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“Ciara, dear? I’ve invited someone to take supper with us tonight.” Lady Athena Delacourt’s voice is soft and warm as always, but there is a certain note to it that is shadowy, almost sultry, that makes my ears prick immediately with curiosity. I glance up, pausing my work— threading a scarlet ribbon through my mistress’ raven-black hair— and I feel the chill in the air almost at once. There is a bitter wind out tonight, and for a few seconds it thrills over my skin like invisible fingers.
“Oh? Who is it, my Lady?”
She smiles briefly into the mirror, and I wonder if she can somehow see how elaborately I’ve woven the ribbon into her hair. “A dear friend, from more years ago than I care to remember,” she hums, chuckling softly. “Her name is Lisette Monique. A lovely girl, golden curls and a sweet disposition. You’ll like her, Ciara,” and she nudges my arm lightly, her tone half teasing and half almost seductive. “Put out the good silver and china, and don’t stint on the wine. We wouldn’t want Lisette to question our hospitality, now would we?”
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Lisette Monique is— just as my Lady said— a darling girl, full of poise and proper manners, all indicative of the very highest breeding. When I escort her into the dining-room, with its high ceilings and lavish furnishings, the petite blonde embraces Lady Athena with precisely the right amount of enthusiasm, but she startles slightly at the kiss my mistress bestows on her rosy cheek. Her blue eyes dart toward me, where I stand beside my Lady’s chair. I wonder if she is intrigued that I do not leave, like most servants might. The thought brings a smile to my face, and I know without looking that my mistress is smiling as well.
“Lisette, dearest,” Lady Athena remarks, after I have served the wine– richest red against our silver goblets– “You’ve yet to tell me about your family; are they well?”
“Oh, very much so!” The girl’s explanation is almost amusing in its eagerness; she sounds nearly breathless. I wonder if she is intimidated, being in the presence of such high ceilings and glittering china, or if the draperies fastened firmly with black cords, shunning even the faintest glint of sunlight, make her nervous. “My husband is quite well, and the children– have you seen their photographs?— they are truly the light of my life.” A broad smile lights Lisette’s lovely features, but there is a hollowness to her eyes, as if she is reciting something long rehearsed that she must remember to give a great deal of feeling to.
Lady Athena hums, and at this quiet signal I clear away the dishes, the rattling of silver and china oddly loud in the silence of our many vast and shadowed rooms. “I’m so glad you could come for this visit, dear Lisette. It’s been so very long,” she says warmly, standing unannounced, and from my place in the shadows I almost laugh at how quickly our guest rises, scrambling indelicately, with none of the polished grace she had arrived with. “Shall we take our tea in the drawing-room together? My Ciara will serve.”
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The grandfather clock on the stairs chimes seven o’clock before Lisette seems to realize that she has quite overstayed her welcome, apologizing profusely to my Lady and casting a dubious glance in my direction. I think perhaps my constant, silent presence the whole evening has quite unnerved her; a thought which makes me stifle a laugh.
It is as black as the void outside, and the long and winding road from Bloomhurst Manor down into the village is a dreadful thing to traverse at night. (I wonder— were she to hire a carriage— would she make it all the way home?)
My mistress kisses Lisette’s soft cheek once more, bidding her a safe carriage ride home, and I wait beside the door, a dark and silent presence. Lady Athena offers to escort Lisette to the door, and the innocent thing agrees with a beautiful blush— because of course, she cannot be expected to know that we have no intention of actually letting her leave.
“Good night, dearest Lisette,” Lady Athena hums as they near the door, eyes warm and limpid, inky-black as the night sky. She leans in close, and I do believe the girl actually thinks that my Lady is about to kiss her. (Naïve little thing. They always are.)
Lisette scarcely notices the glitter of bone-white fangs before she is pinned suddenly, hopelessly against the very door that could have so easily been her escape. She cries out, blue eyes wide with sudden terror, but only her own voice echoes back to her, hollow and fractured in the open space. I am on one side, my mistress on the other, and Lady Athena tangles her hands in her blonde curls and locks her lips to her neck. Lisette screams— a terrible, rending sound— as my mistress drinks deeply of the ruddy essence that sustains her immortal life. The poor girl is still gasping and struggling, only now she is hyperventilating in agony, slowly realizing that there can be no escape for her now.
I am holding her down. It is almost amusing how Lisette still claws and fights, like an animal caught in a trap, when mere moments before she was as docile as a fawn. (Just as well, though. Their struggle always makes the victory all the more enticing.)
“How does she taste?” I ask, smiling.
“Like honey and sunlight,” Lady Athena affirms, pulling away. I am the only thing keeping the girl upright, as weak as she is from the blood loss. She is bleeding out slowly, too slowly perhaps, and there is a single moment when her cloudy blue eyes meet my dark ones, brimming with tears of horror and pain. I glance at my Lady for permission, and she nods only once before I pull a small dagger from my belt, ending the girl’s misery with a clean slice across her pale throat. Lisette Monique falls to the ground in a pool of blood, limp and silent.
I step nimbly over the body, and my mistress holds her arms out to me, eyes full of warmth and love. “You did so well, my Ciara,” she hums, a smile curving her lips as she pulls me close. If she had a heartbeat, I am certain I would hear it now, with my ear pressed to her breast, against her icy skin. “And now… where will you bestow our lovely guest?” she asks, cupping her hand under my chin.
“Down in the vaults, with the others, my Lady. She will make a splendid addition, I think.”
Lady Athena’s bosom quivers with a little laugh, but her lips are as cold as ice against mine as she kisses me, deeper than a mortal woman ever could. “Oh, my darling, this is why you will always be my favorite.”