Chapter 3

I looked around the enormous chamber. It was too dark and too cold. I felt as if I had just stepped into a mountain cave. All the windows were closed. There was no one in sight. I tried the door again, but it was firmly locked.

The crested furniture lay around the sitting area. Another room led to a separate hall. I could see massive bookshelves from floor to ceiling and an elegant black piano by the balcony.

I decided to walk a few steps further into the room. Then I thought I heard a sound as I waited for something to happen. It was like a whistle of the wind.

At my right was the bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, revealing a canopied bed. There were sheer hanging and heavy silk curtains hanging from the four posts.

I had been living in a wretched place for too long that the sight of this elegant place lured me in. My feet drifted towards the beautiful bed without realizing it.

But then someone grabbed me by my hair and hurled me like a rag doll. I fell on the soft mattress.

"You like this bed, human girl?" a woman's voice spoke. I gasped and tried to get up, but a strong hand pressed me down by the throat.

I couldn't breathe, let alone speak.

I looked up to see a young woman atop me. Her long raven hair brushed over her shoulders like flowing black silk. She had bright golden eyes that burned hot like two miniature suns. They were mesmerizing to the mind of a prey, and I couldn't take my eyes off the strange woman.

Even in this horrible state, her face struck me speechless with its rare beauty. I had never seen a face like this. She was also heavier than she looked. I felt as if I was pressed by a hundred pound of flour sag. Maybe it was because of that immense strength that was hidden within her.

I began to choke. My hands tried to pry her hand off, but it was pointless. She was a vampire, too strong for my feeble effort to fight back.

Then the pressure subsided. The dark-haired woman let go of my throat yet still locked my body under her weight. I coughed violently.

"Now, speak." She raised her perfect eyebrows. Her face was inches from mine. I could feel her cold breath fanning my cheeks. She smelled like sweet-scented wildflowers in the deep dark forest. I expected the foul rotten odor for something that had been dead for so long, but not this.

"I...I..." I started but no words came out. Then I found myself sobbing.

"Shhh..." the woman coaxed at me. "You know why you're here?"

"Go ahead and kill me," I said at last.

She laughed.

"Oh in due time, but I'm not going to kill you now. I'm going to eat you slowly and eat you good."

She gave me a wicked look. Her golden irises flickered like fire. Then she bared her teeth. My eyes widened as two flashing white fangs drew out of her gum like a cat's claws. They were as sharp as butcher knives. A frightened gasp escaped my lips. My heart began to beat against my ribs wildly. I tried to push her off me but she gripped my hands and clasped them over my head.

"Quite feisty this one," she said. "Are you a virgin?"

I didn't know what to say to that. But she nodded as if she already understood.

"Well, you're not going to be one for long."

Afterward, she held one of my wrists up and bit hard into it. I screamed in sheer pain. It was agonizing how her razor-sharp teeth sinking deep into my veins. Red blood dripped onto the silk cover.

Then the woman released my hand again.

"Damn, what a taste," she said as she licked her lips in satisfaction. "Too bad, I'm not hungry enough to devour you now. But this shall mark you as mine."

Just like that, she got off me and stood up by the bed.

"Now you can go." She gestured to the door. "But from now on, you're my special dessert, remember that."

I struggled to crawl out of her soft bed. A wave of dizzy hit me at the sight of my own blood. It stained like red roses on the white sheet. I managed to stagger to my feet again and stumbled out of the room.

The woman watched me go with an amused smirk on her face. She looked like she was in the early twenties, but I could never be sure what a vampire's real age was. Even so, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. And for a second there, I almost thought she couldn't be so evil.

I held my throbbing hand and slipped through the door then out of the dark cold chamber.

~*~

On the way through the hall, I turned the corner and bumped into someone. When I looked up, I saw another pair of beautiful golden eyes staring at me. I gasped, stumbling away in fright. But an arm wrapped around me by the waist and steadied me back. I realized I had stumbled upon another fanged-nightmare.

It was a young blonde woman.

"Are you alright?" her musical voice spoke with a hint of a Russian accent to me. I did not expect this kind of question.

"I'm...I'm fine, please don't hurt me," I murmured back in fear. The woman looked down at my blood-smeared hand. Her perfectly arched brows raised and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"It's my sister again, isn't it?" she said more to herself. Her liquid golden eyes stirred with emotions.

"I'm just a slave, what right do I have?" I said with a mix of anger and hatred. I couldn't help it. She could kill me for that if she wished. But the woman's smooth pale face marred with concerns. I didn't understand why.

When I started to walk away, she stopped me.

"I'll get you to your room," she said. "You look bad. She must've forgotten to turn off her venom."

"What?"

Before I could say anything else, she came to wrap her arm around my waist and placed my good arm over her shoulders.

I was shocked.

"What are you doing?" I cried. My face screwed in confusion.

"Stop talking or you'll pass out," she told me.

And she was right.

I felt my knees give way and my vision went blurry. Then I didn't remember anything else until I found myself in another bedroom. The place was plain and much smaller, but at least, it was brightly lit with opened windows. It must be the servant room.

My cut wrist was neatly bandaged. I looked around myself and saw the same woman beside my bed. Her long cascading blonde hair flirted with the breeze.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered. "You're a vampire, aren't you?"

The blonde smiled at me. Her smile just took my breath away. It wasn't the cold wicked one I was used to, and it was beautiful.

"Just because I'm one doesn't mean I can't do this." She gestured to my bandaged hand.

"What's your name then?" I blurt. I was probably the first person who dared ask for a vampire's name.

"Anastasia," the young woman replied.

"Anastasia—?" I echoed her.

"Romanov."

I gasped in realization.

"The Russian royalty?" I said. I'd heard of that name before—it was mentioned in the history book that we used to study. "But—but didn't the Czar family all die at the shooting squad during the Russian Revolution?"

I couldn't help asking.

Surprisingly, Anastasia laughed. Her voice carried spring and summer music in it. I felt a little embarrassed for liking that sweet tone.

"I'm not going to argue with you about that," she simply said.

I kept staring at her face. She brushed a strand of her blonde lock behind her ear and looked away from my gaze.

"I'm sorry about my sister by the way," she said after a while. "Stay away from her and you'll be fine."

Now I could see the family resemblance when she mentioned the other woman. But I noticed Anastasia's eyes were softer and deeper like molten gold shining from the depth.

But I wouldn't bring myself to trust these dangerous creatures.

I hated them all.

"Why does it matter to you? Go away, I don't want your help," I said in bitterness and turned my back to her.

"Well..." Anastasia said with a low sigh. "I'll let you rest now."

Then she left the room without a sound.