Chapter 7: First Blood

Charlotte's tour of the castle ended when they stopped outside a door in one of the long, lavishly decorated corridors. Only after they made their stop, did Lord Hunt turn to look in her direction again for the first time since his warning. The brief flash of anger she had seen in his gaze had faded back into his usual mild mannered appearance. A wine tinted gaze considered her thoughtfully before a soft smile graced a pair of perfectly curved lips.

"This will be your chambers, if you wish to stay. As I mentioned at the start, you are not obligated to stay on the castle grounds. But you will be expected to be on time every afternoon for your assignments," Lord Hunt explained calmly.

She didn't get to respond because shortly after his brief explanation, Lord Hunt opened the door to the room he had indicated and led her inside. The room itself was more beautiful than she could have anticipated. She had heard that vampires would treat their servants in some cases like they were nobles or treasures. But she had never seen the type of luxury it implied with her own eyes. It was no wonder such a lifestyle seemed ideal for many. Who would want to turn down an offer for luxury for a little bit of blood?

A large canopy bed took center stage the moment they entered the room. It was made up with a plush, deep crimson duvet with black and white accents. The sheer curtains that hung from the dark bed posts were an opaque shade of black. The room was fitted with a matching wardrobe and vanity, each already prepped for use. In the back of the room, a pair of glass double doors led out onto a balcony.

Charlotte had done a great deal of traveling in recent years and she had stayed in a variety of interesting and wonderful places. But none of those compared to how grand this single guest bedroom was. It was even more jaw dropping to think that Lord Hunt was offering it to her essentially at no cost. The only thing she had to do for him in return was complete a daily chore and occasionally offer her blood up to him.

Not that any amount of luxury would be enough to sell her on the whole idea of becoming a servant in the first place. This still was not a choice she would have made for herself if she wasn't so determined to learn more about the vampire standing next to her. Charlotte didn't plan to make a habit out of being a vampire servant either. As soon as she got the information she needed, she had the mind to leave. But there was no shame in reaping the benefits that were placed in front of her while she was doing it, right?

"I think I will stay here, if you don't mind," Charlotte said. After having a look around the room, she finally turned to face him, satisfied with her own reasoning behind accepting his offer.

Lord Hunt stood by the door, his hands folded in front of him. He hadn't said a word nor moved since leading her into the room. Upon her acceptance though, his smile returned and he nodded in acknowledgement to her decision. He seemed pleased with her choice, she thought. Which was a curious thought, considering how private and isolated Lord Hunt kept himself. It only made her more curious about him.

Once their tour was finished, Lord Hunt excused himself and left her alone to her own devices. Not without reminding her once more, that she was free to roam the castle grounds except for the three forbidden places no one was allowed. His personal chambers, his study and the gardens were off limits to anyone and everyone. While she was curious about why, Charlotte didn't plan to go snooping around just yet. She wanted to at least try to make some traction with Lord Hunt first.

The first thing she needed to do was retrieve her things from the little inn she had been staying at in town. When she arrived at the inn, Charlotte informed the woman at the front desk that she won't be needing a monthly stay after all. The woman was a little surprised to hear her news and even offered a little bit of a refund, but Charlotte declined. She wasn't terribly worried about the money now that she essentially had a place to stay without a monetary fee.

After she collected her things and made her way back up the cobblestone road to the castle, Charlotte decided to retire to her room for the rest of the day. There was a lot she had to think about going forward. A plan of action needed to be set into place, so she didn't get too star-struck by all the luxury that she was now surrounded with. Lord Hunt seemed like a gracious lord and he was polite and well mannered. But, she reminded herself, he was still a vampire.

When noon rolled around the next afternoon, the servants were all called into the entrance hall. Unlike every other time she had seen them either all dressed up, with the exception being of her meeting with Shayla, they were all dressed in a business casual manner. Charlotte wouldn't say that they had been asked to wear a uniform per say, but they each had on the same colors of red, black and white. It seemed that this was Lord Hunt's favorite color scheme.

"Good afternoon everyone," Lord Hunt greeted them all with that soft smile of his just after he came down the steps. "I hope your morning has gone well."

There was a murmur among the servants to his comment, but nobody really spoke up about their day. Noon was the regular meeting time in the castle. Naturally, Lord Hunt was not an early riser and for most the afternoon after this meeting, he would be scarce. It was only necessary he showed up for the start of his day, in order to give his servants plenty of time to complete their daily tasks.

"Shayla, I'll have you in the kitchen tonight. You'll be in charge of dinner for everyone." Lord Hunt addressed the familiar servant with a nod before moving on. His eyes fell on her next, "Charlotte… today you will be free to do as you please, but I must request you meet me in your chambers by ten o'clock tonight."

"What?" Charlotte vocalized without meaning to. She was taken off guard by his request and even more confused when none of the other servants seemed bothered.

Lord Hunt just kept his eyes on her and responded, "Yes, tonight I will require your blood."

"It's my first night here," Charlotte responded. She was completely bewildered. While she knew that he chose a different servant each night, she thought that it wouldn't be her turn until the end of the cycle through the other servants. Not that she knew where they even were in that cycle, she still felt like she should have had more time to prepare.

The Vampire Lord was calm despite her reaction and his smile never wavered. "Yes, I am aware. That won't be a problem, will it?"

That question was all it took for her to understand what he was up to. The reason he had agreed to take her in so quickly wasn't necessarily because he might be curious about her. This was a challenge of sorts. Lord Hunt knew what she was after and the reason she had shown up there after their brief meeting at the ball. So, he had purposely chosen her to draw first blood, if anything to see if she could withstand working for him in order to get what she was looking for. He was pressing her buttons to see how far she would really go.

Determined not to allow this to shake her resolve, she quickly sobered up. Her expression shifted from perplexed to returning the soft smile that he was gracing her with. If this was how he intended to be, then she was going to show him what she would do in order to learn more about him. One way or another, Charlotte wasn't leaving this castle until she heard Lord Hunt's story and found out more about Willow Creek.

"Not at all. I'll look forward to seeing you tonight, My Lord," Charlotte replied in a pleasant tone of her own.