Alright everyone, this is going to be a decent sized chapter I think. Also, I've only gotten one review so far, so I'm not sure if people are liking this story or not. I think I will slow down how often I post after this so that 1.) I don't burn myself out, and 2.) More people have a chance to read it and see if they even like it. Please feel free to shoot me your thoughts and your ideas. I'm not scared of a little negativity towards my story, or rather, constructive criticism. Obviously, I would prefer it if people were not complete douchebags, but I'll take what I can get. I'm not saying I want gushy compliments and all that jazz. I would like to know thoughts on my OC, the way I portray the characters and if it seems to hit the mark, etc. Those sorts of things. Basically, do you like what I am laying down for you? Are the chapters long enough, or too long? I have read some really short chapters on here, and they turned out nicely. My ultimate goal is that each and every chapter is deeply enjoyable and not as odd to me as it sounds. Reading one's own work is strange and it doesn't sound nearly as good as it might to others. And I thank you ahead of time! Obviously, I do not own Seraph of the End, or any of its characters. Only my dear Serenity.
Chapter 3- Lolita
Meeting the queen of the vampires in no way went how I imagined it would. As Ferid and I approached what I can only think to describe as a throne room, I was shocked at what I saw. Krul Tepes was absolutely adorable! She looked like a little gothic Lolita doll. Her bubble gum pink hair almost reached the ground, and for once it would seem someone was shorter than myself. At first glance she truly radiated the appearance of a child, but when her eyes met mine, I could see the wisdom, power, and danger that spilled from her dark fuchsia colored eyes. Much like Ferid, she cocked her head at me in curiosity. Unlike Ferid, she seemed much more bored and contemplative. Not waiting for her to ask, Ferid jumped into his explanation for my presence. I politely stayed silent as he introduced me and repeated the small amount of information that I had fed him. He skipped the part where I had my daggers pinned against his throat, but did mention to her that he believed me to be rather powerful, and in no way hostile towards them. I tried to put on my best clueless and innocent look while he spoke. They bantered back and forth with conversation for quite some time. When Ferid finished Krul regarded me for a few moments before she spoke.
"Come here Serenity," she said gently. My nerves hit me full force again as I approached the tiny vampire queen. I kneeled down in front of her and bowed my head to be polite, but she quickly pulled my face up and brushed my wavy locks away from my face. These vampires sure are touchy feely, I griped silently. Krul was staring into my eyes, no doubt intrigued by their amethyst color. They were a great contradiction to the many shades of red that they all sported. "Are you sure you are indeed a vampire?" She questioned me curiously. I simply nodded my head. She tilted her head to look at Ferid. "She is quite the beautiful little jewel you have come across Ferid. If she is as powerful as you say, she could come in handy to us. She looks like a human, and even smells somewhat like one." I allowed a frown to grace my features as the idea of possibly being used as a tool sank in. If it had not been for that implication, I would have blushed at her beautiful comment. And what is wrong with smelling like a human anyways? Krul returned her gaze to mine and I quickly made my face neutral again. "Would you like to stay with us for a while? You could learn our ways and perhaps find out exactly how it is that you look so different from the rest of us." She had started running her fingers gently through my hair and lightly massaging scalp, like the way one would pet a puppy. I knew what she was doing. Since she thought that I did not know why I was different than the rest of the vampires, she assumed she could use that as a bargaining chip. Stay and serve under her in order to gain access to the information that she thinks I seek. Well, you know what they say when you assume. Did all vampires have some sort of agenda in everything they did? Either way, I truly had no choice but to accept her offer.
"I would be very grateful for your hospitality, you highness," I spoke softly. Almost immediately a smile dawned on her face and she clapped her hands together.
"It is decided then! And please, just refer to me as Krul. There is no need for such formalities since you are not of our customs. I am excited that there will be another girl hanging around!" she exclaimed. "If you don't mind, I would also like to test your abilities later this week?" I got the feeling that while that sounded like a question, it was more than likely a well-hidden demand. I nodded to her in agreement, feeling a little exhausted by her sudden enthusiasm. These vampires were touchy feely and bipolar. "Ferid, send a summons to Crowley. Tell him to bring his two aides as well. I want them to be involved in her tests at the end of the week," she ordered. I had almost forgotten about Ferid being present. When I looked at him, I could almost see a hint of annoyance in his eyes. It would seem that someone does not like being ordered around. Nevertheless, he kept up his cheerful demeanor. If Krul noticed his annoyance, she ignored it.
"Very well. I will leave immediately and send word to our 13th progenitor. I will come back around later to collect Serenity and show her around my mansion and the city. If that is acceptable to you of course, Krul," he spoke cheerfully. She simply nodded at him and waved him off. Krul turned to me and hooked her arm in mine.
"Let's get you something to drink, and then you can tell me more about yourself, Serenity! I can also explain some of our customs and rules to you," Krul said excitedly. I smiled politely back at her and found myself starting to relax just a little. So far, I was doing a fine job at fitting in. The hard part was over. I had gotten at least one vampire on my side so that they could introduce me to others without me getting attacked. While I still did not trust Ferid, or even Krul all that much yet, I had a feeling things were going to start looking up from here. All I had to do was hold my tongue and numb myself a little to the current treatment of the humans. Surely I would not have to be cruel to them directly myself.
Krul spent the next few hours explaining the way things were ran and what rules were placed in their little society. Apparently, it was highly frowned upon to drink directly from humans here. From this I was able to come to the conclusion that Ferid was somewhat of a deviant and a rule breaker. Naughty naughty Ferid, I smirked to myself. I was perfectly content drinking from glasses as I had never really drank directly from a human unless no other choice was available to me, which was rare. Or another vampire for that matter. Father always had blood brought to me in glasses. Since I could go a fairly long time without drinking blood, I almost always found ways to supply myself with it by other means than taking directly from humans. Fathers blood tasted better to me anyways. It was hard adapting to only human blood once he was no longer with me. The thing I found most interesting was the information she gave me about the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. It would seem that the humans had not completely given in to the control of the vampires. To me this seems only natural, as I have lived with the human race long enough to know just how resilient they can be. This place would prove to be interesting after all. I'm curious to see just how the human race will fair against the vampires.
Spending this time speaking with Krul had started to make me feel very comfortable in my surroundings. She made it easy for me to open up with her. She seemed pleased with me as well. It would seem that for as long as I decided to stay, I would be treated as a highly regarded guest. Krul explained to me the hierarchy system that they lived by, and spoke off all the progenitors and nobles. My head was starting to hurt with all of this new information. I was told that for now, she was going to keep my presence quiet and only known within the Japanese faction. This pleased me greatly and relieved me of some of my stress. It seemed like it wasn't long before Ferid returned to make good on his promise. Krul immediately crossed her arms and pouted with a 'Humph!' She waved us both off and made me promise that I would return tomorrow to spend time with her.
With the confidence I had gained from spending the past few hours chatting with Krul, I began to ask Ferid questions as we meandered through the streets towards his mansion, wherever that was.
"Ferid, why did you not tell Krul of our small fight earlier?" I prodded. To the untrained eye, Ferid seemed to only portray happiness, but I could see that I struck a chord. He leaned closer to me and ruffled my hair annoyingly.
"I just didn't see a point in mentioning it, my dear girl. After all, we didn't want you to seem hostile or like a threat to our dear Queen, now did we?" His voice was dripping with syrupy sweetness, but I was able to detect the hint of annoyance aimed at me. I smirked and decided to prod a little further.
"Krul made it a point to tell me that one rule of this place is to not drink directly from humans. You seem to disregard this rule, based off of our run in with that little blonde boy earlier. Do all nobles break rules Ferid? Or is that just part of your personality?" I asked feigning genuine curiosity. Naturally, Ferid was very good at twisting words and using them against those that spoke them and to his advantage. He seemed intrigued by my sudden boldness and his smile widened. We took a right into an alley and before I knew it, I found myself pinned up against the wall, with Ferids hand around my throat, eyes narrowed, and his nose pressed against mine. Heat rose to my face from the intimacy of this kind of contact. He still had that smirk on his face and his teeth were glinting dangerously at me. All the while, he was running his thumb up and down the length of my neck. He slowly moved his face to the side of mine until his lips brushed against my ear, causing me to shiver.
"Oh yes my dear girl, I do like to break the rules. Many other nobles do as well. And since I have opened my home up to you and offered you my hospitality, I expect you to partake in the way I run my household. After all, it's the least you could do," he whispered. Well, fuck. I clenched by jaw and turned my face as far away from him as I could. When he let go, it was very sudden. I found myself stumbling forward. I was lucky; the ally was not very wide, so I was able to catch myself on the wall in front of me instead of face planting on the ground. I heard laughter coming from Ferid and when I looked over, he was grinning at me with amusement dancing in his eyes. His hand was outstretched to me and he was back to his charming old self. I glared at him and he laughed again. "You are quite the entertaining one, Serenity. I love this boldness that has surfaced in you. You will be fun to have around. It does get boring around here from time to time," Ferid said as I took his hand. I continued to glare at him and he ruffled my hair once more. I slapped his hand away. All he did was laugh once more and I pouted.
"I'm not just a tool for your amusement, Ferid. Don't be an ass," I huffed. My use of foul language caught him off guard and he raised an eyebrow at me in surprise and laughed at me even more. I knew why, too. Ever since I was little, when I tried to sass someone or give an attitude, I would only get laughed at. It was because of my tendency to look like I was pouting at the same time, and if I ever went into action over my anger, my clumsiness usually caused some sort of embarrassment. Father thought it was the cutest thing, and never would take me seriously, even at my angriest. I felt my eyebrow twitching at Ferids similar response. Oh well. If Ferid finds me so damn cute and amusing, maybe I can use it to my advantage from time to time, I thought and looped my arm in his as we continued on our path, I just hope he wasn't serious about breaking the rules with him. I don't really care much for the idea. I looked up at him and batted my eyelashes. Two can play the bipolar game, buddy. He smiled down at me and winked.
As we approached Ferids mansion, I was in awe over the beautiful white marble walls. The architecture was amazing, with many arches and curves. Flowing, flowery designs were engraved at every sharp corner, giving it a softer look. Everything on the exterior was trimmed with gold. It had been a very long time since I had occupied a manor as fine as this one. Seeing the taste of other vampires was starting to shed a little light on my fathers elaborate choices of homes and decorum.
"Ferid, your home is stunning," I breathed as we stepped through the large front doors and into the vestibule. I rand my fingertips along the cool smooth marble walls. Ferid took his cape and long coat off and tossed them haphazardly on the coat rack that was in the corner. As usual, he had a pleasant smile on his face as he observed me.
"I'm so glad you approve, my dear. Come, and I will show you to one of the guest rooms," he said as he turned to walk down one of the halls. I quickly followed and murmured my gratitude at the beauty of his home. He pointed out various other rooms to me so that I would know where things were. I marveled at the size of the place as we ascended a flight of stairs and entered another hallway. I was so busy admiring the different tapestries and décor that lined the walls, I failed to notice that Ferid had stopped in front of me, and I collided with his back.
"Eeep! Sorry!" I squeaked and in my haste to correct myself, I felt my balance give way and I ended up on my ass for the second time that day. Ferid was looking down at with mirth in his eyes and his hands on his hips.
"You certainly are clumsy, Serenity," he laughed. I felt my face warm and glared up at him from spot on the floor.
"You know, a gentleman would have prevented my fall," I snapped. "It's not like you don't have the capabilities of moving fast enough to help me!" Ferid smirked down at me and went to ruffle my hair again, but I jumped up and smacked his hand away before he could accomplish his goal. He laughed once more and pointed to the door we were standing in front of.
"This is your room, Serenity, for as long as you are staying with us," he said and opened the door to let me in. I walked in and glanced about the room. Ferid was not one to disappoint that was for sure. Some people were lucky to have homes this size. There was a fireplace with a large lounging area around it, a huge canopy bed, a whole wall created of bookshelves that were lined with books, large glass doors that would appear to lead to a balcony, and two other doors that I assumed were a closet and bathroom. Based off of the room itself, I would say the bathroom would not disappoint either. As I was looking around the large living space, Ferid spoke again, "I took the liberty of having one of the tailors prepare some more fitting attire for you." My eyes traveled to the clothing that was sitting on the bed. White, the colors of the nobles. I glanced back at him and smiled.
"Thank you, Ferid." He nodded and turned to leave the room.
"Freshen up a bit and change. You've had a rather long day. When you are finished, you will find me in the den." I watched as Ferid left the room, his silvery white hair flowing about, and then he disappeared into the hall with the click of my door closing behind him.