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When I awoke the next day, I had to hesitate, wondering if it was still night. It was only common sense that since we were in a mountain, there would be no way to tell day from night. Of course my body would soon adjust and realize what time of day it was…I hope.
Gathering some clothes that had been laid out for me, which was a roughly made dress, I glanced over at Mr. Crepsley's coffin. Unsure if I should disturb him, I decided against it and headed towards the door. I had no idea where the bathrooms were or where I could shower at so I choose the option of breakfast first, then asking Crepsley.
Although my mind had been full of exhaustion, I managed to guess my way through the halls. There was no way in Hell that I would have remembered the names over one night, but I did take notice of the beginning of each hall. It felt like I was roaming in a maze but instead of being blind, I had an invisible arrow pointing me to the dining hall.
However…as soon as I turned a corner, I slammed into a body. I stumbled back, trying to keep on my feet; the last thing I needed to do was mess up this already worn out dress. My eyes glanced up at the person I walked into and immediately I felt the desire to have my hat again so that it could cover my face.
"Good morning Sam." Seba Niles looked down at me, smiling warmly. I fought the urge to blush as I stood, having landed on my hand, and brushed off my hand. "Where is Larten?" His eyes darted to and fro the hall as though expecting him to be hanging off the ceiling in bat form.
"Uh, good morning." I had a hard time speaking for a moment, having been so engulfed in embarrassment. "Mr. Crepsley is still sleeping, I think. I was just heading down for breakfast…dinner…?"
"Breakfast." He confirmed that it was night, meaning morning for them. There was a hint of concern in his youthful eyes, one that made me feel even more foolish. "You should not be roaming this place alone, Sam. Some of the vampires are not as nice as Larten or I." I had to smirk; Larten, being nice, yeah right! "Some of the vampires are young and have far more energy than we." Once again, it took me a moment to realize what he meant and my face flushed.
"Right, I'll remember that next time." I looked down, wanting nothing more than to be just swallowed up by the mountain itself. He led me the rest of the way to the eating hall, talking about pleasant subjects such as the history here, what he did, so on so forth.
By the time I was on my fifth piece of stale bread, which was soaked nicely in the broth they gave me, I noticed more eyes on me than a third grade play. I didn't dare look around but I had a feeling the eyes that bore a hole through me were more lust-filled than curious.
When a hand was placed on my shoulder, I jumped almost out of my skin and choked on the bread. Looking up, I felt my limbs turn to jelly. "Mr. Crepsley, what is wrong with you!" I snapped after chugging some water down. "You frightened the hell out of me!"
It was only when I glanced around, feeling a heavy weight disappear, did I realize he had done that to show possession to the other vampires. I blushed again, hating how this kept happening. I didn't need to glance up to see him glaring at anyone who still dare to lick his lips while watching my every move. "Good morning to you as well, Sam." He stated with a dry tone, sitting next to me.
A few minutes passed and it dawned on me that he was chewing through the rough bread. "Sir, why don't you soften it up with some broth?" I asked, glancing at him although I sensed the Little Person sit near me.
"Bat broth does not agree with me." He stated in a bored tone, his eyes scanning the crowd briefly, faintly wondering if anyone was scheming.
My mouth was partly open, about to bite another soaked piece of bread when I froze. "B-bat bro-…" I gagged, seeing a small wing float up. "Ew!" Pinching the small thing between my nails, I threw it away from me. How disgusting!
"Just pretend it is some silly human soup then." He stated almost emotionless as I pushed the bowl away. Instead, I grabbed a piece of poorly salted cooked meat and bit into it. I didn't even realize I was repeating 'gross' over and over again until Crepsley gave me a sharp look.
It felt like quite some time before I calmed down. When I did, after drinking a bit of human blood, I hesitated. "Mr. Crepsley, where…um, where is the shower?" Suddenly he looked at me with such amusement in his eyes that I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frightened by it.
"Come with me." There was a certain dark tone to his voice that made me extremely hesitant and reluctant to shower now. Either way, I stood and followed, noticing that since his hand was on my shoulder, all vampires walked away from us with jealousy in their eyes.
We arrived in a 'hall' that had a huge waterfall. I stood there, studying it with such awe in my eyes that it made Crepsley chuckle. "It's beautiful, sir, but where's the showers?" I almost had to shout to be heard. The water splashed onto the shallow end, making the mist hit my skin; it felt refreshing and relaxing.
"These are the showers." Although he had turned away from me, I had the sneaking suspicion that he was smiling.
"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes instantly widening. "I…it must be cold though!"
He nodded as he started to strip, making me quickly avert my eyes. "Yes, it is, but it is the safest way to shower, to the environment at least. This is naturally cold and if we were to heat it up, it would affect the animals down the mountain."
Making sure that no other vampire was near, although I was sure he already saw to it, I threw off my dress. Hoping he wouldn't see me, I nearly ran into the water. It was like torture! The water felt like icicles itself, the pressure it hit me made me wince in pain. My scream was as girlish as a 'tomboy' could be; it was loud, high pitched, and…well, loud.
If I wasn't mistaken, I could have sworn that I heard Crepsley chuckle.
When I jumped out, my limbs shivering as though there were an earthquake, I froze. When did a towel appear there? Shaking my head, I wrapped it around me and, despite its prickly sensation, I felt warm. I looked up, still shivering though, and blushed darkly. He had been watching me!
"This is why so many vampires see it necessary to shower only once in a while." He informed me. Now that I thought about it, I had seen several of them wearing flowers. I was about to question their manliness but decided against it.
As I was putting my clothes on, I couldn't help but glance over at Mr. Crepsley. What I saw made me unable to breathe for a moment. I saw his side, such smooth looking pale skin with many scars of violent pasts etched on it. His body was thin yet firm with muscle, which didn't really surprise me. My eyes shifted down but I quickly spun away, feeling my heart race.
I stepped out of the showering/waterfall room first and immediately was greeted by another body. Once again, I slammed into it and stumbled back. When I looked up, my eyes widened; there was a man with blond hair before me.
Next chapter: Kurda and Sam go traveling. Review please!
