"It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts."
― Robert H. Schuller
When I awoke I was surprised to find my bed completely empty. The sheets had been placed on me and the pillows rearranged to support me. A kind gesture truly.
My throat ached, betraying just how long I had been asleep. Shifting and twisting to get out of the sheets I could feel things covering my legs. Finally freeing my body I saw what had made home on them. Bandages.
My stomach grumbled as I caught the faint smell of cinnamon and butter. I looked to the left of the bed to find that there had been a plate placed on the night table. A tiny card along with four pieces of cinnamon toast stood proudly. Using my only arm I grabbed the card and opened it.
Despite the writing being barely legible I was still able to read the words 'I made you breakfast! -Taika' (though it actually looked like 'I mabe you brekfast! -Taika'). Amused greatly by the childish writing and tiny, unidentifiable drawings on the card I put it down and grabbed the plate.
After scarfing the food down with the manners of an animal I found myself drifting about the room. I was surprised but incredibly thankful when I stumbled on a bathroom.
Gold practically covered all of the fixtures in the room, though that was the only simple part of the display. The floors were made of beautiful ebony wood, a stark contrast to the tiger's eye counter. The room seemed to lean towards metallic and dark colors.
After taking care of my other needs I was able to appreciate the rest of the room. The sinks were rectangular and distinctly hand made. By Goddess does this man have a ton of money. The sinks were glass with a ceramic glaze with variations of fiery colors and, of course, gold flecks.
I couldn't help but be somewhat irritated at this impressive display. I was rather young but I had learned over the years that every action generally had a purpose or motive. And I could say with absolute certainty that Karlheinz wasn't about to be the exception. Everything in this room was picked to impress guests, to subconsciously gain advantage. People liked other people with money and were more likely to put their trust in them. I was tempted to trash the entire room, but I could not bring myself to do so. No matter the intentions, art is art.
Glancing up at the mirror I found myself disturbed at what I saw. Granted it had been a long time since I had seen my own reflection so it was only natural that I had forgotten what I looked like. My face had drastically changed since I had last seen it. My dull dark brown hair had seemed to develop into an even deeper brown and my skin had seemed lighter than I remembered. I knew without a doubt that it had come from being confined to the dungeons in my previous 'home'.
I grimaced as I traced my round cheeks and nose, noticing how my fingertips smudged the ash on me and exposed the tiny scars on my face. Trailing my hand even farther I found my hands caught in my own hair. There had to be at least ten knots each an inch thick throughout my hair. A rat's nest. I dreaded the idea of brushing it out.
Deciding not to dwell any longer on my appearance I splashed my face with water.
It's time to fix yourself, Amelia.
I worked as fast as I could while still making sure to clean everything thoroughly. Teeth came first, soon followed by hair. The hair part was without contest the hardest part of the entire ordeal. The amount of water that I had to use to even get my hair to budge from its knotted state was ridiculous. Though the things that I had found in there hadn't been any better. I had taken complete advantage of the new brush that had been placed on the countertop along with other toiletries. I almost shed a tear at the amount of hair that was found in the new brush afterwards.
Peeling off the bandages that covered my knees I looked for a shower. After looking for a good while I was astonished to find one in an entirely separate room behind a door. With childlike glee I quickly began to take off my torn, pillowcase like dress and turned on the amazing contraption. He's such a showoff. Never had I seen such a shower.
Warm ebony wood had been placed inside the glass casing to create a shelves and holes in the walls. The shelves all supported white candles (which by some type of magic) had lit once I had turned on the light. Despite the obvious intent I elected to ignore it and focus on my own temporary happiness. Turning on the thing I was nearly spooked out of my skin at the lukewarm water that sprayed from above and at least four other directions. Lovely, I sneered mentally.
Looking into one of the holes I found an assortment of different shampoos and conditioners. Settling on a vanilla scented one I set it to the side and searched for more things. Reaching in another I found soaps ― whoa that was a lot… and grabbed a pumpkin spice one. I washed myself vigorously at first in order to get all of the dried blood and dirt off of my body, taking extra care to the wounds on my legs. I had thought them only to be a couple of scrapes but clearly, now that I could see them, it was much worse than I had thought.
Taking a small amount of shampoo I began to knead the top of my head before washing it out and repeating the entire process. I was sure that I would do this a couple more times before I would be content with my work. Once achieving the desired texture from my hair I allowed myself to grab its conditioner counterpart. I am happy to say that I only had to use it one time. Satisfied with everything I grabbed a pumpkin spice body lotion to give myself a pleasant smell.
Reaching out my hand I grabbed a towel from the bar on the shower door. Wiping my face first, I considered my options.
I trusted Karlheinz about as far as I could throw him. And I had one arm. The cost of trusting someone like him was obliteration. From a young age I had learned that people always worked in their own benefit. No one would be there to pick you back up when you needed help ― nor would anyone be there to encourage you. Granted, that did not mean that I was raised to be selfish and only work for my own needs. But you are selfish. No, it simply meant that I had to be realistic.
To be cynical in this type of world was to survive and I intended to survive.
Dried off and wide-awake, I left the bathroom entirely and drifted into the bedroom. I sighed as I saw a pile of clean clothes on the bed. You don't deserve this. Yes I was certain that I didn't deserve to live anymore. After all, killing someone was considered a sin right? Pushing the thoughts back once again I focused on dressing myself.
Sifting through the stacks of clothes I managed to settle on a simple outfit. Ripped blue jeans and a steel grey tank top. Good enough, I thought. It wasn't as if I had anyone to impress.
Tentatively, I opened the door to look out into the hallway. If I were to be honest, I had a horrid sense of direction and my memory recall wasn't any better. Weaving in and out of hallways I hoped that I might just stumble on someone to help me out. Perhaps I should have stayed in my room? Yes that would have made life easier. But I suppose I had always been impulsive and brash when it came to things.
You're such an idiot. I if you had just stayed where you were and wai―
My lip twitched a bit as I heard voices coming from a room down the hall. Maybe they were in there? Weighing my options, I decided that it would be better to open the door. Even if it wasn't Karlheinz or Taika I could ask whoever was in there for assistance.
Knocking on the oak doors I pushed in the cracked doors. There was no one much to my surprise. That's odd. Deciding that it was not my place to meddle in things I slipped back out of the room.
"Ms. Amelia, this way if you please," a voice spoke from behind me. I was slightly disturbed as I saw that it was Ewell. How she had managed to stay completely silent and sneak up on my in six inch red stilettos. Impressive. I nodded as I moved to follow her.
I was almost ashamed once I noticed her retracing my steps before taking a right. I noticed that we had arrived at the front of the mansion and were about to pass the large marble stairs. Next to the room I felt small, insignificant to all of the objects in the room. It was likely that almost everything in the room was more valuable than me. Oh no I'm certain almost anything is more valuable than you. A voice hissed. I ignored it.
Arriving in front of a pair of giant ebony wood doors Ewell knocked on the door and left.
"Come in," a familiar suave voice said. Not waiting for any further instruction I opened the door and entered as Karlheinz had directed.
Like much of the rest of his house his study was extravagant. The floor was a pure and harsh white compared to the dark furniture in the room. Naturally everything was accented with gold (what was with this guy's obsession with gold?). I almost hadn't even noticed Karlheinz sitting at the center of the room. However, the most impressive things that were in the room were the large bookcases that surrounded the entire study. The shelves were filled entirely with large hardback novels of varying sizes. I looked at one closer I caught a glimpse of the books Utopia, The Art of War, and Ulysses. It was an eclectic collection of books that much was true.
"Are you fond of reading?" Karlheinz asked as he approached me. I nodded. His pale hand reached out to stroke the spines of the novels before plucking one out and opening it. "Have you ever heard of the book One Child?" I shook my head no. "Ah, what a shame."
Guiding me over to a group of plush crimson chairs with his book in hand he hummed lightly, "Please sit down if you will." I did as he asked. "There is something that I wish to discuss with you."
I looked at his form as he sat with his legs crossed gracefully. Karlheinz set the book delicately on a small table next to him before giving it a fond stroke.
"I would like to make you an offer."
Staring into his golden eyes head on I waited for him to explain. He smiled as he leaned forward. "I will give you a new life without any worries as long as you obey my orders." Excuse me? I tilted my head back as I thought about what move I would like to make.
"Would Taika be apart of this deal?" I asked as I wrung my hands together. A rock and a hard place, eh?
I was greatly concerned by his deal. Could I trust this man? Vampires were well known throughout the entire world as heartless, selfish beings. My stomach churned. It would not be wise to make an enemy of the Vampire King. Making the wrong move could mean death for both Taika and I, and if my assumptions were correct Karlheinz would not hesitate. A vampire aristocrat mixed together spelled bad news.
"Yes, he will should you so desire." I was taken aback by his automatic reply.
"What exactly is it that you want me to do? What will these orders entail?"
He chuckled politely. "My dear, you are certainly thorough."
"I do try my best." I could feel the tension in the room rise at my words. Karlheinz expression had not changed but his eyes had hardened.
"Amelia, please, take my offer seriously," Karlheinz said. "All of us could benefit from this." I stiffened as he reached out and grabbed my only hand.
Rubbing circles along my the back of my hand he spoke, "I'm your best chance against the Mortem." I nearly choked on my own breath as my breathing stalled at the name. "Even with all of their power they know better than to mess with me."
I shifted awkwardly. His touch was cold and provided no comfort whatsoever. Look at what you did idiot.
"All I ask is that you become my proxy."
The icy feeling from his hands seemed to have seeped from his own body into mine. I could feel the entire right half of my body cool as the left go up in flame. It was the physical result of my own indecision. Take the chance. My mind coaxed. He's you're only hope. I could feel the cold slowly overtaking the rest of my body. No you idiot. You're better off on your own. The left began to push against the right. I began to breathe heavily. I couldn't handle this. I couldn't do this.
"Calm yourself, my dear." Karlheinz commanded, voice as smooth as velvet. "You need to be conscious in order to accept my offer." I was shaking now.
.Stop. My body screamed. I didn't want to destroy Taika and I's chance of survival. Nor did I want to make such a deal with a man I just met. I was fourteen ― I shouldn't have to make decisions like this! An adult ― an adult should be doing this not me!
"I accept." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted someone else to take my place ― to be responsible. I didn't want to be an adult. I didn't want to have to fend for myself. I didn't want to be accountable for Taika and his life.
But I had to.
If I was going to hold to my word I would have to step up and stop acting like a baby. But you are a baby. I attempted to calm my breathing. If I didn't look out for Taika and myself no one else would. In a world like this we had to grow up fast or we would be left behind. The weak and unmotivated would not survive.
Karlheinz was an example of this. He was a lone wolf preying upon those who could not protect themselves. Taika was a young caribou and I was the wounded. He would eat us for his own survival. He didn't care about either of us; he was protecting his own interests. Karlheinz planned on achieving his own ends. But I honestly couldn't care less why he needed me. I was in this deal for me, myself, and Taika.
As my breathing slowed I noticed that my body had started to sweat under the stress. Well that's disgusting. I thought.
"I accept your offer Karlheinz." I said again, my voice stronger. From his expression alone I could tell that Karlheinz was pleased. Very, very pleased.
"How wonderful," he purred. He reclined back into his seat. "Now that we've managed to get past the hard part let us get to the more pleasant subjects." He smiled coyly, smooth white fangs gleaming.
"How would you like a new arm?"
It felt as though I had taken a blow to the stomach, heart, and head all in a single moment.
"Surely it must be exceedingly difficult to function on your left arm yes?" He twirled a strand of his long white hair around his pointer finger. His rings glittered under the soft lighting in his study. "You would be most useful without any hindrances."
He let go of the strand, "Gold or silver, my darling?" I looked at him absolutely bewildered.
"Or perhaps you would like something stronger ― something that reflects just how full of potential you are." He continued to smile as he seemed to get lost in his own train of thought. "Something more personalized."
He sat forward and looked at me like a child would a new toy. This is bad. "Yes, I think I know just what would suit you best." I stayed as still as possible as he reached out and stroked my cheek. He makes me uneasy, make him stop.
Intimidated by the look in his eye, I spoke softly and slowly. "What do you intend to use?"
"Why the strongest metal that we know of ― Amazonian!" He said. Karlheinz paused, "Though we may have to wait for a year and a half before I can have that arranged."
His smile stirred an unpleasant feeling in me. "You are still growing after all."
A loud creak interrupted our conversation. Turning to the source of the noise, I found myself staring at Taika and Ewell.
"My apologies sir, but the boy insisted upon seeing Ms. Amelia." I felt a rush of relief as I felt Karlheinz's attention shift from me to the pair.
"Miss!" Taika exclaimed as he practically threw himself onto my sitting form. I chuckled at his childish nature and ruffled his hair, which was now back to its beautiful sunset orange color.
"It is good to see you, Taika." Karlheinz stated. His smile was fake and forced now.
"What were you guys talking about? Ms. Ewell said that I wasn't allowed in here since you were talking to Amelia." What?
"We talked about what to do in regards to her arm." Karlheinz said as he stood. "Don't you think that Amelia would look nice with a new arm?"
I poked Taika tenderly in the side to get him off me. Once the tiny faun detached himself from my form I stood.
"Thank you very much sir, for everything that you've done for the both of us." Though the 'sir' felt foreign on my tongue, I still smiled as genuinely as I could. It had been a long time since I had smiled sincerely at anyone besides Taika or Rome. And Rome had left my life from the moment I had been sold. This deal was the first step forward to a new life.
"My dear, the pleasure is all mine."