The Vampire's Maid

Part 16. The Vampire's Maid

After breakfast- an affair that consisted of a large amount of flirting between June and Joe- I decided that Ashley would probably be awake. I skipped up the wide staircase, my feet making no sound on the thick carpet. A tall figure was standing near Ashley's bedroom. A spark of light came from his hand and as he touched it to the lantern on the wall, I saw the handsome, dark face of Callum.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him.

He turned to face me. He was wearing the waistcoat that was included in the uniform and that Joe forever misplaced. If my appearance had shocked Callum or made him feel any emotion at all, he didn't show it. The smallest smile appeared on his lips and then vanished as quickly as it had arrived. His brown eyes reflected the candle light.

"Lighting the lanterns," He said, gesturing up and down the corridor at the now flickering lights."Where are you going?"

I examined Callum's face closely. Behind that mask he kept on his face was the boredom of the mundane routine of his life; lighting and then eventually extinguishing the lanterns that lined every corridor in the massive house.

"Ashley's room," I pointed at the door and moved towards it. "He's giving me self defence lessons."

I didn't know why I'd blurted this out so easily. Even June and Abriella didn't know why I'd disappeared after breakfast and I considered those two my closest friends. Perhaps I'd wanted to see something other than the serious expression on Callum's face. After all, anybody else would surely be shocked that I was taking self defence lessons from a vampire. I was disappointed. Callum just nodded and then retreated, occasionally pausing to relight a lantern that had been extinguished by the cool draft that ran through the house.

I watched him for a while. He seemed depressed which I supposed was fair enough in the position he was in. However, the other humans were in the same position. All of us were kidnapped by Goliath and yet June and Abriella often had smiles on their faces, Joe was the most insanely happy person I knew and Daniel was filled to the brim with unfounded excitement. Even Mark seemed slightly happy behind the moody exterior he showed to the world. Callum and Olive on the other hand both wandered about alone without smiles on their faces; one too timid to be a part of the group and the other too secretive.

And I, the last of the eight humans at this grand and desolate house, was I happy? I only had to envisage the scene behind the door I was standing beside to know that the answer was yes. Despite the constant threat of vampires, I was actually happy. Even I couldn't deny that Ashley was the reason for this emotion.

"Are you going to stand there all day?"

At first, in my momentary daydream inspired blindness, I thought that Callum had returned. But this voice was higher and more pleasant that Callum's. It was a voice that I could listen to for hours, letting its melodious tone wash over me.

"Hey Ashley," I smiled extremely casually in contrast to my thoughts.

He grinned lazily in the doorway with his arm propped up on the frame. The dark clothes he wore made his skin and eyes shockingly bright. As I passed under his arm to enter his room Ashley's smell, a mixture of shampoo and vanilla, rushed into my nose. I paused for a second and inhaled. Reluctantly I tore myself away and settled on the dark bed with my feet underneath me.

"So," Ashley said in a welcomed friendly tone. "You want to learn self defence."

He sat beside me on the bed, thrillingly close. His face was more open than I'd seen it in days and was curved into a slight smile.

"I don't particularly want to. It sounds like it'll hurt." I admitted.

"Well, if you want to avoid vampires like Isaac then you're going to need to learn it. And don't worry," He consoled in a gentler voice, "I'll try not to hurt you."