Chapter 11. Blood Vow

"Lord Bathory is asking for you, my Lady. He has asked me to help you prepare for the day ahead."

I sat up then said, "May I know your name ?" I asked with a smile.

I could sense that she didn't like me one bit and that she was only doing her duty to me, but maybe I could win her over with time. The less ennemies, the better.

"It is Vanalette, my Lady." She said with a neutral face.

Vanalette was now attaching the strings of my corset. God, it was thight. It was a little inconveniant to breathe in this but I would manage. I had slid on a blue marine dress that was simple on the front but had a big blue ribbon behind my waist. The dress was simple and comfortable. I didn't want to wear shoes. Vanalette led me to the dining room where Aristes was waiting for me, sitting at the end of a very long table that was made of mahogany. I didn't bother curtsying to him.

"Come and have a seat, Zakuro-chan."

As he invited me to, I walked to the seat to the right side of the table, the closest to him, and sat down. On the table was pratically a buffet. There was all sorts of breads, cheese, meat, delicious looking butter, milk...oh my. I didn't try hiding how hungry I actually was and gobbled the bread. Didn't even taste it. Once I had calmed down my hunger a little bit, I savored every single type of cheese there was. I poured myself a glass of milk and drank it all in a few gulps. I was surprised at it's silkiness and taste. It was incredible. The food was absolutely delicious, I noticed later on that everything was of the finest quality. I had eaten heartedly, fried eggs and passed on to the fruits. I tasted the purple raisins. The skin cracked between my teeth and the sweet juice spread all over inside my mouth. It was delicious. I finished all the bread, all the cheese, raisins and milk. I ate like a wolf.

"My, what an appetite." He said, leaning his chin on his hand, smiling at me.

"I hadn't eaten for five days."

He had forgotten to feed me. Not surprising.

"So you can last that long without eating."

Or maybe he was simply testing my abilities. Made more sense.

"It's your fault if you decided to make such a vulgar woman your mate. Don't blame me for your mistake." I said as I used the napkin to wipe my mouth.

"I don't. I think it's charming." He said, still smiling.

Dammit, this ma- vampire, was annoying. The most irritating one of all. After counting to ten, I decided to speak.

"Aristes, why did we go see the queen, yesterday night ?"

"My duty was to kill every children that tried to escape, and since you remained behind...she might have come herself to kill you, if I had not come to her. She didn't know you were rebelling against her yet, but the later she finds out, and we could have had a punishment even worse than death. Especially you."

What about the others...? Mika, Yuu, and Kako ? What would happen to them ? Would the queen go all the way outside to kill them ? Would she ?

"But then, the others-" I said, starting to panick.

He covered my mouth with his hand and when I was silenced, he raised his hand and put his finger in front of his mouth, all the while looking at me and then whispered, "Secret."

My eyes widened at him. He hadn't told the queen that some of the children had escaped ? If she knew, she would probably go after them and kill them...which meant, Aristes DID really protect them when I had asked him to. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Look at how your heart starts pounding each time you think of those humans." Said Aristes. After a pause, he said, "And there it goes up again."

Agh ! It frusrates me so much how he can control how my body reacts.

All the while I was eating, Aristes had only drank a single glass of blood. Was that enough for him ? I remembered the other day he had drank my blood. Yeah right, as if a single glass was enough. What was he waiting for, seriously. Let's get this done over with. I pushed my hair away and bent my neck to the right slightly, showing him my skin. I frowned at him.

"What an impatient child."

He pulled me out of my chair, against him, as if he was going to hold me but instead, he planted his fangs into my flesh, so fast it hurt like hell. I screamed in pain.

"Devil." I said as he sucked my blood.

All the while he was taking my blood, I could feel his strong arms snaked around my waist, his soft lips against my skin, his warm tongue licking the blood that dripped down my wound and his breathing against my naked skin. My body shuddered at his touch, my skin became somehow more sensible when his body touched mine. It disturbed me so much. Why was my body reacting this way ? Was it because he is a male ? If that was the case, my body would have reacted to Yuu and Mika, right ? Aristes made me feel...different. He made me feel like a...like a woman.

I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking ? No matter how my body reacted to him, I couldn't have such thoughts for this murderer. Beside the fact that I couldn't understand my body, I was confused about my mind as well. How irritating. He stopped after about three minutes and a few more seconds. I somehow managed to just feel a little dizzy but no nausea. I guess eating like I did, made an effect. He pulled away and licked his upper lip, looking at me in a hungery way. I hated how he looked at me as if I was a piece of meat. I might as well be, to him.

His ruby eyes bore into mine and an evil smile appeared across his strikingly beautiful face. He gently pulled me against him and without struggling, I let him put his cold lips against mine. Tears overflowed my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.

This was my life now.

And like that, day after day, I fed him my blood. I was thaught how to dance, how to speak, how to act among nobles and night after night, I dreamt of my dead friends. Crying and screaming everytime the moon was up in the sky, Aristes, watched me without his usual smile, just looking at me, thoughtful, as if I was an unsolved puzzle to him. It didn't seem to matter to him that I woke him up each and every single night, and to my surprise, he always held me, my back against his naked torso. Of course, like everything else he did for me, it was not a gesture of love but just possessiveness. Or he was experimenting.

And like that, the night that turned my thoughts and world upside down, came faster than I thought, without even my knowledge.

...

A month had passed since the day he killed my friends, I still grieved for them but I didn't show it anymore, unless I dreamt about it, then I would wake up, sweating and panting, sometimes screaming and crying when I couldn't take it anymore.

"Zakuro." Said Aristes as his chin rested on his hand.

"Yes ?"

"You have been very obedient the past weeks. It's boring." He said looking at the street in a boring expression.

"Yes, I am. I obey every word you say and don't cause any problems that might disgrace you."

"It will be boring if you start acting like a servant." He said casually.

His fingers had reached my chin and he looked straight into my eyes. In the short time I had lived with him, I had realized how unbelievably cold and evil he was to the humans, even to his own kin. He was dangerous, so dangerous that I was afraid of what kind of monstrosity he could cause to others. He had no feelings, his heart was pure diamond. He might be the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, but inside, he was the coldest. I now knew that offering me to be his mate had much more weight than I thought. Considering his character, I couldn't understand why he decided to be my mate and not my master instead. That man had no feelings, none whatsoever and it scared me to death.

But then I thought, if he is willing to make me his lover and not his slave, then perhap I could make him feel something for me. As much as it sounds impossible and stupid, it is a miracle that he made a human his mate, so I might as well try. I can show him what is a real family, what is a real affectionate gesture...unconsciously, I had been staring at Aristes with a hard stare and he watched me back, curiously. This was the stupidest idea I ever had. And then he spoke.

"Zakuro-chan, why do you always call me Aristes ?"

I was caught off guard. I hadn't expected that. I frowned, confused a little bit but he seemed only amused at my reaction.

"I...don't know. Days after I saw you, it got into my head that your name was Aristes, but I had never heard it anywhere else, and then, I discovered that you were called Ferid Bathory. But I preferred my nickname better, so I continued calling you Aristes, in my head."

I couldn't read his face. He was just looking at me, without his smile, his face wasn't blank but it didn't have an emotion either. He was just looking. What was he thinking ? An awkward silence then passed. When we finally arrived, he helped me down the carriage and as always, I slid my arm in his. It was like a routine.

Aristes had explained to me that we were attending a ball in honor of the unification of one male vampire and one female vampire, I didn't have knowledge of who they were. I thought of how unusual it was, I didn't even know vampires celebrated such things. A unification sounded very much like a wedding to me.

I wore the most beautiful dress in the world. The skirt was fluttery and a pastel, faint blue covered with pink petals neatly. My back was pratically uncovered, the dress was closed by chains incrusted with diamond that hang against my back, my chest and shoulders were uncovered and the dress was cut open between the breasts. Just under the neat v-cut was a little tie with a diamond in the middle. It was the most beautiful dress I had worn in my life. The skirt trailed behind me and my hair was done in a neat, complex braid and pink flowers were incrusted in my hair. Vanalette had dressed me, as usual.

As we entered the grand hall, vampires stared at us with wide eyes, some snarled at me, gaining a very wicked smile from Aristes that froze them on spot. A purple carpet covered the floor and the roof held three crystal, magnificent chandeliers that I couldn't help but gawk at. I noticed there was only one table that held a small buffet and the reason it was even there in the first place, was because of me. I was the only human here, so I was the only one who ate real food. I noticed that the other tables had different types of high quality wine and of course, blood. I didn't even know vampires liked to sip on wine.

At first, Aristes went to introduce me to every vampire that seemed important in their society. I didn't bother smiling, I kept my face neutral and curtsied or slightly nodded my head. Aristes didn't let me dance with anyone, his presence alone kept the others away. After the presentation, I decided to go eat something, I couldn't fight on an empty stomach, even if it's only mentally.

To my surprise, there was seafood. I tasted the caviar on bread first, it tasted a bit salty and jellylike but very good. Stuffed octopus, crab with mashed potatoes, seaweed salad, fish with fried rice, fish soup...where did they get all this food ? I can't imagine a vampire cooking.

After I was done tasting every single dish, a woman with long blonde hair and large curls walked to me. She had such an angelic face except for her blood-thirsty red eyes. When she stopped in front of me, she looked at me from head to toe, examining me but not with that air of arrogance most vampires had when they looked upon humans. Instead, she looked intrigued and thoughtful.

"I don't know why Lord Ferid chose you but there must be something he sees in you, something very special for him to even like you." She said as her finger took one strand of my hair.

I took that as a sign of danger. I was wary and completely still.

"Don't worry silly human, I won't hurt you, if I did, I would have a punishment worse than death, dearie." She said now touching my cheek with the tip of her fingertips.

"My name is Zakuro. Pleased to meet you." I said trying to hide the trembling in my voice, as I curtsied.

"My name is Louisa Rosett. I came here to congratulate you." She said, playing with my hair, again.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Congratulate me ?"

She saw my surprise and seemed to realize something, in the looks of her expression.

"Yes. Congratulate you for-"

But before she could even finish, Aristes had come to fetch me- it was time to dance. Everyone had their place in the hall before the music started, as if they had it all coordinated in advance. Aristes and I stood at the very center of the ballroom, against each other. He held my hand gently and with the other, he held my waist. My right hand was on his arm. And then, when the music started, I was in an entirely different world.

I followed Aristes's strong lead as he guided me in this room full of blinding colours. The light going through the chandeliers, showered lights on our dresses, making the swirling colours look more alive than ever. I twirled and twirled and sometimes even flew in Aristes's arms, forgetting the hate, the sorrow and every single thing that scared or worried me. Now, it was just Aristes and me in a glistening world of blinding and twirling colours that consumed me with happiness and awe. For the first time since "that day", I was laughing.

His eyes bore into mine and for a moment, I could see only him and nothing else. He looked upon me with his eyes straight, unwavering like an arrow flying to it's target and across his face was a small, yet perfect smile. On his strinkingly beautiful face, he was smiling, satisfied with my reaction. His smile only enlarged my own grin. I was happily lost in all those lights and colours in all this beauty and enchanting music, in his arms...but when it ended...reality came back to me in a very depressing way.

I was about to walk away from the center of the room as everyone else did but my mate caught my hand and pulled me to him before I could. I looked at him confused but only received a smirk in return. I furrowed my eyebrows. What was he planning ? And that's when I remembered what the blonde vampire had said.

Aristes took my hand again and we started waltzing once more, but this time, it was just us dancing. Everybody stood still, watching our every move. What was happening ? There wasn't any "vampire couple"...because that was us. WE were the guests of honour. Aristes had lied to me. We...what was going to happen ? I had a bad feeling. Something was happening and everybody knew about it expect me. And "to not know" scared me.

I couldn't go back in the transe I was in earlier while I waltzed, I could only worry and stare at Aristes's face. When the music stopped, so did the dance, yet no one moved, everyone kept their place and so did we. My heart was thrumming in my chest out of fear of what was going to happen. He took my left hand gently, and what was in his other hand, made my ming go blank. In one whole second, my heart started beating again but it was pounding against my chest, about to explode. My eyes widened in shock and my jaw might as well have dropped.

He held between his fingers a beautiful golden ring, and on top of it, was incrested, a rectugular...ruby. The colour of blood. An engagement ring...this was our "unification". Our marriage. I calmed my erratic breaths and glanced up at him. Our eyes met and it seemed like forever until they parted but it was barely a fraction of a second. It wasn't visible but my body was trembling. I was afraid, but of what ? I knew from the very start that I was going to spend my life with him when I agreed to his proposition, so a marriage didn't change anything. Or did it ? No, it didn't. I watched him slide the ring on my finger and once it fit, he raised my hand to his lips and kissed the ring. My heart stopped it's ragged beating, the trembling stopped as well, the fear left me, only making me go back to my lifeless-doll-state. Now, I was really bound to this man.

All in slow motion, I bent my back slightly backwards with his arm holding me, as he leaned to my neck in a very gracious way and bit me. He didn't hurt me. It was gracious, not too long and not too short, just perfect. I couldn't expect less from Aristes. And now it was my turn. I sensed my eyes welling up for some reason, sadness was creeping inside my heart. He was my husband now. And to this vampire, to this murderer and to this husband, I was going to love him. I circled my arms around his neck and by his expression, he didn't seem to have expected that and then, with all the sorrow, warmth, passion and affection I was currently feeling for him...I kissed him. He kissed back. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

...

We were walking in the street, heading in the opposite direction of the mansion. He was holding my hand and led me to...to the very place he had killed all those children. I had to use all the strength in my body to not stop. We walked right into the tunnel that led to the outside world. My legs became weak. Mika and Yuu had lost so much, had to sacrifice so much to be able to walk this path. And now...now I was just going to walk in here without any difficulty. It was ironic because the one who had blocked my path, was the one leading me to it right now.

Once we were out, a cold breeze blew right past me, making me shiver. The ground was covered in snow, making my naked feet hurt like hell, but I was too mesmerized to notice the pain. The black sky was covered in thousand of tiny little lights, with the moon glowing brighter than anything else in the sky. It was so beautiful...so...so...so beautiful, that tears fell down my cheeks once again, a tiny smile appearing across my face. It had been so long since I had seen the sky, since I had seen it's light.

I hadn't noticed he was watching me. Our eyes linked together and like that, we watched each other. This vampire in front of me was once someone I had seen as an enemy. He was someone that had destroyed my happiness. What was he now ? An ally ? My husband, my mate. For the first time, the word "mate" finally seemed to sink in. Yes, this man and I were now forever bound. I took a few steps towards him. Ferid Bathory. I had never called him by his name.

"Ferid Bathory." I said, whispering.

He seemed surprised but he replaced it immediately with a smirk.

I repeated his name again and again for an unknown reason, like a spell.

...

I hope you enjoyed !