Chapter One-Surprises
No pet is ever happy to show the bite marks that the keeper leaves behind. I for one feel self conscious for the following day when the healing hasn't begun. Even if the only people I see are other pets like me and keepers like Jonas, I feel ashamed for what my keeper has made me. I'm forced like every other pet but the exhilaration when he feeds takes over the hate, and that's probably why I'm starting to fall for Jonas. I have a certain love/hate relationship with him.
I tug on the black turtleneck that I save for this occasion and position my hair to lay just right on my shoulders. I pull on my jeans Jonas had bought especially for me, going against the law. Each article of clothing has to be something the pet had or bought themselves. We didn't get paid for this or get to have a normal job, so that was hard. Jonas wasn't like other keepers in many ways and others said that he had a soft spot in his heart for me. Sometimes I could think that but keepers were all the same even Jonas.
I open the door,sensing Jonas's presence, and immediately pull thoughts out from his mind. I can't get a full image, just bits and pieces, of what he's thinking but one day my mind reading will work to the fullest. He wasn't exactly ready for that but the only way to stop the progress was to stop feeding; that was why we have such a close connection.
He looks like he always does in the morning: tousled hair that falls past his ears,squinted red eyes, and of course he is still wearing his sleeping clothes. He walks in, not asking my permission, and swiftly slams the door. His face shows anger and his mouth isn't in his regular smile like it always is when he sees me.
"Damn it,Nina. Take that retched sweater off," he yells,already pacing back and forth in front of me. He rakes his fingers through his hair and I see that they are shaking.
"Yes,master." The words burn on my tongue. This is what I was taught to say but why did a nasty taste still linger in my mouth? I pull the turtle neck over my head and stand half naked in front of him. This is another thing that I was taught: There is never privacy. Jonas has seen me in everything and nothing; I was always exposed to him.
"And how many times do I have to say that it's Jonas, not master or sir?" When he's this serious, I know that there's something else that's wrong. He isn't ever grumpy or mean without a reason especially when it comes to me.
He tosses me a green sequinced top and I stare at it with disgust. The front swooped way too low for my liking and it didn't cover my neck at all. I sighed but put it on.
Jonas smiled excitedly. His body tenses. I hurry and read his thoughts.She looks beautiful.
"Nina,don't," he commands firmly. He looks disappointed like he always does when I read his thoughts. I look down with shame but not before seeing his dazzling smile appear on his face.
I walk over to the small dresser near my bed side and soundlessly open the top drawer,pulling out a cloth embroidered the letters "JC" on the edge, and a silver chain with a cross attached. I quickly put the cross in my pocket, since having one was forbidden here, and act as though the cloth was all I had brought out.
I fold it into a messy square and glide it against the glass of the watch. This was a morning ritual for me and Jonas never interrupted me while doing so. He,in fact, liked how much I cared for something so valuable. It wasn't so much as caring for it but keeping it alive. It reminded me of my father who was a well known watchmaker. I learned everything there is to know about watched. Even this very one.
The numerals lined around the border were pure gold and as for the hands, well they were rust free even thought they were also gold. The second hand made a soft ticking especially when it was silent while I lay in bed. A few buttons lined the side and the smallest would actually open a secret compartment. I doubt Jonas knew that but what did I expect form someone who would give this away with a blink of an eye.
"Did you grab the supplements yet?," he asks,clearly looking at them on my bed. To answer his question, I reach out to grab the container. These supplements can save Jonas,or any other vampire, when blood can't be found. Though it's not strong enough for them to live o it solely, it helps for hours.
I know this is the moment where we should get going, so I position my hair again perfectly on my shoulders while at the same time covering my neck in the right way.
"Tie it back, Nina. Now," he commands harshly, adding the last part because he knew I would fight it.
I shake my head. I wouldn't be exposing these bite marks like I just got inked for the first time. Oh, no that was not me.
He yanked my hand forcefully, making my movements clumsy, and had magically made a hair tie appear in his fingers. Where had that come from? Just as quickly his hands where in my hair, pulling it in all different angles. Gosh, this really hurt. He finally pulled away and looked down at me. His mouth slightly a gape from the effort.
I touched the small bun he had put it in and let myself relax when everything was in its place. I wasn't too happy, not happy at all actually, but I knew if I didn't behave he would feed from me tonight also.
With a sigh, Jonas turned to leave and I absentmindedly followed behind. It was almost like second nature to me to follow when he walked. He twisted his hands together behind his back and didn't even mind to look back, knowing that I would follow. Self- righteous jerk,I thought. Thankfully this mind reading thing didn't work both ways or my life would get much worse than it already is.
"Did you forget what today is, my pet?" I never fully understood why he could call me pet when I wasn't allowed to call him master. I didn't like to being called pet just like he didn't like master. So, why did he insist on not using my name all the time?
I searched around in my mind for an answer but came out with nothing. He looked back,seeing my confused,thoughtful look and laughed. I crossed my arms and thought harder for anything that was important that he or anyone would have said. Again nothing.
"Then it'll be a surprise," he said, letting a smile slip into these words. Of course he would torture me. This is what he was taught to do but I knew he did nothing like he was supposed to do.
We walked for what seemed like forever to his room, even though it wasn't far away for the sake that he needed blood right away, and finally he reached for the knob of the door, which was unlocked. Being here, none of us really needed privacy or a lock to secure our safety. It wasn't like a door would do much if a vampire needed to get in anyways.
Not paying attention, I bumped into Jonas, who had stopped just in front of the opening of the door. I let out something like a surprised outburst of hurt but as I stepped away from him altogether I noticed that he had done that on purpose. His malicious smile showed it all and he was too slow to hide it.
"Stay right here,Nina. Don't move," he says, making it very clear that he was serious. I had only once left when he had said don't leave and I had warned him beforehand that I wasn't joking when I said that I wasn't listening. My best friend, Layla, and I were so close to making it out of the gates but both my keeper and hers dragged us back, literally. Now it was like every chance I got would be wasted running and getting pulled right back with serious consequences.
I stood with my back against the farthest wall from his room and slid down to sit. Seeing that I would most likely not move from that spot, Jonas shuts the door. I would love to move just to mess with him but my every bone ached and I knew very well that this was due to Jonas feeding on me the night before. Disgust filled my entire body at that moment and it hadn't left me to this very morning. I'm starting to get used to the feeling and even try to push it off to the corner somewhere. Of course that plan doesn't and rarely works.
A few minutes pass and finally the door knob turns, exposing the freshly dressed Jonas. He wore black pants, as he regularly did, and besides wearing his every day plain collared shirt, he added a jacket and a tie to his whole attire. Today must be a very special occasion indeed.
His thoughts showed nothing of today's plan so I just stood silently alongside Jonas as we made our way to the stairs. Luckily silence didn't hang around us long because just before I drove myself crazy from the silence, Layla walked in step beside us. I smiled but this wouldn't last for long since Joel wouldn't be too far behind. Joel was Layla's self- centered keeper who could ruin any happy occasion. He trampled on any optimistic thought and I quickly realized why Layla, unlike me, didn't have a crush on her keeper. Though I had to hand it to her that Joel never put her down or made her any less happy than she always was. I doubt anyone could or would ever do that to her.
"Good morning, Nina," she cheerfully said while nodding towards Jonas, which was way too polite for someone who hated her. We locked eyes and I knew that she did this for the sole purpose of him getting annoyed. It always seemed to work perfectly. He hadn't even acknowledged that he had heard her. I heard Layla giggle as she moved to the other side of Jonas, away from me. Just as I suspected, Joel walks gracefully to stand next to her. He looks slightly angry so I can only think that Layla must have done something wrong again.
"Keep on doing that Layla and see how much I care. I'll put you in your place eventually and I don't mind doing that every night," he threatens her. Every day I see her I notice the marks increasing on her neck. Vampires only needed to feed every four days but as a consequence they were allowed to make it a punishment. I was guessing that she was acting out more than she let anyone know and every night he would drink from her. Her health was deteriorating, I could see, and this was hurting her while Joel got stronger. I felt the urge to hurt him but that would do neither Layla or me good.
Joel looked at me and smiled. "Hello, dear Nina," he said, acid dripping off every word. I had heard Jonas talking to Joel about me, telling him of my quick healing and to die for blood. This was very rare for a pet and whenever Jonas mentioned that to anyone, they wanted to test it themselves.
I felt someone nudge me lightly and I looked up. It was Jonas trying to get me to say something back. Me being that polite person that I was decided against ignoring him.
"Morning, sir," I blurted out, not exactly knowing what to say to him. He smiled back, glad that my response was polite unlike Layla's would've been.
The stairs had come into view and Layla and her keeper started down before us. The steps were made of marble and the railings were made out of fine iron, twisting into a vine looking design. Everything from the rooms to the entire mansion was made especially to accommodate for rich living. The outside was more remarkable than anything in here though.
Jonas taps my arm rhythmically and I turn my head towards his, not in the mood for his silly games that he tends to play.
"Have you remembered yet?" he asks, watching my face scrunch into one of thought. I hadn't thought of it since he had talked about it last. Once more nothing appeared. What was he talking about?
"No, Jonas. Can't you just tell me?" I tried to act calm but deep inside all I really wanted to do was scream it at him. That wouldn't get him to answer though.
He shook his head and watched me hide my anger. He grinned.
Layla turned around, obviously hearing our whole conversation, and gave the answer that Jonas wouldn't.
"Examination. Ring a bell?" she nearly exclaims, frustrated with my idiocy of forgetting something like this. And how could I of have? This was big and I was screwed. I wouldn't have put my cross in my pocket if I had remembered but I didn't even get the hints Jonas had thrown at me. The hair, the shirt, his uneasy mood, the way he is dressed. How could I have been so blind.
Examination took place every three months on the first Monday and even though we weren't the highest in everyone's mind, a selected council was sent to make sure that every pet was up to standards. That meant health, the breaking of any law, and the over all check-up. If the pet's health wasn't at their best then they would let then leave. There was no need for them anymore and they would be brainwashed and sent to their original home. Police would never catch the council and soon the kidnapping case would drop. Having the cross in my pocket would definitely be breaking the law but I wouldn't be sent away. I would get severely punished, like that was any better, instead. The check-up, I found, was the hardest. We would have to answer multiple questions and they would see how we were transitioning to this new lifestyle. They asked us about our keepers and only the brave pets would tell the truth.
We've made it to the bottom,without me saying another word. I was frightened. My stomach turned and my body ached from more than blood loss. Jonas saw it too in the way I moved and how my face turned whiter.
"Hand it here," he whispered, pulling us over to the side. Layla looked back but the look in my eyes told her not to get into anymore trouble than she already was in. She walked alongside Joel and didn't look back.
I gave him a confused look because in fact I was confused by what he wanted.
"Your cross, Nina." So he knew this whole time and he didn't turn me in. Without another second to think, I reached in my pocket and handed it to him. Before letting him take it, I rubbed the engraved words on the back. "Ad mairem dei gloriam" was printed perfectly on the back and even though Latin wasn't a language I had learned, "for the greater glory of God" was something that I lived by.
He grabbed it quickly and snuck it into the inside pocket of his jacket. Jonas looked around, making sure that no-body's eyes were on us. At the same time we both disconnected ourselves from the corner and made our way to where a short line was forming. Layla was nowhere in sight, so I was guessing she was already in one of the bare white rooms. That's another thing I couldn't stand about Examination. The boring rooms that they made us sit in. If it wasn't hard enough with all that, having the keeper in the room for mostly all of it, just made it worse.
"Oh,Jonas! Over here," a high pitched girl's voice yelled from the front. Without even seeing the face I knew that it was Poppy. Her mood was just like her short, curly red hair: vibrant. She was half descent, I had to say, and was one of the most joyous vampires here.
Jonas grabbed onto my wrist, the one without the watch, and pulled me closer to Poppy and one of the white rooms. Now that I stood right on front of her, I could see that Mandee, her pet, was nowhere to be seen. Poppy caught my uneasy glances and smiled sympathetically.
"She got sick,dear," she said, the smile still on her lips. She looked at me for a few moments but looked back to Jonas after my unasked question was answered. "Well, I asked you over here to take this spot. I have to see how my pet is doing," she told Jonas, who only nodded. With that she left and now I was first in line.
I glared up at Jonas and set my lips into a straight line. He didn't make me mad when he told me to change my top or when I had to tie my hair up, or even when he pulled me back from the gates after being so close to escaping, but this was something that I just couldn't stand. In the first place, Examination had to be the worst thing ever. He wouldn't understand because he wasn't me, wasn't even a pet. He would pay one time or another.
"Jonas Carter please come in with your pet, Nina Thomas. Now," a loud, professional voice calls from behind a half closed door.
I looked over at Jonas, whose face showed nothing of what mine did, and saw that neither him nor I knew what to do next. Of course one of us would have to take the lead and go in first, but now that this was reality, Jonas wasn't sure how this was going to play out. This is my very first full time doing Examination. I haven't been here long at all but I've heard a whole lot about this time of month. I can't believe it slipped my mind at all.
The few seconds that pass by blur as I walk into the room that decides my fate. I barely notice that Jonas stares at me with concern as I walk across the threeshold. As I always do when I'm nervous, I crack my knuckles that feel tight with anticipation. I suddenly wish that my cross had been kept in my drawer, out of danger.
My eyes cross with confusion and my eyebrows narrow with the same emotion. No white walls. No cramped up spaces. What was happening here? Where was the creepy, cold, metal medical tables? Why was there a couch that reminded me of peaceful times? And why was my brother, that moved to Canada a year ago, the one standing with the clipboard in front? A dream, Nina, I thought. Wake up then!, I added. This was not happening, not to me.
"Hello Jonas Carter and it's been long my sister." He looked the same, he even held himself the same but his voice, his usual calming voice, was cold and distant. Though I didn't want to tell myself this, it had to be set into stone for me to start to believe it...
He wasn't my brother anymore, he was one of them.