The Vampire's Maid

Part 3. The Vampire's Maid

I woke with a start in the early morning light. My face was pressed up against the grey, lumpy pillow which was now dry of tears. I knew immediately that the horrors I'd experienced hadn't been a dream; I could feel the metal brooch beneath my pillow.

I lay very still in my bed, not wanting or daring to move. The duvet on top of my body was very thin, barely more than a sheet. The white nightdress I wore itched uncomfortably around the neck but I ignored the discomfort. I was waiting fearfully for something that was bound to come.

After what seemed like half an hour the beeping of an alarm clock sounded, only to be silenced straight away. The alarm was the first piece of technology I'd encountered in the house. I stayed where I was with my eyes closed. I could hear people stirring, the sheets rustling and clothes wafting.

"Do you think we should wake her?" A foreign accented voice asked.

"Nah, leave her. The more time she has of sub-consciousness the better." A confident sounding voice replied.

"We should take her clothes to Dane? No?" The first voice came and I placed her accent to be Italian.

"I suppose we should. One of the vamps will take them if we don't."

So there were vampires here. I'd wondered if Joe had been joking; I'd hoped more than anything that he had. Any doubt I'd had was erased by the next words spoken.

"Do you think this new girl knows that they're vampires?" A new, quieter voice spoke.

"She'll find out soon enough." The Italian said sombrely before her voice brightened. "I heard she's Ashley's new maid."

"You say that like it's a good thing Abriella." The quiet girl spoke again.

"I'd rather serve him than any of the other vampires."

"Yes, that's because you judge on appearances." The quiet girl whispered.

"As far as Maria's concerned... you don't think they'll have done anything to her?"

"The vamps? Nah."

I heard the sound of my clothes been scraped off the floor and then the door creaking open. The girl's voices mixed with deeper ones but then the door banged shut and I was left alone in the silence. I sat up in my bed and just remained there, absorbed in my own thoughts. Who was Maria? I can't tell how long I sat cross-legged on my bed but eventually the door re-opened. Dane's skeletal, unnatural face peered around it. His pale green eyes fixed on me and a shiver of repulsion was sent through my spine. So this was what a vampire looked like? Just knowing what he was made him look all the more threatening.

"You're awake. Good." He wheezed in an ancient voice. "Get dressed." 

I looked in the direction he was pointing. A battered, wooden wardrobe was between two of the neatly made beds. I opened it without looking at Dane and wasn't wholly surprised at what I saw. An old fashioned maid's uniform, black with a white apron and white lace, was hanging on an old coat hanger. A white, cotton dress hung behind it. After searching through the largely empty draws I eventually found some white underwear. I pulled them out of the wardrobe and turned back around to face Dane.

"I'll wait outside for you." He wheezed and I wondered again how he was still alive when his voice sounded dead already.

The door closed and I examined the uniform. It was nothing like the jeans and tank tops that I usually wore and it took me a while to figure out how to wear it. The white dress was presumably meant to be worn under the black dress. I pulled on the underwear and then the white dress which had cotton strings coming out in all directions. I stretched my arms around my back and managed to tie them together. It wasn't done expertly but it seemed to hold up and was surprisingly comfortable. The black dress was much easier to put on; it slipped over my head and came up to my mid thigh. It seemed a little revealing for a uniform but I decided against complaining.