Flesh Wounds, page 5
part #1 of The Vampire Elite Series
“Your Majesty, it’s time for the banquet.”
Akasha’s entire being filled with dread: up until now, she had avoided taking her meals in public. Mahret had masterfully come up with various reasons and excuses as to why her daughter was absent from the dining hall, but now that wasn’t going to work. She was expected to be seen at each and every meal as the queen, but how was she going to explain her new diet to people without arousing suspicion?
“I’ll be right there!” Quickly, she made herself look presentable, powdering her face with blush to look less pale, and met the royal family for dinner. It went horribly.
She was able to excuse away the lack of an appetite on nerves, but then one of the waiters accidentally cut himself serving the meats. It was a deep cut, too, with blood pouring out of his hand, and she rapidly averted her attention. Talking to her mother only helped so much- venom was pooling in her mouth, and if she didn’t rush out of there soon, that poor man was going to die by her hand.
“Excuse me.” It came out strained, making it sound like she was going to be nauseous, but there was nothing she could do about it. As she ran out of the banquet hall, out into the corridor, she took a deep breath. It wasn’t helping: now that her senses had been triggered, she had to feed. Grabbing the next person to walk by, she dragged the poor soul out of sight and went straight for the jugular. Caught up in the bloodlust, Akasha didn’t notice that Margaret had followed her, concerned for her stepmother’s wellbeing.
“Akasha, are you feeling alright?” No response. The ten-year-old wasn’t giving up easily, inching closer to the figure curled up in a dark corner.
“Akasha? What are you doing?” The older woman looked up at her, breathing heavily, and Margaret screamed in horror.
Her eyes were halfway between her usual chocolate brown and the light amber of a vampire, but that wasn’t what terrified Margaret . When Akasha tore herself away from her victim, her fangs, now visible, were dripping in blood.
You killed him! You’re a monster!” Margaret was now scrambling backwards, wanting nothing more than to get away from Akasha.
“No, Margaret listen”- Akasha tried to reason with the girl and explain that it wasn’t her fault, but the princess wasn’t having any of it.
“I won’t let my father marry you. You’ll kill him too!”
“Please give me a chance to explain, I’m still the same Akasha that saved you from the horse!”
“Stay away from me!” Margaret ran off down the hall before Akasha could say anything else, and she stood frozen on the spot. Maharet was going to kill her.
Chapter 10
A Black Heart
In the two hundred years since his turning, Dracula had certainly lived up to the Dark One name. He had become well known throughout the realm for his extensive knowledge of magical artifacts, especially ones of a dangerous and taboo nature, and was frequently sought out by merchants looking to trade (and trade for) these valuable objects.
Dracula was more than happy to do business with them, but if they were wanting to buy from his personal collection, versus trade for it, it came with an additional cost. He didn’t like parting with his treasures for something as common as money, so to dissuade people from going through with it, he required a favor on top of the price.
These favors matched the worth of the item: for a magical genie lamp, a year of servitude in his manor. And in return for an enchanted mirror, he would spy on them whenever he wished. Soon enough, fewer and fewer people wanted to pay such a steep price, and came to him only to trade objects in their possession. He was caught up in such a transaction when he heard about the upcoming royal wedding.
“This is my offer- the fairy wand for your cobra staff.” Dracula thought that to be a fair enough proposition for what the merchant was trading, but he had a feeling the man wouldn’t budge.
“A fairy wand? This staff belonged to Merlin himself! It’s much more valuable than some subpar magical conduit.”
Merlin or something?
“Is it really? What do you know of fairy magic?”
“Not much- just that it’s powered by pixie dust.” Well, at least he knew the basics.
“Indeed it is, which lifts a lot of restrictions on conventional magic.
For example, they don’t have to pay the price when using it. As long as enough pixie dust is available to power their spells, they get off scot-free.
Incredibly advantageous to those who study dark magic, I might add.” The sales pitch went over nicely, Dracula thought, as he saw the man’s eyes light up with understanding.
“So why don’t all magicians use wands?” He knew this would be the first thing on his mind, from prior experience- the greedy weren’t particularly bright.
“The fairies are secretive- these wands are impossible to obtain if you’re not one of them.”
“Except you did.” He chuckled, remembering exactly how he acquired the artifact.
The Blue Fairy had been too trusting, and of a vampire no less.
He summoned her on the pretense that he needed help for a sickly friend, and she left him alone with one of her trainee’s to get the needed supplies. It had been too easy: he knocked out the younger, more naïve fairy with a wave of his hand, took her wand, and disappeared back to his manor. The Blue Fairy had never come to him again, understandably.
“Yes, well, this particular wand I obtained after its original owner was…incapacitated.” The man just nodded along, not terribly interested in the details. He just wanted his new toy.
“If what you say is true, then we have a deal.”
Delighted, Dracula had just drawn up a contract when his maid ran into the room waving around a letter. After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she shoved the piece of parchment into her employer’s hands, clearly excited.
“The king’s getting married, and you’re invited!” Belle exclaimed, barely containing her enthusiasm.
He was about to berate the woman for interrupting them, but this was interesting news. Upon Queen Eva’s death three years ago, all the villagers could talk about was the search for a replacement. The court had put pressure on Leopold in order to speed things up, but nothing ever came of it. The king refused to marry for political advantage, and proclaimed that his future wife would be the woman that connected the most with his seven-year-old daughter. Naturally, a horde of available noblewomen threw themselves at him, but none truly took a shine to Princess Margaret , so the matter was dropped. Draculastiltskin’s mind was full of questions- what had changed? “Do tell, who is the blushing bride?”
“Princess Akasha of Solis, sir.” How convenient.
“Oh? How did this arrangement come about?” He opened the letter to read the official time and place of the wedding- the 20th of November, four weeks away.
“She saved Princess Margaret from a runaway horse, and apparently the gesture was enough for the king to propose.” Dracula hummed in response, writing his formal acceptance of the invitation as Belle spoke.
“Take this to the palace, and tell them I will be in attendance.” Belle excused herself with a curtsey, leaving the two men alone.
“You’re lucky, I’ve heard that anything involving the royals is quite the spectacle.”
“Indeed. Anyway, shall we sign this contract?” As the merchant was finalizing his signature, Dracula was deep in thought.
He remembered the night he bit Akasha, and if his calculations were correct, the future queen was a month old vampire. Still young, still impulsive and impressionable.
This could work in his favor: as her senior, he had a certain amount of control over her. After all, his venom created her, and she would submit to him whether she liked it or not. He would teach her how to blend in with mortal society and help hone her magical talents, talents he was sure she inherited from Maharet, and she would obey his every command. If all went to plan, he would have control over the entire kingdom of Lunaria, and no one would suspect a thing. But first, he had to get Akasha to trust him, and that involved a great deal of cunning manipulation. Fortunately, he was well versed in the art of deception.
This was going to be an easy victory.
ingdom of Lunaria Phobos Castle, 1552
Margaret had kept to herself after her traumatizing encounter with Akasha. The image of her soon-to-be stepmother covered in blood, some poor guard lying dead at her feet, was burned into her mind even days after the incident.
She didn’t know what to do about the situation, so she avoided anything involving social interaction. And so far, no one had noticed anything was the matter. That was excluding her father, who was currently in her chambers trying to figure out what was bothering his usually extroverted daughter.
“Nothing’s wrong with me, Father. I just don’t want to talk to anyone right now.” Margaret grumbled, curled up in bed.
“Why not? Tell me, my darling.” Enkil sat himself on the edge of the mattress, squeezing her hand. The king was concerned: the only other time Margaret closed herself off from everyone was when her mother died. But nothing of the sort was happening currently, so he was at a loss for what was troubling Margaret .
“Remember when Akasha got sick at the banquet?”
“Yes, and you kindly went after her, and all was well. Wasn’t it?” Margaret refused to look him in the eye, and Enkil had a feeling that whatever the princess said next would be unsettling.
“Not exactly…but you have to promise to believe me, Father.”
“Of course, dearest. Now go on, tell your old man your troubles.” Margaret took a deep breath and finally met her father’s gaze.
“When I ran after Akasha, I couldn’t find her at first. She was faster than me, and took off down the corridor. I wandered about for a bit, and then heard a strange noise. I followed the sound, and I ended up near the south wing- close to the guest quarters.” Enkil could tell that she was hesitating, and rubbed her shoulder encouragingly.
“She was backed into a corner, leaning over something. Curious, I tried to get her attention- to see if she was well. She didn’t respond right away, but then she lifted her head.”
Margaret gulped, knowing that it was now or never. She had to reveal Akasha’s secret.
“I’ve never seen such horror, Father! There was a palace guard at her feet, unmoving, and she was feeding off him!”
Enkil was taken aback. Surely his daughter wasn’t insinuating that his future bride was a murderer?
“Now Margaret , I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding”-
No! He had bite marks on his neck, and she had fangs, Daddy! Blood was dripping off them, and her eyes, daddy! Her eyes! You can’t marry her, you can’t!” Margaret dissolved into sobs, and the king automatically wrapped her in his embrace.
What his daughter had vividly described was the appearance of a vampire: creatures that hadn’t been seen in Lunaria for hundreds of years. While he had no doubt Margaret was telling the truth, she was also a child, with a child’s imagination. It was possible that Akasha could belong to the legion of undead, but highly unlikely.
“I’ll look into it, little one. Will that satisfy you?” Margaret ’s crying stopped, and she nodded against him.
“Good. Now get some sleep, we have quite the day tomorrow.”
Enkil tucked his daughter in bed and began to gather his thoughts.
Would he investigate Akasha? Probably not. The whole idea was ridiculous, but he had to placate Margaret somehow. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t a private conversation.
Daniel hadn’t meant to overhear Enkil’s discussion with his daughter, but it was late and he decided to take the shortcut to his bedroom, which involved passing through the north wing belonging to the royals. The princess’ chamber door was cracked to a degree, he noticed as he walked by, and caught a few words that drew his attention: “Akasha…bite marks…blood”. Concerned that Akasha was injured, he stopped to listen more carefully- without being detected, of course. What he heard was horrifying.
“Akasha killed someone?” He whispered to himself in a state of shock. The woman he knew would never commit such an atrocity, and he liked to think he knew her fairly well.
Years ago, in desperate need of employment, he arrived in Solis hoping to find work as a stable hand for the royal family.
He was more than qualified, spending his apprenticeship in Camelot under Stable Master Gawain, and easily landed the job. It didn’t take him long to find out that the crown princess was training to be an equestrian, and quickly took a shine to her beauty and kindness. They had kept the extent of their relationship a secret from Queen Mahret, of course, as it was expected that Akasha would marry a prince or king. An expectation which came true, much to his dismay.
“What in bloody hell happened?” Daniel continued to ask himself, unable to process what he had just heard. Akasha was a gentle soul- bright, cheerful, and compassionate.
Assuming Princess Margaret ’s story was true, then something horrible must have occurred. An accident, that’s all it was. And he refused to dwell on the second half of the conversation: that accusation couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. But there was only one way to know for sure- he would have to go talk to Akasha.
“Daniel, wait! Please, just listen to me!” Akasha cried, running after his retreating form.
When her lover had come to her in a panic, asking her if she had indeed committed murder, she was stunned into silence, and didn’t know how to respond. Akasha had no idea where he heard such rumors, but as much as she wanted to dismiss them, they were true. She was indeed a criminal, and a monster. But Daniel hadn’t called her a vampire, so she assumed he didn’t know the whole truth.
“Do you deny it?” Gods, he couldn’t even look at her directly. And it was killing her.
“No. I…did take his life.” He inhaled sharply, and swatted her hand away from his shoulder, disgusted.
“Why?” Akasha knew he would ask her that, but could she really tell him the truth?
“Out of necessity, I promise you! Please, you don’t know all the details!”
Daniel whipped around to face her, suddenly infuriated.
“Are you sure about that? I know plenty. When I laid my hand on your wrist, I couldn’t find a pulse. Your skin was ice cold, and your fangs are visible when you speak. Do you want to say it or should I?” Akasha bristled, wiping away a few stray tears. So he did know.
“It’s not what you think. I was attacked by Dracula, he turned me about a month ago.” She was freely crying now, realizing that her relationship with Daniel was surely over after this conversation. Who in their right mind would continue to associate with such a creature?
“I’m so sorry, I know that’s no excuse. But I would never hurt you, Daniel.”
“I love you Akasha, I really do, but I can’t take that chance.” He looked as unhappy as she was, but he was putting his life at risk by being with her.
And besides, she was engaged to King Enkil. This had to end either way.
“Who told you?” Her voice was trembling, and she rejected all of his attempts at comforting her. He was breaking her heart- he had no right to touch her.
“I overheard Princess Margaret …. she was talking to her father about her encounter with you in the hallway.”
Akasha shook with fury: that little brat had just ruined her life.
She had begged the princess to stay silent, but no.
The insufferable gremlin couldn’t keep a secret and now Daniel wanted nothing to do with her. To make matters worse, the king knew, and now he would likely call off the wedding, and Maharet would be furious.
“Just go, Daniel. If that’s how you feel, then I hope you’re happy with whatever peasant you end up marrying.” Akasha knew that was harsh, but she wanted it to hurt.
“Goodbye Akasha. Enjoy your trophy wife pedestal.”
The future queen stormed out of the room without a second glance at her now ex-lover, full of anger and a desire for vengeance. Margaret would pay with her blood.
Chapter 11
Under My Skin
The queen’s garden, the most secluded area of the royal wing, took up most of the castle’s northern courtyard. Traditionally known as the Luminescent Garden, the space was acclaimed for its unique purple and blue color scheme. Designed to appeal to the tastes of Queen Elisabeth, wife of King William, the garden was composed of roses, irises, hydrangeas, wisterias, orchids, and foxgloves in varying shades of purple and blue. Multiple benches lined the stone pathways, and in the center of the courtyard was a large fountain topped with two interlocking fairies. There was a small portion of the garden that housed fruit trees, added later by Queen Margaret, and would eventually become the favored private quarters of the upcoming queen.
“I don’t know what to do, Daddy.” Akasha whined, placing her head on his shoulder.
Shortly after hearing of his daughter’s distress, Henry had tracked her down to this garden, where he found her aimlessly wandering the courtyard in circles. She was clearly distraught, so he carefully approached her and guided her to one of the vine covered benches.
“What exactly were his words, my darling?”
“He doesn’t want to chance it, thinks I’ll hurt him.” She collapsed into sobs, reminded once again that her beloved Daniel viewed her as nothing more than a monster. And it was all Margaret’s fault.
Akasha couldn’t remember feeling so angry, but the response wasn’t as petty as it seemed: fury of this magnitude had developed as a way to mask her pain. She couldn’t properly express her sorrow because of Mahret, so she had turned it into the next best thing: wrath. Akasha knew these weren’t healthy thoughts to have constantly- the vision of her strangling the life out of a ten-year-old girl, but they were so damn satisfying.
“It’s his loss, Akasha. You are worth more than what you give yourself credit for. You are my daughter- heiress of Solis, champion equestrian, and gifted scholar. This condition of yours does not make you any less of a person. If Daniel can’t see that, then he’s not worth your tears.” Henry stroked her hair in a calming attempt: hoping that his words would serve their purpose. He had to get Akasha to rise above her affliction and carry on with things, because the opposite would send her into a never-ending downward spiral of depression.
