The first thing I hear when I wake up are the birds chirping outside.
I sit up in my bed and stretch my arms.
My body is starting to get used to the nice bed. The floor feels cool as the cold air wafts into the room. I quickly go into my closet and fetch some warm wool to wear around me. Next to my bed on the floor lies some slippers, which I put on.
That is very considerate of the Grand Duke.
I head into the bathroom and get freshened up. Immediately, I feel better as I splash warm water on my face, now as I feel my cheeks become slightly cold due to the cold air. The windows of my bedroom are now fully shut as I decide to not let any more cold air inside.
I can always go out onto the balcony when the weather becomes better.
The closet is full of new dresses, sweaters, jackets, and accessories.
I go through each of the hangers, looking at each piece of clothing. Seems like someone has been doing a little shopping. I heard of some vampire owners who spoil their human slaves, but not to this extent.
Since it's cold, I put on a silk scarf in addition to wearing my wool already.
There is a knock at my door. I tell them to come inside the room.
"Good morning, Aurora! Here is your breakfast. The Grand Duke made sure to include some extra things on the tray for you. He said he wants to make sure you are taken care of properly," Victoria says to me as she walks over gracefully and places the tray on my table by the couch.
"Thank you, Victoria," I say as I sit down on the couch.
She bows and takes her leave, shutting my door softly behind her.
Tea. Biscuits. Toast. Pancakes with a nice layer of maple syrup. Fruit.
All of these things sit nicely on top of the tray, ready to be devoured into my stomach. The first thing I pick up is the Earl Grey tea.
I am careful to not burn my fingers as the cup is very hot.
After waiting a couple of minutes, I pick up the cup again and blow a couple of times on it before taking a nice long sip. The warmth of the Earl Grey tea immediately makes me feel better. The taste I savor on my tongue.
It's been forever since I had tea or anything of the sort.
I dig into the rest of my food.
The freshness of the fruit and sweetness of the pancakes makes me feel refreshed to tackle the day. Breakfast is now finished, I think to myself as I take a final sip from my cup of tea and head out of my bedroom.
The library barely has any vampire servants in it as I enter. The Grand Duke isn't present either.
Majority of the books look like the ones I have already seen. One of the vampire servants I do see tells me that every now and then the Grand Duke will bring a new stack of books. However, it is fairly rare that happens because of how much time it takes to expand the enclosed library.
She also mentions the fact how the Grand Duke prefers to collect more books instead of read.
"He is very busy these days with political and administration work. Sadly, not a lot of time to read anymore back when he was just the Duke of Bloodstone until his father passed and he took over."
I thank the vampire servant and venture to the back section of the library where all the old books are kept. There it is on the bookshelf. The crimson leather back book. I dust it off again as I undo the latch.
The note inside it is gone.
I flip through the pages quickly, seeing if anything else changed.
A different piece of paper falls to the ground. I pick it up and scan the words.
"The Blood Moon awakens all truths. Protect your heart little one."
I look around me to make sure nobody is looking as I place the note back in the book.
The Blood Moon. I wonder what that means. Protect? From who?
The thoughts ponder in my mind as I place the red leather book back on the shelf and walk away from it. For the next half hour, I pick a couple of books I want to read next. I run into a vampire servant who offers to take my books to my room for me, which is very nice of them to do.
Today is another day of freedom within the castle.
I go to the garden where Xavier and I ran into each other. The Garden of the Night is as beautiful as always. Since it is enclosed and operated by vampiric magic, it is always the same temperature around the area.
It feels like as if time stopped. It is beautiful in a scary way. The various flowers smell nice.
Time flies by and dinner rolls around the corner. I'm back in the dining chambers now.
Except now I am sitting right next to Xavier instead of across from him. He changed things up.
He makes it hard to concentrate on eating as his body is dangerously close to mine. Xavier pulls my chair closer to his without warning until there is no space between us.
His hand rests on my shoulder for a moment as he leans over me to pour more champagne in my glass. I give him a look to show him that I am letting him do that, not just because he can.
Two can play that game.
"Are you always this direct?" I ask as I take a sip from my champagne glass.
"Only with things that are entirely mine and only mine," he whispers in my ear as he teases it with his soft lips. He leans back in his chair as he enjoys watching my expression change.
"You have a fire in you that's so intoxicating to me," he says as he runs his fingers lightly on the back of my neck making my heart skip a beat. Suddenly, his fingers make their way to my chin, and he strongly moves my face to look directly into his eyes.
I do my best to appear defiant, but my body fails me.
He smirks. "That's my good girl."
Xavier stands up as the glow of the flames in the hearth reveal his tall figure. He looks at me one more time as I am frozen in my seat. "Goodnight, little flame."
The rest of the night is a blur as I head back to my bedroom. If he keeps this up, who knows what may happen. I keep meaning to tell him that we can't, but my inner desires don't let me.
What is wrong with me?
As I fall asleep, I keep replaying the words he last said before he left.
"Goodnight, little flame."