My Life In Darkness, part 20 (fiction)

 

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My Life In Darkness

 

20. Dinner With Vampires

 

The door to the bedroom swung open. Astrid stood there looking furious. I backed away from her.

“Please don’t hurt me!” I cried out as I hit the back wall. I was frightened and tears had begun falling down my cheeks. I began to shake.

“What has got into you tonight?” Astrid asked as she entered the room. “I told you to obey me and then you scream at me and run into the bedroom.”

“Cass told me the truth!” I screamed back at her. Astrid shook her head.

“You really need discipline, but given your emotional state I’ll delay it.” She stated.

“Don’t hurt me!” I pleaded again.

“Just sit down and we’ll talk about everything.” Astrid said gently. “I won’t hurt you.”

She sat down on the bed and motioned for me to sit beside her. I reluctantly sat down trembling.

“Why not tell me the truth? Why did you murder your own family and Ingirid’s too?” I asked hoping she wouldn’t mind.

“It’s like I told you before: when I became a vampire I felt the rules no longer applied to me anymore. Yes after I was turned I did slaughter my own family and Ingirid’s, and the other locals too, as they did nothing to stop Ingirid’s death or help with burying her, and for all I know helped collude with the murderers. I was so angry and devastated I wanted vengeance on all who had a link to Ingirid’s death. So I killed them all. Unfortunately once you’ve done something like that you can’t undo it and I have had to live with my actions through the long centuries ever since.” Astrid told me. “I do regret it. I acted hastily, but I can’t bring them back.”

“But why not tell me you did that?” I asked her.

“Because I was ashamed of what I’d done. I didn’t think you would understand, and clearly you don’t.”

“It’s hard to understand.” I admitted. “But I’ll try, just so long you start telling me the truth about everything. It looks bad when you don’t tell me everything and I find it out from other people.” Astrid nodded.

“Fine.” She agreed. “Be careful with Cass. She’s just visiting for a few days. She likes getting under other people’s skin. The trick is to not let her. And definitely don’t let her get into your head.”

“Okay.” I agreed.

“Also don’t talk back to me in front of others. It’s okay if it’s just us, but certainly not in front of other vampires please. It looks disrespectful.” Astrid informed me.

“I’ll do my best.” I told her.

“Good.” Astrid then hugged me. “Dinner is ready. Get yourself cleaned up and composed and then come down.” She advised.

With that she got up and left the room. I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up the best I could.  My eyes were slightly puffy from crying and I was still shaking slightly. I breathed in deeply a few times and then went downstairs.

When I entered the dining room I found the meal was already served and Astrid and Cass were seated at the table waiting for me. I sat down at my place. There was a large plate with spaghetti sauce and meatballs with a side dish of a green salad that had been drizzled with a red wine vinaigrette. After I sat down Astrid got up and poured red wine into everyone’s glasses. I looked over to their plates and saw there was some solid red dish on their plates. I was puzzled.

“What are you eating?” I asked.

“Blood meringue.” Cass answered.

“Blood meringue.” I repeated.

“Yes.” She confirmed. “Did you know you can make meringue from human blood? In fact blood can be used instead of eggs for many dishes.”

“I did not know that.” I said.

I bet you taste just as sweet as this meringue darling.” Cass said looking at me smiling like I was going to be her next course.

“That’s enough Cass!” Warned Astrid.

“If that girl is really yours, why haven’t you got her marked yet?” Cass asked Astrid.

“Marked?” I asked wondering what was going to happen to me now.

“Vampires like to mark the ones they regularly feed from to denote they belong to them. We used to brand them.” Cass informed me.

“Like cattle?” I asked.

“Exactly!” Cass replied.

“Are you planning to brand me Astrid?” I asked her. She considered me for a moment.

“No these days we prefer to tattoo people with our mark.” Astrid informed me.

“Okay.” I replied not really sure how to respond to this news.

“It’s for your own safety. If another vampire sees my mark on you then they know you are my property and will leave you alone.”

“Great…” I responded sarcastically. Astrid frowned at me. “So you’re planning to do this?’

“Yes.” Astrid confirmed.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” I asked.

“Soon. So in a way it’s good that it’s been brought up.” Astrid replied. Cass laughed.

“See! I have my uses!” Cass declared. “There’s a little ritual that goes with it and you have to sign a document.”

“Why?” I asked beginning to wonder if they were both pulling my leg.

“It officially makes you mine in the eyes of the Council.” Astrid stated. “We also need a witness to sign it.”

“Which is why I’m here!” Cass revealed.

“So I have to go through a ceremony and sign a piece of paper? It sounds like a marriage, though instead I end up being enslaved to a vampire.”

“So it’s not that really different from a usual marriage then?” Cass asked laughing.

“That’s a rather cynical view.” I shot back at her.

“Could both of you settle down? We’ll talk more about this later.” Astrid interjected.

I shook my head with this news. I guess this was my life now. I knew there was little I could do. I started eating. The meatballs and spaghetti were quite rich and flavoured with ginger. It was a nice meal to eat while trying to avoid watching the other two devour their meringues. Though I guess it was better than watching them drinking large amounts of blood in front of me.

After the meal I helped with clearing up everything. Cass had disappeared which left Astrid and me alone. I cleaned the dishes and put them away to be helpful.

“That was a nice meal.” I told Astrid as I slid my arms around her.

“Thanks.” She replied as she gave me a tight hug.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” I said to her.

“Thank you. I accept your apology.” Astrid replied.

I then went to go to the living room but Astrid stopped me. She walked to the door in the far wall and opened it. It revealed to be some stairs presumably leading to a dark cellar.

“Go down the stairs.” She told me.

“What’s down there?” I asked.

“It’s where I keep my other belongings. You do remember I said you had to be disciplined.” Astrid reminded me.

“I hoped my apology would do.” I admitted.

“Sorry but that’s not enough. I have to discipline you.” She motioned with her hands to go down the stairs.

I walked past her and looked down. All I could see were the stairs descending down into darkness. For all I knew they spiraled down into the dark pits of Hell. Fearing what was about to happen I began slowly walking down the stairs with Astrid following closely behind me.

 

Next episode: The Punishment

 

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