Part 9. The Vampire’s Maid

Here is the text with meaningless numbers and the recommendation section removed, preserving all the original novel’s text:

Numbers and Elizabeth Sancruor were erased from my memory minutes later. Abriella, June and I entered the immaculately tidy dining room, all fidgeting uncomfortably in the strappy black dresses Dane had ordered we change into. The long, candlelit table was set with too many knives and forks, only lacking guests. Joe and the three other male workers stood rigidly around the edges if the room in black suits. All were scowling except for Joe who smiled brightly at us as we entered, allowing his eyes to travel over the thin materials of our dresses.

A wheezing sound warned us that Dane had entered the dining room. He swivelled his head, covered by the driver’s cap as usual, to take in all of our appearances.

“You,” He grunted, pointing at June. “Get that off your face and go stand with smiley.”

June brushed the flour from her eyebrow and then dashed eagerly to stand beside Joe, seeming pleased with the arrangements. Joe grinned and picked some flour out of her hair.

After being instructed by Dane, I took my place beside a handsome, black teenager whom Dane had referred to as “untidy” because his white shirt was protruding from beneath his jacket and his tie was undone. He smiled slightly at me without showing his teeth and attempted to fasten his tie. I snorted a little into my hand at his poor attempt.

“What?” He asked shooting me a look which was a mixture of frustration and a plea for help.

I pulled him towards me by the tie and secured it in a neat knot then tugged his jacket down over his white shirt for good measure.

“Thanks,” He smiled sheepishly. “I guess I’m not very good at all of this.”

He gestured around the aristocratic room and at Abriella and “shorty” who were now standing side by side looking every bit the upper class couple in their elegant outfits. Abriella smiled showing all of her pearly white teeth and “shorty” stood up a little higher which gained a look of something close to approval from Dane.

“I’m Elizabeth,” I introduced myself.

“I’m Callum.” He told me, “I don’t understand why Dane needs all of us to stand around the outside of the room like mannequins. Between you and me, I think he’s sour that he never gets invited to these feasts.”

I couldn’t contain the burst of laughter that escaped my lips as I caught a glance of Dane, patrolling around the room with a grumpy frown on his face and his cap perched unflatteringly over his eyes.

“Listen up!” Dane croaked. “The guests will arrive and you will stand in these positions. Hang on a minute, where’s the other female to stand next to him?”

Dane pointed at the one smartly dressed boy, muscular and red haired, without a partner. Joe and June, Abriella and “shorty”, and Callum and I were all partnered up. This boy, however, was standing alone.

“Why have they partnered us up?” I hissed at Callum whilst wondering where Olive was.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It looks better, I suppose. There’s really not that much logic going on in this place.”

A door banged open with such force that seemed impossible from the timid girl standing in the doorway. Olive was wearing the same dress as I was but instead of clinging tightly to her body it swamped her small frame making her look smaller and paler than before. She was panting and clutching a stitch in her side having obviously just been running. Muttering an apology at Dane she stumbled over and stood with as much dignity as she could beside the muscular red head.

“About time! Now, as I was saying… When the guests arrive stay where you are and try not to embarrass us too much. Now, males you will serve the drinks. Females, you will bring the food from the kitchen up here. Got it?” Dane asked, glaring around at us all.

Olive nodded, Joe stifled a laugh and Callum rolled his eyes. All responses however, soon turned to one; everyone stood up a little straighter and stopped smiling when the door opened.

“Welcome, friends!” Goliath’s voice was somehow magnified as he entered the room and spread his arms wide in a gesture of greeting.

Behind his pale figure, fitted in a navy suit, a procession of vampires glided into the room. Their pale faces were either deadly serious or contorted into smiles as they conversed with their peers. A chill seemed to enter the room with them, the aura Goliath had multiplied by the sheer amount of vampires. The chairs scraped against the thick carpet as they were all seated.

Following a pointed look from Dane, Callum’s presence moved from my side in synch with Joe’s and the other males. Joe stiffened as he poured the blood red wine into glasses, obviously uncomfortable with being so close to vampires. He usually worked on the cars, I remembered, which meant he was lucky enough not to come into contact with Goliath much. I fiddled with my dress as they poured the drinks; since the vampires had entered the room it had become unnaturally cold and the fineness clothing had become more noticeable.

Callum returned to my side, any trace of a smile removed from his face.

“I hate how they look at us.” He shivered. “Oh, I think you should go fetch the food.”

Sure enough, Dane was glaring at me and June was standing in the doorway which led to the entrance hall beckoning me with an anxious look on her face. I hurried over to her and out into the somewhat warmer entrance hall. The portraits of Goliath and Ashley’s relatives lined the walls here and I remembered with a jolt the thoughts that had so recently grasped my mind.

“I OSPF don’t want to go back in there,” shuddered June. “They’re plain creepy!”

“It could be worse- we could be serving them blood rather than chickens.” I half joked.

“Or they could be drinking OUR blood.” June grimaced.

The delicious smell of roast chicken hit us as we entered the kitchen. Abriella and Olive had already pulled the roasting trays, filled with golden chickens and roast vegetables, from the oven and were in the process of placing them on large, black plates.

“Why,” I wondered aloud. “Do we have to stand in there? It would make more sense if we were in the kitchen rather than standing around.”

“The vampires are sick. I think they actually enjoy having us standing around so they can look at us and know that they’re ‘superior’.” June said with a wince.

Laden with dishes of food on metal trays we shuffled up the narrow staircase, through the entrance hall and through the grand door which led to the dining room. Joe grinned at us, despite the look of disdain Dane was shooting him. Callum made a brief shake of his head in my direction but other than that, every human in the room was stiff with nervousness. I had a feeling that we would fully exhale when this evening was over.

I approached the table of talking vampires, choosing to place the food I was carrying as far away as possible from Goliath whom was sitting at the head of the table in obvious enjoyment of the atmosphere. As I leaned over a vampire to place the food in the centre of the table I felt a nose on my bare arm. I froze in repulsion as the vampire inhaled with his eyes closed. Then his eyes flickered open revealing nearly white eyes and they flitted to my horrified face.

“Now, now Isaac. It would be rather inconvenient if you attacked my son’s maid.” Goliath chortled from the head of the table as if it was merely amusing.

I withdrew my arm quickly when the vampires turned their gaunt faces towards me and scurried over to Callum’s side.

“You look petrified!” Callum whispered.

I nodded in revulsion at the vampire who had smelt my arm, probably mere seconds away from attacking me at the table.

For the rest of the evening I focused on avoiding eye contact with all of the vampires which seemed to be the tactic of every other human in the room. When, eventually, the vampires left the room in a drunken chatter I breathed a sigh of relief that it was over. The wave of exhaustion that hit me seemed to be reciprocated around the room.

The others trailed into the entrance hall and up the staircase to bed but I stayed, absorbed in the portraits on the walls. I was examining ‘Simeon Sancruor 1670-1763’ when a noise from the shadows made me gasp. I stood in absolute silence for a few seconds but then, deciding it was my imagination, walked briskly up the stairs.