Fangs

Chapter F|O|U|R

Lucas and I talked as long as we could. He's actually quite a decent guy. If we are forced to breed, I don't think I would mind, apart from the whole forced bit. If he was a rebel, he would've been one of my close friends. I like to think that under different conditions, maybe.

Every day, Kaira comes and sews. She's fast becoming my friend. We talk while she sews, and she's going to teach me a little bit, so I can help her later on. So far, whenever Alaric inspects her work, everything is satisfactory.

I'm sitting on the floor, opposite her. Alaric calls me over, so I hurry to the desk.

"Draw this." He hands her the measurements and a rough sketch. The sketch is detailed enough for me to see what I'm drawing. A fancy villa. I'm quick to finish, so I can go watch Kaira. My work is always quick, but never sloppy.

"Pet, Celeste will be dropping Lucas off for your last meet up before you know," Alaric gestures vaguely with his hand. I nod and then hand him the drawing. He studies it. "Very good. You may return to Kaira."

***

I don't wait any longer and get up to walk over to Kaira. She's busy sewing. Her stitches are so small and invisible. My practice ones are big and wonky. I guess it comes with many years of practice.

"How do you not lose them?" I ask her. Alaric doesn't mind us talking, so long as we're quiet.

"I am honestly not sure," Kaira sighs as she pricks her finger. "Who's Lucas?"

"He is a human boy." I answer. Red creeps up my cheeks and I know Kaira sees when she glances to look at me.

"Ohhh." Kaira teases.

"That I have to breed with." I finish and Kaira stops teasing. She looks down at her work, and it's her turn to blush.

"Oh," she says. "Sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know." I tell her, and she looks relieved.

"At least tell me if he's handsome," Kaira continues.

"I suppose." I say. He is, but I don't want to admit it. Especially with Alaric listening.

Kaira puts her sewing down and looks shocked. "You suppose?" she says in disbelief.

"Let's say if I ran into him on the street, then I would say he was handsome." I correct myself, trying to phrase it in a way that wouldn't offend him.

"And why is he not handsome now?" Kaira picks her sewing up again. She continues, the same small, neat stitches over and over. Just watching her makes me tired.

"Well, being forced to breed with someone can be very off-putting." I say, getting uncomfortable. It'll be my first time with a man, and I'm extremely nervous.

Kaira senses this and stays quiet for a moment before changing the subject.

"The first man I thought I could love is the reason I'm here. He turned me in, so he could become a vampire."

"He was arrested soon after and executed," Alaric strides across the room. "Time for you to leave Kaira."

Kaira nods and quickly packs everything up. She bows to Alaric and her master knocks at the door. He bows as the door shuts behind Kaira.

***

Alaric turns to me. "Lucas will be here soon. You two will be put in the cage together,"

I nod and walk over to my cage. I go inside and sit on my bed. Alaric nods his approval. While I wait for Celeste and Lucas, I try to remember what my life was like when I made my own choices. Trying to bring back a fond memory, I close my eyes and imagine my favorite swimming spot.

***

I run through a copse of trees and stop suddenly. My best friend, Iva, stops next to me.

"Wow," she breathes. "It's beautiful,"

It is. Water rushes over an adjacent cliff. It lands in a sparkling pool of crystal clear water. We stand for a moment, just enjoying the fact that we are free. The fact that we are together. Then the peace is disturbed by the snapping of a twig. Iva and I spin around and spot a vampire. He must have been following us. In a flash, he is in front of us. He reaches for Iva. Once he grabs her, no matter how hard she kicks or how loud she screams, he won't let her go. In an instant, his fangs are in her neck. He drains her dry and drops her body to the ground. Then, he reaches for me. I back away, and he grabs me just before they drop off the cliff. The last thing I remember is Iva's screams as the blood flowing through her body is drained right out of her.

***

Celeste knocks on the door, startling me out of my daydream that turned into more of a nightmare. Instead of waiting for Alaric to open it, she does it herself. Lucas trails behind her. He doesn't enter the room, not until Alaric welcomes Celeste in properly. Knowing the drill, I tuck myself in my cage.

"Good day, Alaric and Grace," she says. Alaric opens the cage door for Lucas. Lucas steps inside and then Alaric locks the door.

"Behave," Celeste says to Lucas and me. Then she and Alaric leave, Lucas and I are by ourselves. I don't know what to do, except sit in the corner.

"This is awkward." Lucas says after a few minutes.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I ask. "We're being forced to breed."

"I prefer to not think about it like that," Lucas says. "It makes me feel like I'm some sort of animal."

"That's all we are to them. Think about it. We get sold at auctions and used as food sources." I say. My years of being taught the worst about vampires and finding my friends drained bodies have made me think the worst of everyone and everything.

"Hey, don't look at it with such a negative view," Lucas tilts my chin up with his finger. "It brought us together. I finally made a friend."

"What do you mean finally?" I ask, almost flinching away from the emotion in his gaze. Living in the woods, emotions got you killed. We quickly learnt to never get attached to anything, not even each other.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Lucas asks. It's an awkward question, but it cuts the tension.

"We were never allowed to think of the others that way in the woods." I answer. It almost happened a few times with Jack, but we were too scared of the possible repercussions that it never happened.

"May I be your first?" Lucas asks. He waits for an answer, but I can't verbalize one. He must get his answer somehow, because he leans in and kisses me.