Chapter 2
The guard led Naomi through an elaborate maze of hallways until they finally reached her attackers room. There, the guard pushed her down into a small wooden chair and, while holding her down with one hand, he pointed his wand at her with the other. Out of his wand came a ribbon of light that quickly surrounded her. When the end of the ribbon finally came out of his wand, he put it inside his cloak and left without a word.
Naomi tried to struggle free, but her arms were still pinned to her sides and the ribbon of light held her to the chair tightly. She eventually gave up, and decided to study her surroundings instead.
She was sitting in the corner of what appeared to be the common area of the room. Shelves of books lined the walls that Naomi sat against. Along the far wall (across from the double doors that she and the guard had entered through) was a fireplace and in front of it sat two plush chairs separated by a small table. Directly across from her was a bed flanked by two bedside tables. All in all, the design of the room wasn't all that unusual, except for the fact that everything in the room was red. From the carpet, to the chairs, to the bedspread, everything was a shade of red. Naomi's visual exploration of the room was cut short however, by the arrival of the cloaked figure.
He walked through one of the doors, making sure to close it behind him, and made his way towards Naomi.
"Stand up," he demanded after releasing her from all her bindings with a flick of his wand. Naomi refused at first, not wanting to seem too compliant. If he thinks I'm going to do whatever he says just because he's waving that wand around, he's got another thing coming, she thought to herself defiantly. "I said stand up," he demanded, harsher this time. Naomi could start to see sparks of fire form behind his red eyes and decided that it was in her best interest to give in to his demand. He turned his back to her and walked over to the chairs in front of the fireplace. He then motioned for Naomi to sit in one, while taking a sit in the other.
"What is your name?"
"Naomi Brooks," she stated, seeing no point in withholding the information. "And yours?" She demanded bravely.
"My name is none of your concern at the moment." Her captor replied simply, as ran his fingers over his wand, in a menacing way. "You are a muggle," he observed. "Yet you do not seem alarmed by the use of magic."
"My sister's a witch." Naomi stated indifferently, not at all pleased with her current situation.
"You are hungry," the cloaked figure stated.
"And you're an expert at stating the obvious." Naomi retorted under her breath. Whether or not he heard her, the cloaked figure didn't show that he had. He just went about his business and tapped the silver platter that sat on the table between them with his wand, making sandwiches appeared. Naomi hadn't realized that she was hungry before seeing the sandwiches, but having them sit in front of her now reminded her that she hadn't eaten since she was captured. But even though she was know aware of her stomach rumbling, she refused to accept the food.
"You don't trust me," her captor said, stating the obvious once more.
"Does that surprise you? I'm being held her against my will, for reasons that have not been made apparent to me, by a man who refuses to even tell me his name!" Naomi declared in a frustrated tone that came out louder then she meant it to.
"Well, you were obviously brought here by mistake because we do not make it a habit to feed off of muggles, and therefore the reasons for your being are not yet apparent to me. But I assure you, when they are apparent to me, they will be to you too. And as for my name, if it is that important to you, my name is Desmond. Prince Desmond von Kaiser if you prefer my full name."
"So let me get this straight, I was kidnapped for no apparent reason, and you're a prince?" Naomi questioned.
"Yes, that is correct," the prince confirmed patiently.
"Ok then," Naomi said, pausing to let the newly acquired information sink in. "But what did you mean by 'we do not make it a habit to feed off of muggles'?" She continued. "Who are 'we'? And what do you mean by 'feed'?"
"We are the vampires. And feeding is how we survive. We need at least four liters of human blood a month to survive." Desmond replied calmly. At hearing this, all of the color drained out of Naomi's face as she tried to absorb what she had just been told. "Popular to muggle folklore, we are not monsters. We never kill when we feed, taking only one liter of blood per feed, at most. And we only feed from wizards and witches who are convicted criminals and have been condemned to life in prison. It is a win-win situation really; it is a deal that keeps our bellies full and the prisons stay less crowded. Do not look so shocked, it is not like we enjoy feeding. We do not have a choice, just as wolves have to kill cute little bunnies to survive; we have to feed from humans to survive."
"So, if you only feed of off criminals, why am I here?" Naomi asked suspiciously.
"I am not entirely sure, though my best bet is that you were mistaken for a witch who had escaped from Azkaban." Desmond responded, and from her look he added "The wizard prison."
To Naomi's surprise, conversation began to flow freely between the two, and she almost forgot that she was being held there against her will. As she continued to talk with Desmond she learnt all about the vampire species. She discovered that real vampires were very unlike the vampires of muggle folklore. Although they were nocturnal, they wouldn't die if exposed to sunlight. They could tolerate garlic as much as any witch or wizard and they weren't immortal. They could be killed by a stake being driven through their hearts, but they could also be killed by having any sort of sharp object.
Naomi eventually gave in to her hunger and nibbled away at a few sandwiches. They continued to talk about vampires, but eventually they moved on to more personal topics, such as Naomi's family. She was so relaxed around the prince that she eventually dozed off into a peaceful slumber.
