Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into years. One day has yet to pass in Academy city.
Ruiko Saten sits in a chair, next to the bed. In the bed is Mikoto Misaka and Anastasia von Alucard. Anastasia is lying on top of Mikoto's chest, her arms wrapped around her waist. Mikoto lies motionless her eyes closed. Both still asleep.
She is reading a book. Two elder wolves are sitting by the partition that acts as a door to the bedroom. There is really no need for guards. It is just a tradition.
"It's time." Emelia speaks, walking into the large bedroom.
She is dressed wearing only of her white satin robe. She nods to the two elder wolves, heading towards the bed. Sylvia, also wearing the same type of robe, follows with a somber expression. Her vivid eyes are dull and her smile was small. She is carrying a small metallic case about the size of a medium ice cooler.
"Good morning." Emma, dressed in a white satin bathrobe, says to the two elder wolves. They nodded their answers as she walks over to the bed.
Heidi walks behind her carrying white towels over her arm and shoulder. She is dressed in the same type of bathrobe. The two wolves whistle and laughed. Heidi blushes, grins, "fresh." She cocks her head, winks and heads to the bed.
"Is it that time already?" Ruiko looks up from the book she is reading, slowly closing it on her finger. Sylvia nods her head, "yes, time for a bath and feeding."
Once every month, a vampire that sleeps needs to be fed and bathed. If not the vampire would dry out and that could be fatal. Like the vampires shown in movies their bodies would turned into a dried husk and could eventually fall to dust.
Ruiko sat the book on the table underneath a small table lamp, stood up and moved to the side. Heidi said her good morning and open the bathrobe, Ruiko helped her taking it off, and waited. Heidi stood next to the bed. The light of the lamp on the table bathed her naked body in a warm glow.
Emma took off her robe, lifted the blankets that covered her mistress. Anastasia was lying with her head on mikoto's upper chest, her arm wrapped around her waist. She slipped naked into bed, reached over to Anastasia's arm and began the process of peeling the two apart.
"Anna." Emma leaned close, whispered, "Anna, it's me, Emma." She tenderly lifted Anastasia's arm, her fingers clasped together. Emma looked at Heidi, Heidi grinned, sat on the edge of the bed and help with her hands.
A dull whisper of a growl seeped through Anastasia's dried lips. Emma continued to whisper in her ear, "Anna, it's me." She hesitated, staring at her queen's face, "time for a bath."
They had to be careful with Anastasia. Despite their love for each other, Anastasia could suddenly awake, striking out at anyone. Her mind would not be fully aware but her sense of survival, her desire to protect mikoto would take over.
"Anna." She caressed her arm, from her hand to her shoulder. Emma repeated the process, saying her name over and over.
Sylvia and Emelia pulled the covers down to the edge of the bed, slipped out of the robes. both standing naked by the bed, waiting for their turn.
The two elder wolves stepped out of the room, returned with a long shallow copper tub. It was long enough to put a body inside, deep enough to cover the body. Another, a vampire came in carrying a deep bucket. The dark red liquid splashed around the edges. She waited as the wolves sat the copper tub down, away from the bed. She took a few steps, stood by the copper tub and poured the bucket full of blood into the tub. She finished, another vampire carrying another bucket entered the room, doing the same.
A very slight wrinkle grew from the corner of Anastasia's eye.
"That's it" Emma whispered, kissing her cheek.
Sylvia set on the edge of the bed, next to her mistress's legs, caressing the back of her thighs and calves. She smiled, a twitch of Anastasia's small toe then slowly curled.
"That's it, Anastasia." Sylvia's somber expression slowly lightened, "that's my little one." She coaxed her on, slowly slipping her fingers across her dry skin. "You need to be strong," Sylvia said, slowly rubbing the muscles in her legs, "to protect mikoto."
Anastasia's eyes suddenly opened, their soft blues that sparkled when she laughed, gone. In their place, black. They shined like polished Onyx. Her cracked lips trembled slowly opening, her fangs dry peaked from behind her dried lips. She breathed, almost no breath. Her breath sounded hollow like the last wind seeping from an old cave.
"Anna." Emma wrapped her in her arms, pulled her away from mikoto's resting body. she leaned against the headboard, propping Anastasia up against her breast, pulling her on top of her like a small child.
A low growl, her eyes slowly move side to side. Emma whispered in her ear, her lips so close they brushed against her skin.
"Time to feed." She said, glancing up at Sylvia nodding her head.
"Heidi." Emma spoke.
Heidi took a breath; her job would be easier. She slipped into bed, gently putting her arms underneath mikoto's thin, frail body, and sat next to Emma, holding mikoto like a small child. Heidi's eyes teared, her face softened, feeling the weightlessness of her mistress in her arms. She blinked the tears away, glancing over at Emelia. She couldn't hear mikoto's heart beating, her breathing. She was cold, limp, nothing but empty. She sighed, whispered in her ear.
"Mikoto Misaka." She said, the edge of her lips curled, "there I said it mistress." She laughed softly, "if you don't wake, I'll have a certain level for teleporter try to wake you up." The tears slipped down her cheek, "who knows what she'll do if you can't defend yourself."
Ruiko's eyes grew wet, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. Her shoulder shook, half crying, half laughing, "or a certain boy_"
"hey now!" Emma quickly spoke, a gentle smile lit up her face, "my mistress is right next to her, don't be…" They laughed, "I think Anastasia just growled." They laughed again. "About the boy or Kuroko."
"both." they laughed. it wasn't a good laugh. knowing that their mistresses couldn't laugh with them. but they laughed none the less.
Sylvia and Emelia chuckled, watching two more vampires walk to the room, carrying bags filled with the dark liquid.
"Warm?" Emelia asked, taking a bag from a young vampire. She nodded. Sylvia took a bag, placed between her breast. She closed her eyes, smiled feeling the warmth of the blood against her body. "Perfect." She said. The two vampires bowed their heads, turned and left the room. They could hear them giggling outside the room.
"They're excited, "Sylvia spoke, still holding the bag between her breast, "they want to meet their mistress, when she wakes."
"So, do I." Emelia said, opening the bag.
She sat near Mikoto. She took a drink, swished it around her mouth, swallowed and waited. Heidi watched for any adverse effects, despite the loyalty of others, accidents can happen. Emelia would taste each bag, wait then feed Mikoto.
"Well?" Heidi asked. "Good." Emelia grinned.
Heidi reached over, put her hand underneath Mikoto's chin, leaned her head back, slowly opened her mouth. Emelia took a drink into her mouth, swishing it around. She held her mouth open, kissed her Mistress, letting the blood flow into her mouth, down her throat and into her belly. More vampires came into the bedroom, naked. They walked across the bamboo floor, smiling, their eyes lit up, stood waiting.
An elder wolf handed each a bag. They would wait their turn to feed their mistress. They would bite their wrist holding it over Mikoto's mouth, letting it spill, then take a drink from the bag, feed their mistress.
The feeding had finished. Mikoto was lying on Heidi. Emelia licked the blood that had spilled off her skin. She smacked her lips, cocked her head, her eyes softened. "Mistress" she whispered, her lips shined crimson, "I miss our time at the café." She whispered, "how about some cheesecake when you wake." She kissed her softly, holding her hand on Mikoto's cold cheek.
She sighed, seeing, feeling no response. "Ready?" Heidi asked. Emelia just nodded her head, slipping her arms underneath her frail body and lifted her up off Heidi's body. Heidi followed, rising to her knees, her hands underneath Mikoto's body. Emelia adjusted her grip holding her frail body tight. She lay in her arms like a broken puppet, her arm hung loosely from her body, her head in an odd angle. Heidi fussed over mikoto, lifting her arm up, putting across her body, adjusting her head, brushed her hair.
"Just a moment." Heidi said, sounding like a mother taking care of her child about to leave for school, glancing at Emelia, who watched her with narrowed eyes. Heidi grinned, "don't give me that look…" She paused, "damn vampire."
"It's only a few feet." Emelia slowly shook her head, "dog." She said letting out a sigh as she tilted her head. Heidi swallowed, raised her head up, thinned her eyes. "I'm tell mikoto you called me a name." She slowly laughed, her smile grew bigger, her canines glistened.
"You better learn the write then." Emelia said, as she walked over to the copper tub filled with blood, "so you can keep a list."
She knelt by the copper tub. Sylvia was on the opposite side, holding her arms out and helped lowered her into the tub. Her body sank, swallowed up by the dark red liquid, her hair splayed out, floated on the surface of the blood. Emelia slowly moved to the head of the copper tub, holding mikoto's head, nearly submerged. Sylvia and a few other vampires that had fed their mistress knelt around the copper tub and bathed Mikoto.
She would be dried and put back into bed. The sheets had been changed freshly laundered and air dried.
Anastasia would follow. Bathed, dried and put back into bed next to mikoto. Her glistening black eyes open, her nose smelling the air. She slowly reached for, wrapped her arms around, lay her head on mikoto's chest and went to sleep.
