The brush traveled through the air at such a high velocity that it made a whistling sound. The person on the receiving end ducked at the last second, letting the brush go over her.
The girl I'd thrown the brush at was obviously a vampire. If the pale skin didn't give it away the gold ring around her pupils did. She was pretty, as most vampires were, with light brown hair that looked soft even in appearance. She wore a yellow sundress and on her neck was a faded bruise.
"Jesus Christ," she muttered, looking over her shoulder, "You could hurt somebody with that thing. I mean, not me, cause I'm not some mortal pussy but if I was. . ."
"Where is she?" I demanded, my voice more of a snarl than I knew I was capable of.
"Where's who?" she asked, seeming genuinely confused.
"That black haired bitch who did," I gestured to myself, "this to me."
"You mean Drucilla?" she asked, "She's downstairs. That's actually why I'm up here; she wants to talk to you."
"Great. I have some words for her too," I hissed, walking over to the door and shoving past the girl on my way out.
The hallway was similar to my bedroom; fancy but dark. The bottom half of the walls were paneled but the top half was covered in red material. There were lamps on the wall that looked like gas lamps but had little light bulbs in them. There were a few tables lined sporadically against the walls, decorated with potted plants and expensive looking vases. There were several other doors up here, all of which were closed. The hallway itself was long, but not excessively so. I could see the end on both sides. On the right end there was a staircase going up and on the left there was a staircase going down. I went left.
"You shouldn't be mad at Cilla," the girl said again, catching up with me, "She did you a favor. Being a human is a burden around here. Being a vampire makes life so much easier. And you'll love living here. Like Cilla always says, we're like a little family. There are eight of us. Cilla, Sam, Daniel, F-"
Deducting that Cilla was a nickname for Drucilla I said, "If it's alright I would like to talk to Cilla before you give me your fledgling orientation lecture, okay?"
"Okay," she said, subdued, "I can wait."
I didn't respond as I reached the bottom of the staircase. Down here didn't seem so dark, probably because the walls were done in a lighter shade of blue. But still, the area retained that stuffy, archaic feeling. We appeared to be standing in some sort of vestibule. Next to me was a set of dead-bolted, grand, double doors with the little decorative windows on it blacked out. Next to the door there was a key rack that seemed oddly out of place. So did the tack board across from us, which was cluttered with little pieces of colorful paper. Every single one of them was addressed to Drucilla, all signed with only a letter. I was surprised that I could read them all from this distance. I'd never had great vision, even for a human. Well, back when I was one.
"Where's Drucilla?" I demanded of my nameless companion.
"She said to bring you to the conference room when you woke up."
"Take me there," I told her. I was aware that I was being even bitchier than usual, but this not the time for please and thank you.
"It's this way," she said, leading me out of the vestibule and through a refreshingly hyper-modern kitchen and through a set of swinging doors into a barely occupied room.
This must have been the conference room, but it wasn't what I'd expected. I'd expected the type of conference room you find in offices, with big leather chairs all around a polished wood table. This looked more like a cross between a throne room and a living room. The walls here were painted white and the floors were covered in black wood. On each side of the room there were three matching, large, black, armchairs forming an isle down the center, leading to the biggest armchair at the end which was on a raised platform.
All of the chairs were empty, except for the one at the end that looked like a throne. I'd expected it to be Drucilla sitting there, but it wasn't. It was a guy, no older than me, lounging across the chair with his legs hanging over the armrest, casually flipping through some sort of notebook. He was the perfect example of a hot vampire. Not only did he have all the right gear; a grey t-shirt that fit him fabulously, dark jeans, and sexy combat boots. He also had a gorgeous face, a hot body, and a head of unruly dark hair.
If I wasn't on the verge of a mental breakdown . . . I'd have fucked him.
"Sam," my companion said in a rebuking tone, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing that concerns you Irene," he informed her smarmily.
"Are you going through Drucilla's things?" Irene demanded.
"And if I was?" he retorted.
"Sam, put that down and get out of Cilla's chair," Irene commanded.
He sighed in annoyance, placing the book spine-side-up on his stomach, turning to giving Irene a withering look. "You know, I don't have to listen to you."
Irene sighed, not seeming the least bit surprised. "Just tell me where Cilla is. She wanted to talk to our newest addition."
His eyes locked with mine and I could see that they were a very attractive blue with gold rings. "This her?" he asked.
"No, I'm just here to tell you about the good news of Jesus Christ," I snapped sarcastically.
He rolled his pretty eyes at me. "Oh great, another one," he mumbled.
"Another what? Brat like you?" I growled furiously, taking a step forward.
Sam unhooked his legs from the armrest, sitting up straight and staring at me angrily. "I'm sorry, but I just have to know. Are you the back alley slut that Drucilla told me all about? The one who was giving a guy a blow in the woods?"
"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?" I demanded, "Or are you just too much of a pussy?"
He grinned at me, revealing fangs as he threw the notebook on the floor and jumped to his feet. Now that he was totally upright and facing me, I could see that there was a plethora of dark bruises and bite marks on his neck.
"Don't fuck with me newborn," he warned, walking forward with an aggressive gait, "I fuck back."
"Well I fuck harder," I hissed.
"You guys," Irene said, sounding nervous, "Don't do this."
"Go be a goodie-goodie somewhere else Irene," Sam suggested to her, stalking towards me, grinning maliciously.
"Yeah, I wanna see what pretty boy can do," I growled.
Pretty boy laughed. "Somehow I doubt you have a bite to match your blow."
Snarling, I did something I'd never done as a human. I ran right at him and tackled him to the ground. We were probably only on the ground for a second before he kicked me in the stomach so hard I flew back several feet and landed on my ass.
"You guys!" Irene exclaimed.
Growling, I got back up to my feet to see that Sam was gone. And then all of a sudden I felt his arms wrap around me in a headlock from behind. I struggled and he responded by kicking my legs out from underneath me. I collapsed to the ground and he purposely came down with me, never losing his grip on my neck.
I was just about to scream at him, but then all of a sudden there a slight gust of air as if a door had been opened, and then there were deathly quiet footsteps and the smell of rose water mingled with wine.
"Samuel darling, let her go," came the subdued, familiar voice of the woman who had changed me.
"Yes Drucilla," thrummed the smugly sweet voice of Sam from behind me as he released his hold on me.
I looked up to see Drucilla enter. She was dressed casually in black jeans and a white t-shirt. She was making her way over to her little throne with a confident gait, Sam following complacently behind her.
I furrowed my brow in confusion at them as Irene came over and helped me to my feet. Once I was up I looked over to see Drucilla sitting in her chair with one leg draped elegantly over the other. Sam stood next to her, his hands behind his back respectfully, and a smug little smile on his lips. Since Drucilla's chair was on a raised platform she was able to comfortably run her fingers through bratty Sam's pretty hair. I guessed they were a thing or something. Let God have mercy on her soul.
"I apologize for Samuel's less than hospitable behavior," she spoke to me, "He has quite the temper, don't you Sammy? Now why don't you apologize?
"I'm sorry," he said sweetly, not seeming the least bit repentant.
"Whatever," I said heatedly, "I could care less about him. I came here to talk to you."
"Ah yes. Let's get to that," Drucilla said, "Irene, you may go."
"Okay Cilla," Irene said, giving me a look that said 'behave' before leaving.
"Let's start with the basis then, shall we?" Drucilla said, "Your name."
"Heidi," I told her.
"What a lovely name," she said, "I am Drucilla, and this is Samuel."
"I know," I said, "What I don't know is why you did this to me."
"Why I bit you?" she inquired, "Well let's start with the primary reason; to strengthen my coven. More fledglings mean more power. As to why I changed you, well your personality just appealed to me. I saw you at that party. You seemed very strong and confident, a little loose, but still a good potential fledgling."
"So you just saw me and decided, hey, let's change this girl's life forever," I exclaimed heatedly, "Without even asking for my consent? Don't you think that's unethical?"
Drucilla gave me a withering look. "We drink blood honey," she said dryly, "Ethics were never really our biggest concern."
"So you think its okay to totally turn my life around?" I demanded.
She looked at me curiously for a moment. "Yes," she said finally, "Now if you would stop fussing I would like to explain your new situation to you."
"I've lived in Damenheven my whole life, I know the game," I muttered bitterly, "I'm your fledgling so you take power from me and I do your bidding."
"It's not as simple as that," Drucilla said, shaking her head, "You make it sound like a one-ended relationship but it's not. I may gain energy from feeding off of you, but by living in my house as a fledgling you enjoy certain perks. For example, your own gold card. You can buy anything you like. Plus you also have full access to my land, as long as you help me protect it."
I was familiar with the system. Certain covens ruled over certain areas of Damenheven, protecting the entire area from attacks from other immortals. In exchange the coven members could feed on anybody in that area, whether or not that person lived there. That's why nowhere in Damenheven was 'safe.' Sure, you could be safe from being murdered by a zombie if you were in a vampire zone, but you were also at risk of becoming a temporary snack bar.
"What area does this coven watch over," I asked, my voice significantly less hostile due to my interest.
"The east side of Lamia," she told me, seeming faintly pleased.
That wasn't far from where I lived. In fact, my house had been just outside of there. Selkie Lake was in East Lamia, and so was my school, not to mention most of my friends lived there. I couldn't help but be just a little intrigued. I was now on the upper part of the food chain instead of the bottom; being a vampire and all. So wouldn't it be interesting to go back to my old school as an imposing vamp? To think of all of the people I would love to scare the shit out . . . I might have had a lot of friends in school but I also had a lot of enemies; a lot of people who called me a lot of bad names.
"What rules are there around here?" I asked, changing the subject after a pause.
Drucilla smiled; no doubt pleased that she had soothed my temper. "Not many. . . Get along with the other fledglings in the coven. That's actually more of a suggestion. They're all older and you don't want to pick a fight with some of them. You'll meet them all later. . . . No killing anybody you bite . . . . Leave me a note on the board by the door if you're going out so I know where you are . . . There are a few other rules, most of which are common sense, and the rest you'll learn as you go. For now though I'm sure you'd like to meet your new coven mates."
"Could I go see my mother first," I asked, "I need to talk to her about this."
"Of course," she said, nodding in understanding, "There are clothes in your closet. I'm sure you'll find something that fits. You can always go shopping later. Just get dressed and I'll have somebody escort you to your mother's. It'll be safer for you that way."
"I'll take her," Sam finally spoke up, sounding eager. Oh God no. I didn't want Sam of all people there. I'd only just met the guy but I already hated him. And I certainly didn't want him there to witness the probably-emotional confrontation between me and my mother. He would probably make fun of me for it.
"No, no Sammy," Drucilla said, patting his head condescendingly, "Maybe some other time. Irene will take her."
"It's Sunday night. Irene has dinner with her parents on Sundays," Sam pleaded his case.
Sunday? It was Sunday night. I'd been bitten on Friday. My mother was probably worried sick about me. Sure, I'd disappear sometimes on the weekends, but I always called. And none of my friends had seen me since Friday night so if my mother called them she would only get more freaked out when she found out none of them had heard from me. God, she was probably a mess.
"I don't care who takes me," I said, "I have to go now."
They both ignored me. "Then Farrah can take her," Drucilla said to Sam.
"But Drucey," Sam whined.
"That's enough Samuel," Drucilla said sharply, "Now go get Farrah."
"Okay Drucilla," Sam mumbled and walked away with his head hung slightly. He didn't make eye contact with me. I smirked to myself a little, finding amusement in seeing Sam put in his place. The guy was such an arrogant jackass.
"You may go change now if you like," Drucilla said, "I'll have Farrah meet you in your room."
"Alright," I said before slowly walking out of the room. The second the door closed behind me I took off as fast as I could. Which, I noted, was slightly faster than usual. I knew that fledglings grew more powerful very slowly, so I was surprised that I already felt stronger.
I quickly made it back to my new room, feeling surprisingly not out of breath. I immediately went over to my closet to see that Drucilla was right; my closet had been filled with clothes. Whoever had picked out these clothes obviously hadn't had my tastes in mind, but they'd obviously heard that I was a whore. Still, things weren't to my liking. The clothes in here looked like slutty Halloween costumes, not the crude message tees and short shorts that I was used to.
I thumbed through the clothes, finally settling on the least outrageous thing in there; a blue, knee-length, dress with a laced bodice. After I talked to my mother, I was going shopping. Because I was not dressing like this every day. I mean, I was already an undead whore; did I really have to look like it?
After I had put my dress on and a pair of black flats I had found, my door suddenly burst open. Standing in the doorway was a girl who must have been Farrah. I would have bet anything that she was the one who had stocked my closet. She had a bob of black hair with the tips dyed white and the bangs dyed pink. She was wearing a pink leather vest and a tutu of about six different colors.
"Oohhhh that dress looks amazing on you!" she squealed, "The color looks so great with your hair! You should put blue streaks in your hair! It would look awesome."
"You must be Farrah," I said.
"Yep. Farrah Louise Palmer," she announced proudly, "And what's your name?"
"Heidi," I told her.
"Heidi! What a perfect name for my new sister!" she said coming over and hugging me tightly, "I'm so glad you joined our family!"
"Um me too," I said awkwardly. I wasn't sure if I was lying or not. This was all still new.
"Sorry," she said, detaching herself from me, "Are you uncomfortable? Cilla says I make people uncomfortable."
"I'm okay," I said, "Can we just go? I really need to talk to my mother."
"No problem sis," she said perkily, "C'mon, afterwards I can show you around our territory. It'll be great. You'll love the night life."