(Author's Note: In this story over ninety-five percent of the world's population are born vampires. Vampires are the dominant beings on Earth and need to drink blood to survive. Most vampires drink animal blood as human blood is excessively rare. Vampires can give birth to humans but it doesn't happen often. Because of this and the fact that human blood is considered the best tasting, humans are seen as property rather than free individuals. They legally belong to their fathers, and then brothers or other males in the family after the father dies. Humans can be legally bought and sold with the sole purpose of consuming their blood. (And to avoid the question of why don't vampires just make humans breed as a constant food source, humans are unable to have children in this universe.) A vampire can bite and drink a human's blood without killing them, but unlike animal blood whenever a vampire drinks human blood it stays in their body forever. In this way a vampire can drink all the blood of one human and be satisfied for the rest of their lives, which is one reason why humans are so valuable and legally kept under the status of "property".
Other changes include vampires being able to go out in the sun, but they'll burn ten times faster than humans. They also age at the same rate as humans; they're not immortal in this story, but they much stronger physically than humans and don't get sick or fevers. Because of this and the fact all vampires only drink blood to survive, their population is a lot smaller than real world humans (this is so animals don't go extinct and vampires lose their only food source). Lastly vampires have their own blood but it's static in their bodies, not pumping like humans. They're cold-blooded by nature. Aside from this, everything else is the same as our world. Same countries and seasons of the year.
Told from Daphne and Simon's perspective. Everything in italics is Simon thinking or speaking.
Enjoy!)
It was June.
I woke up with no semblance of a memory. I only knew that it was June and I felt good…. Really good.
I didn't know her name or even what she looked like. But from the moment I first opened my eyes, I knew…. I had not a single memory of her, and yet I knew.
There would forever be more of her in my veins than my own blood.
Daphne's P.O.V.
The carriage rolled up the forest road, with each side covered by trees and shrubbery. The inside of the carriage was dark with the only light being a slit on my side so I might look out of the window. My estranged eldest brother said nothing for most of the ride, simply watching me as I goggled the passing scenery. I'd never been this far down south before, or at least that I could remember. The weather was warmer down here, the sun brighter. It made perfect sense that the carriage would do everything in its power to block out the sun's rays, if not it's heat.
One of the wheels passed a bump and I wiggled a bit in my seat. Anthony didn't move at all, but he kept his eyes on me intently, almost curiously so. "We'll be there shortly," he broke the comfortable miasma of silence. I blinked back over at him and smiled. "Oh, I'm not in a rush. It'll be better if we get there after sundown. I don't want you to get a sunburn on my account," was my polite reply. My escort didn't say anything to this. Despite being my brother, we barely knew each other. This was actually our first encounter that I remembered. I was spirited away to live up north with our great uncle while I was still an infant. I was the only human that had ever been born in either side of the family and no one had any idea what to do with me. I was certainly the first and only human Anthony had ever met; probably the same for the whole Bridgerton clan.
As such I was being brought back into the family slowly. Very slowly. Since our father, Edmund, died, it was up to Anthony to fetch me from North Yorkshire and bring me back to London. Well, the outskirts of London. Everyone agreed that it was much too dangerous for me to actually live in the city, especially since Anthony and Mother have already had offers to purchase me. But the Bridgertons were determined not to sell me, despite the fact that I couldn't legally get married either. As of now I was destined to remain under their care and spend the rest of my days lounging about in some out-of-the-way manor somewhere. That may sound all well and fine but there was literally nothing else to do with me. I couldn't go into any service as humans can't legally work, and I was still technically Anthony's property. He'd have the final say in anything I'd do. It could be worse; luckily for me, my family was well-off and not keen on selling me to the highest bidder as their next meal. For a human, I was considered very lucky indeed.
Anthony had let the Hastings manor for the season. I'd be staying there until the family was ready to see me again. Anthony and Mother wanted to be absolutely sure it was safe to bring me back. Consequently I would be living in a manor alone for at least one season; maybe more depending on how well the younger siblings could control themselves. It was risky to have me around vampire children- even blood relatives. Hastings Manor was supposed to serve as an in-between stay for me. Closer to London but not too close. He assured me- and our uncle- that he'd come visit me often; in other words, check up on me and make sure I hadn't been eaten. But the manor was in a very secluded location with hardly any villages or towns around. Anthony picked the location specifically because of these features. That, and its primary resident and owner, the Duke of Hastings, would be gone for the foreseeable future. I didn't know his name; no one told me.
The carriage drew down this long entryway as the forest was replaced by a well-maintained lawn. It stopped right in front of the staircase leading up to the double front door. Anthony got out from his seat, came over to mine and opened my door. He took my hand helping me down. It's ok; we were both wearing gloves so he didn't actually touch me. Vampires touching a human's bare skin was also seen as very deadly; for us, I mean. Too tempting, Uncle said.
My brother helped me down and proceeded to remove his cloak and wrap it around my shoulders. The sun had set by now and it was in the cool of evening. I gave him a look and a grin. "Oh, that's ok. I don't need it; I'm still plenty warm." He seemed genuinely confused and frazzled, like he was truly trying to figure me out as we went along. "I'm sorry," he retracted his cloak in an awkward fashion. This made my smile widen somewhat. Poor thing; he's trying so hard to be a good brother to me. I guess a vampire who's never met a human before wouldn't understand how our internal body temperatures worked. Theirs stayed the same since they didn't need to pump blood throughout the body, but humans' temperature wasn't constant like a vampire's and subject to change for a variety of reasons.
Anthony took my arm, being mindful to keep a safe distance as he could and led me up the marble steps. Hastings Manor was beautiful! It didn't seem possible I'd be living here, even if I would be alone. Or so I thought. Both the front doors were opened by two men standing by. I couldn't help but notice their eyes trailing me- and only me- as we passed through. Anthony discreetly whispered to me that they would be gone by the time he left; there would only be one vampire servant left here with me. This caused me to perk up in surprise. Wait, so I wouldn't be here alone? I suppose it makes sense since this is such a large estate and would be impossible for one person to maintain. But I was still taken aback that my family would let me stay in the company of a strange vampire unsupervised. It all became clear in a matter of seconds though.
Not a minute since we came through the doors and they were shut tight passed before a shorter, stalky, beautiful older vampire descend down one of the duel staircases at each side of the room. "Lord Bridgerton!" This gleeful woman had her arms up in the air. "Lady Danbury," letting go of my arm, Anthony met her halfway in the hall to greet her. The two shook hands affectionately, Lady Danbury smiling something wonderful. Her eyes gleamed up at him. "My dear boy, how you've grown!" "And you are looking as lovely as ever." "Oh, stop that. Flattery doesn't suit you, my lord," she waved her hand cheekily. "How are you, my lady?" "Oh, fine, fine. Getting all the spring cleaning done. I tell you, it's been more exhausting now that I've scaled back the help," her hand rested on her forehead. "I thank you for that. It shouldn't be for more than four months," Anthony noted, bowing forward a little. "Ah! Not a bother! It'll be nice to finally have some company again," that's when her ladyship saw me for the first time. The moment she did her eyes visibly lit up. She slowly released my brother's hand, taking a few steps in my direction. Her stare was intense, but I didn't detect any hunger in it, which really helped put me at ease.
"This must be her…." I think Lady Danbury wanted to say more but couldn't exactly come up with the right words. Anthony quickly rushed over to my side, extending his arm behind me without touching my back. "Yes, this is my sister, Miss Daphne Bridgerton. Sister, this is Lady Danbury- the housekeeper of Hastings Manor. She'll be taking care of you during your stay here." "Pleasure to meet you, my lady," I gave her an official curtsy. That's when her lovely old lips curled back into a deep, contented smile. Both her gloved hands clasped her cane in front of her.
"What a beautiful creature. It'll be a privilege to have charge over her," Lady Danbury said. "Lady Danbury has had plenty of experience with humans before, so you'll be in safe, capable hands," Anthony went on to reassure me. "That's right, I've seen and dealt with it all. You have nothing to fear from me, my dear. We have plenty of farm animals and wildlife to keep any vampires in the vicinity satiated. We also have a garden patch too which we've tended to this year. Can't say I have much experience with cooking but I think you'll be able to manage in our recently-installed kitchen." "Yes, ma'am," I agreed. Being human, you learn how to cook your own food really fast. Unfortunately I was not born with fangs- obviously- but I could still chew and consume meat and other such hardy food, as well as several others. Most vampires didn't even know what humans could and could not eat. I've had to tell people before that I don't eat dirt, concrete, bones, and lots more inedible stuff before. Thankfully Lady Danbury seemed to know that we could and did need to eat vegetables and fruit, so I was good on that front. I then smiled at Anthony, who took this to be a good omen. He returned my expression before turning back to her ladyship.
"And his grace isn't set to return back to Hastings until next year, yes?" "Simon? Oh, you needn't worry about him. He's off galivanting around the continent; it's the reason he's given his permission to let Hastings Manor. He won't be back for some time," Lady Danbury's hand flew up off her cane, waving up and down. Simon? My eyebrow perked up. So he must be the Duke of Hastings, whoever this Simon character was. Not that it really mattered to me; we'd never meet in real life I'm sure. It was kind of him to let us let his manor however. I ought to write him a thank you letter when I'm settled in.
Anthony breathed a sigh of mild relief. "Good. I'll feel better returning to London knowing that… well, you know. Not that I think ill of duke, of course! He was a great friend to me back at Oxford and I'll always cherish the time we had together. But it's just with my sister…." Her ladyship's hand raised up yet again to stop him. She grinned in a knowing sort of way. "Say no more. I completely understand. Unlike me, his grace has little experience with humans. I think we can all agree that it is best- good a vampire as he is- that Simon is not here. It's Daphne's safety that is now our principal concern." Anthony breathed yet another long sigh of relief. "Yes…. Yes, you're absolutely right, Lady Danbury.
Above all else, I want my sister to remain alive and unharmed."