The potato was hot but Andromeda didn't mind. She continued peeling it and, once done, placed it on Derek's plate.
"Don't baby him too much, Andy," Eld commented.
Derek sat with Squad Levi for breakfast. And he wasn't the only guest at the squad's table. Levi sat comfortably next to Andromeda, his spot beside the other squad leaders left empty.
He finished peeling a potato and put it on Andromeda's empty plate. "You should eat well. We'll clean the stables after this."
The other soldiers watched them, noticing how gentle the Captain was treating the mysterious lady.
She took the peeled potato, broke it into two pieces, and, as she bit one, held the other piece near Levi's lips. Obediently, the man bit on it.
The other soldiers gasped in shock and they remained silent for a while. Derek broke the ice, "That's unfair, Andy! Feed me, too."
"You have hands, Derek. Use them." She continued holding the potato for Levi.
Derek argued, "But the Captain has hands, too."
"He needs to rest them because he's going to use them to clean the stables later. You, you'll just hide and use yours to roll dice anyway."
The boy soldier pouted.
Oluo cleared his throat. "What about me, Andy? I'll also clean the stables." He opened his mouth wide and said a big, "AAHH."
The vampiress furrowed her brows. "Should I just feed you with a knife then?"
The soldiers laughed and joked as they all ate. In the corner of Andromeda's eyes, she noticed Petra shaking and quietly exiting the dining hall.
+0+0+0+0+
It was their last day in the barracks. The next day, some of the Scouts would head back to their homes while others would go to Mitras where they would participate in the week-long celebration for the birth of a royal prince. There, Andromeda would officially take her oath as a soldier under the Scout Regiment. She was looking forward to it. Finally, her hard work in this place would pay off. At last, she'll be closer to her throne.
The Scouts busied themselves packing and cleaning the barracks. Squad Levi was assigned to clean the stables.
All the time, Levi seemed glued to Andromeda. He wouldn't leave her side even when he gave orders to the other soldiers. The Captain and she scrubbed the floor of one of the stalls. "An, scrub this side," Levi pointed at one portion of the ground.
"I scrubbed that already," the vampiress replied.
"It's not scrubbed well. Redo it."
Andromeda huffed. "Levi, the horses would poop again on it. There's no point."
"The point is that we're cleaning the stables. And now, it isn't clean."
"I just can't see the invisible dirt you are referring to. It's clean already."
"Not clean enough."
Impossible. The man was impossible. Andromeda stood up and faced the man. "If you're so concerned about it, then go ahead and scrub the floors again to your heart's content. But I will not redo it."
They stared into each other's eyes and the vampiress watched Levi's gaze soften. "Fine," he said. "I'll scrub the floors. You scrub the walls."
"I've finished scrubbing them!"
"Then scrub them aga-"
"Aahh!" Andromeda pushed him out of the stall. "Get out! Go clean somewhere else."
"An!"
"I don't want you here. Go find something else to scrub."
The Captain did walk out and commanded Petra, "Help An."
"Y-yes, Captain." Petra quietly ran to the stall and began scrubbing the floor. For a while, she didn't speak. When she did, she asked Andromeda in a weak voice, "D-does Captain Levi... like you?"
The vampiress quickly answered, "He just likes me because I'm pretty." She glanced at Petra and saw the female soldier pause and stare at her. Andromeda showed her a sly smile. "You're jealous. Jealousy is very unladylike."
The female soldier didn't like what she said. Petra trembled and clenched her fist.
"You're angry," the vampiress stated the fact.
Petra threw the scrub away, stood up, and exclaimed, "Of course, I'm angry!"
"Then do something." Andromeda straightened up and faced the female soldier. "Woman up. If you love him so much then take him away from me. Stop him. Look into his eyes. Seduce him. Put a leash on his neck and make him yours. Don't let him go away."
The female soldier gaped and stepped back. She felt the power in Andromeda's gaze. She clenched and unclenched her fists. Then, shaking her head, she said, defeated, "You're strong, Andy. I can never be as strong as you. I think Captain Levi is better off with someone like you." She tried to smile. "But if you ever let him go, I will take him."
"I know." Andromeda proceeded to scrub the portion of the floor that hadn't been scrubbed yet.
The two women cleaned in silence.
+0+0+0+0+
"No." Andromeda refused.
But Oluo and Derek kept on pestering her. "Come on, Andy, it's the last day of our stay in the barracks," Derek insisted.
She reasoned out, "It's late and we're leaving early. I want to rest. We can always play dice and drink in the capital."
"But we'll be missing this!" Oluo gestured at the storage room. It was dark and poor-looking as always.
Andromeda raised a brow. "You'll be missing that damn room?"
"Not the storage room, you idiot." Oluo pointed a finger at her and the vampiress wiped the spit his ugly mouth sprinkled at her face. He said, "The beer! We'll miss Trost's famous beer! We need to play dice and drink here. Right now!"
Oh. It was true. The beer they drank here was exceptional. Better than most of the alcoholic beverages in Aurum. She'll surely miss it, too, when they leave the barracks and stay in Mitras.
She flipped her shiny, long black hair and finally agreed, "I see now. Let's drink ourselves to death."
"Not to death, Andy," Derek said as he followed her inside.
"What the heck?" Andromeda exclaimed as soon as she entered the storage room. "What is he doing in here?"
Levi sat beside James, inspecting the dice in the middle of the small wooden table. Nifa and Barbara smiled at her knowingly. When he saw her, the Captain gestured at the empty seat beside him.
Frowning, Andromeda took the seat. "Are you stalking me?"
"No. I just want to try this game."
"I don't believe you." She took the dice away from him. "You were so angry the last time you caught us here. Don't you dare rat on us."
"Don't worry I'm not that much of a shit. I won't tell the other squad leaders." He angled his head to the dice on the table. "Maybe I'll be better than you," he challenged.
The vampiress cocked a brow. "I don't think so." She nodded at James. "Let's start." She would damn win and make Levi so drunk he'll forget everything.
First round.
Levi got a whooping 16 points, defeating Andromeda with three points. They played round after round. First, Nifa lost and drank the beer. Then, Derek and then Andromeda. When it was Levi's turn to drink, she laughed as he chugged the beer.
Then, suddenly, she couldn't hear anything. No laughter. No cheers. Everything went in slow motion and her gaze zoomed in to Levi's bare neck. She saw the veins popping and remembered how delicious blood tasted.
She was parched.
Wanted to drink.
She missed blood. Craved it. More than Trost's beer and more than damn water.
She needed it.
Her fangs threatened to show and it took a lot of effort to hide them back. Damn. It had been too long since she last "ate."
The Captain put the empty cup on the table. He told the soldiers, "That's the last round for me. I need to speak with Hange."
Everyone voiced their disappointment, except Andromeda, who tried to keep her cool.
Levi placed a hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"
She shook her head. "No. Go ahead. I'll stay."
When he left, the rest of the group continued their game. The vampiress acted fine and did her best to contain the overflowing urge within her. As they played, she looked at each of the soldiers inside the storage room.
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
They cheered as Andromeda emptied the cup. Damn, it wasn't enough.
"Someone's thirsty," Nifa teased.
"I am," the vampiress replied with all honesty.
Playtime's over, she thought.
They finished the game drunk and ready to sleep. Andromeda walked behind the group. The boy soldier, Derek, matched her pace. She whispered in his ear and led him into the forest.
Alone in the darkness of the night, the two reached the cave the vampiress hid in during the storm nights before.
"Are you sure we could catch ignisias here and put them in a jar, Andy?" The boy asked innocently. He was drunk and swaying lightly.
Andromeda put two strong hands on his shoulders. "I lied, Derek," she said as she let her fangs show. In a fast move, she was biting onto the boy's neck, her fangs pierced deep into his flesh. Sweet, sweet blood rushed into Andromeda's mouth as she drank and gulped Derek's life away.
"A-an... dy?"
She thought she heard Derek call her name, thought she felt warm tears flow from his eyes to her shoulders. But she ignored him. She needed to drink blood. More and more blood.
The boy grew limp in her grasp and the vampiress released him with a hiss.
He was dead.
Stomach full and satisfied, Andromeda suddenly realized what she had done. She had just killed a soldier. A human, yes. But this would be bad for her peaceful existence in this world. She needed to get rid of the body.
First, she inspected if there was blood on her clothes. There were none. Good. And then, she picked up Derek's lifeless body and carried it to the cliff, where she threw him. The Scouts would leave the barracks tomorrow, there wouldn't be enough time to search for the boy soldier. Those mindless humans would never find him.
She dusted her clothes and exited the forest. Ah, she was tired. That amount of blood didn't take away her exhaustion. She just wanted to sleep and head to the capital tomorrow.
"Andy." Andromeda looked to her right and saw James approach her.
"James, you're still up."
"I'm worried. I saw you and Derek walk into the forest. What the hell were you thinking? It's the middle of the night."
The vampiress was shaken inside but she hid it well. She asked the soldier, "You saw us? Derek and I?"
"Yeah. Where the hell is he?"
"He's... sleeping. Anyone else who saw us?"
"No, just me."
As soon as she heard those words, the vampiress went behind James and broke his neck, instantly killing the soldier.
She fetched a horse, mounted James on it, and made it gallop into the darkness of the forest.
Andromeda sighed. These humans. Feeding here seemed to give her a bit of a challenge. Now, she should be careful when she hunts within the Scouts. They'd be suspecting anyone inside if she killed more of them.
Maybe, she could hunt in Mitras.
When she reached her room, Levi was waiting by her door, arms crossed and wearing his perpetual frown. The moonlight from the windows showered upon him and Andromeda's breath hitched as she saw him through the dark.
"Where the fuck had you been?" he asked.
What could she tell him? How would she lie? He couldn't suspect her. She told him, "Toilet. Woman thing."
"That took quite long."
"Be thankful you're not one of us." She grabbed the knob of her door. "I'm tired, Levi. I want to sleep."
He looked at her for a moment and then began to move. "Fine. I'll see you in the morning." He inched close to her to catch her cheek.
Andromeda immediately turned her head and dodged the man's lips, careful that he wouldn't inhale the scent of fresh blood from her mouth. Gently, she pushed him away and entered her room. "Good night," she whispered.
Closing her door, she turned and faced her mirror. She saw her image. She looked flushed, but she knew it wasn't because of Levi. Derek's blood now coursed through her veins.
Her prey's blood.
She was reminded that she was a predator.
A vampire.
And not just any vampire, she's the Bloodbitch.