Chapter 3 : The Forbidden Hallway

Beams of sunlight broke through the curtain of the window, causing me to blink my eyes awake. My room was the only one with rather loose curtains, as vampires couldn't handle the sun. They didn't burst into flame or anything like that, but that may as well happen.

The burn process happened so quickly, within ten minutes to third-degree, that exposure to even just a small amount could be painful and incredibly dangerous to them. My mind ran through a few bits of information I knew about their species and the misconceptions about humanity. I'd think more deeply about them as I explored, though.

After all, today was when I'd get to know the mansion a bit more so that I could prepare for the search for my sister. I had no idea whether she was here or not, but it was the most logical place for her to be after vanishing. Given she certainly did not run off, she had to be here. Body or not.

I shuddered at the thought of finding her decomposing corpse somewhere. Quickly waving that thought out of my mind, I headed to the bathroom.

My eyes swept over the gleaming tiles the color of onyx. The bath was the size of a hot tub, and as I approached, I saw jets in there. There were top-brand toiletries in here, with shampoos and soaps that had powerful, floral scents.

I reached my hand out, feeling one of the fluffy black towels and smiling. As soft as the blankets I slept in last night, what a treat! There was a regular shower in here as well, but with jets that also sprayed from the side.

I entered the shower, feeling heat billowing off of me in waves. I should have taken one last night, but I was so exhausted I didn't do anything but splash cold water on my face, having not taken the time to explore the bathroom at that time.

Now, I turned on the cold water, glad to cool off a bit better than before I went to sleep. Thankfully, the controls were easy to use, just the turn of a dial.

The cool water sprayed against my skin, causing shivers to cascade down my spine. Normally this would be the opposite of fun, but given I was so hot, I welcomed it. My body was going to have to adapt to some interesting temperature changes on a regular basis, but that was the price for avoiding anemia.

I scrubbed the expensive soap all over my body, blushing as I wondered if that would make me more appealing to the vampires here.

Wait, no! Those thoughts were a distraction, I needed to stick to my mission.

I got out of the shower and approached the mirror, toweling off as best I could. My clothes were folded on the counter, but I'd put them on after I dried my hair. Turning on the blow dryer, I ran a brush through my silken blonde hair, watching myself in the mirror.

My deep green eyes were tired, no doubt, given the thought of exploring this place had kept me up a bit. The bags under my eyes were nothing a little bit of makeup couldn't cure.

My ivory skin had been incredibly pale last night, but it was back to the normal amount of life since the medicine was at work. I would not be getting as much sunlight here, not that I did on the regular anyway. Tanning and similar weren't my forte anyway, I'd rather slather on sunscreen to protect my skin.

Shame vampires couldn't do the same, there wasn't an SPF high enough for them.

Finishing up my make-up, gothic to match the vampires (and, well, it was my style anyway), I put on my black clothing, which consisted of a black solid blouse with lace sleeves. I had fancy dark pants as well which felt as smooth as silk.

These clothes were high quality and given to me by the vampires. At the end of all this, I would be able to keep them. That was if I wasn't killed prior to my 'year of luxury here', however. I winced, now shoving that thought aside too.

All set, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. The staircase was spiraling, covered in crimson carpeting that I couldn't help suspect aided in hiding any blood stains. I couldn't confirm that much, though, and quickly moved on, trying to get those eerie thoughts out of my mind.

I passed by more paintings, these ones of actual people, and stopped to observe them. Perhaps they were for show, but there was a detailed one of Elizabeth Bathory on one side, and Vlad the Impaler on the other. Famous vampires. Real vampires, as it turned out.

I found myself wondering if there were ancient vampires still alive, maybe even those two. Were their stories different from what history said, for better or for worse? Given just how dangerous vampires were, I suspected worse.

This species had defied science. No, not because of undeath. It was a common misconception that vampires were not alive, but they very much were. They were complex, something I'd never seen in my studies prior to them coming out of the shadows.

But their lifespans were much longer than any other animal on the planet. Somehow, they defeated DNA degradation. Perhaps it had something to do with the gene that made them vampires in the first place.

I shook my head, baffled as a lover of biology on all of this. The existence of magic also threw a wrench in much of what we knew about science in general.

Shoving those thoughts aside for now, however, I entered the long hallway that led to several rooms. Those would be something I returned to snoop on later. I gulped, feeling anxiety spike within me at the thought of being caught in my endeavors. It was as if I was walking on thin ice with a shark swimming directly beneath me, waiting for me to break through.

For now, I arrived at the kitchen and was served a heaping plate of bacon and eggs.

Freshly squeezed orange juice was placed next to my plate, something I reached for and took several sips of. Oh, that was good. The sugar and nutrients were good for me because my body was working hard to restore my energy.

Speaking of which, I noticed the abundance of food on my plate. That made sense; the medicine took far more energy than was typical of a human. Thank goodness I took a cold shower following the medicine because my metabolism working that hard and overheating me would be detrimental to my health.

I finished breakfast and watched a vampire take my plate away. I smiled softly at the vampire helping me out. Being treated like royalty here was incredibly unusual, but what the year promised. I could see why it was so tempting to people, even if I myself wasn't here for that reason. I couldn't let myself have fun, lest I get incredibly distracted.

I stood up and walked away from the kitchen. My goal, all day today, was to explore the nicks and crannies of this place. A hidden library with corpses in it, perhaps. Too cliche? Trying to keep humor in the situation wasn't working so well, so I just remained focused.

I'd need to avoid the vampires that wanted to take me again, because as fun as sex was here, it'd be a distraction from my mission today. The sooner I could find out what happened to my sister, the sooner I'd be able to leave.

The first room I entered was, well, the library. There was nothing suspicious about it, just a maze of books and several desks with computers sitting on them.

I walked up to a lounge area with fancy leather couches that had top-quality cotton blankets upon the back cushions. There was a glass table sitting in the center of the setup, with a candelabra set up as well. Though, there weren't real candles on it; I noted little flame-shaped bulbs there, probably to allow for the light to brighten for reading more than it would while still maintaining that flame-like ambiance.

The scent of old paper and leather-bound books comforted me, and I was tempted to take a seat, grab a book, and let myself relax. No time, obviously, and so I moved on.

I turned away from the library and made my way down the hall again, deeper and deeper into the mansion. Something I began to notice was rooms that warned visitors away. What could that mean? Some sections of the mansion, as a matter of fact, had signs pinned up warning visitors from entering the hallway.

Those were the spots I'd want to explore the most. I stared down one of them, noting how it was incredibly long and led to a turn at the end. I hoped I'd be able to find this spot again because it seemed very important.

Snooping may be rude, but Lucy's life was on the line.

Thankfully, no vampires pulled me in for pleasure right now. Some were active during the day, meaning I was prone to being snatched up while wandering, but many were asleep. The fact that they were most active at night was why they told me not to wander.

The rules were strict; I could be taken out of my room and indulged upon then, but could not be off on my own walking around.

Problem was, I was more likely to gain access to the restricted rooms if they were currently used and important by following active vampires. Meaning I'd need to break that rule in order to properly explore. Not only that, but I'd need to follow a vampire who could detect me at any time.

Thankfully, I had an alchemical tonic that would hide my scent and mask my heartbeat. That was a limited resource, so I would need to make these attempts count.

Making a mental note to return here at night, hopefully following a suspicious vampire, I turned away and headed back to the library. Nothing I could do until I'd be able to identify important rooms, after all. I sat down in one of the comfy chairs and sank into it. What should I pick up and read?

I furrowed my bow and stood up, exploring the books until finding a section on long explanations of magic. Maybe learning basic spells would help me here. I made notes of important ones on my phone, resolving to keep this book for future reference as well. While I lacked magic skills right now, at least I knew how to use certain weapons.

Hopefully, that wouldn't come up at all. Granted, I had no access to said weapons, but maybe some weasel work with my words would work if it came down to it.