Copyright
© Imogene Nix, 2013
All
Rights Reserved, Total-E-Ntwined Limited, T/A Total-E-Bound.
Hope
hauled the last heavy box up the stairs of the manor house,
occasionally catching glimpses of the way her
midnight
black hair shone in the
sunlight, when she passed the window in the living room of her
apartment. "Thank heavens this is the last one," she
muttered to herself, sliding the box down to rest on the floor,
before straightening and rubbing the nagging ache in her back. She
could have had help, all she needed to do was ask, but now that she
was an adult she needed to stand on her own two feet, she reminded
herself.
Straightening
up, she looked around at the mass of boxes waiting for her to delve
into. "Well, gone away and back again. Where do I start first?"
The
phone trilled and she started for an instant, before extending her
hand to the receiver on the shelf beside her. "Hope."
"Miss
Hope, do you require any help? Lisi is wondering if you require her
assistance." The muffled voice of one of her guardians flowed
out of the earpiece. She had forgotten that living at the manor meant
the goldfish bowl lifestyle she had tried her best to escape at
college. Not that she’d had much opportunity to live a free
lifestyle. She’d been lodged with a guardian family within the
college grounds. Even then, her personal team of five guards had
shadowed her every move—to classes, shopping and even to the
hairdresser’s.
They
hadn’t escaped her notice, the looks some of her classmates had
thrown her way. Longing for the lifestyle they’d thought she
enjoyed. Little did they know, Hope would happily have swapped, a lot
of the time. Downtime had existed within a carefully vetted group of
companions, each from houses of similar status. The cloying
atmosphere she hated, but, nonetheless, she had submitted to her
parents’ will. Only a few times had she sought to do activities
that they would have deemed inappropriate, but her conscience had
always kicked in, and she had derived no enjoyment from the guilty
feelings that had overcome her.
"No
thanks, Jeffrey. I have all the boxes up here and I am going to take
my time going through everything." How could she explain that
she needed a freedom that had been denied? That this small and almost
insignificant rebellion was one she embraced? But she couldn’t. It
wasn’t fair to Jeffrey to share that.
"Fine,
Miss Hope. Oh, and I am supposed to remind you, the new Master has
requested your presence in his library after sundown."
She
nodded, knowing it was expected that she would take her oath of
fealty. "Oh. Right. I’ll be down for sunset." She laid
down the receiver. It’s one thing to owe your continued safety to a
vampire nest Master, but quite another to be at his beck and call all
the time, just as her parents had been. Her temper spiked
momentarily. The emotion coiled through her then she shuddered,
pushing away the negative thought, while absently reaching for the
boxes she needed to stack, store or unpack. The rough exterior of
some of them brushed against her hands. For now, she had time. Lots
of time.
Ripping
the tape off the first box, she then started to root through it,
unwrapping reminders of her slightly more free college life,
formulating arguments to put to her parents, knowing that the dice
were stacked against her. Her life had been mapped out since her
birth, but perhaps she could find a way around some of the
roadblocks. At least she hoped so. With that thought, she set to
work.
*
* * *
He
stretched in the bed, feeling the cool sheets around his body,
savouring the experience of knowing he could rise when he wanted to.
Luxuriating as he came to full awareness of his surroundings. His
bed. His home. His nest. A feeling of exultation swept through him.
One he had experienced several times in the last six months since he
had become Master.
Xavier
had only recently been transferred to this nest, after Cyrus had been
called to ascend to a seat on the Council with his predecessor
Cressida, the most senior of the vampires on the Council.
A
new Master had been required for the nest, a situation arising from
the ascension of Cressida who had saved the child Hope from the
rogues. The death of another of the Council meant that Cyrus had
answered a call to accept a seat. It was an almost unheard of event
for a nest to have two new Masters in under a hundred years, but
Xavier had accepted his unexpected promotion. Not that he would take
it for granted—no, he worked beside his vampires as required, so
they knew he would ensure their safety while they ensured his.
The
household he had taken over was well run, and he had no fears for the
financial status, even though they had lost the manor and many assets
during the dark days of clearing the rogues who had attacked the
house. Indeed, he had been with Cyrus the night he had ascended and
had seen the great strides Cyrus had made during his Mastership.
He
swiped a hand over his stubbled face and a voice to his left said
quietly, "Master, refreshments for you." A crystal goblet
appeared in a white hand at the edge of his vision. He accepted it
with a grunt, the ruby red liquid inside calling to him on a primal
level. Blood wine. Sustenance that would ease the clawing hunger he
always felt on awakening.
His
teeth extended and his mouth opened. The first drop touched his
tongue and a frisson moved through him, the ecstasy of drinking
flowing into his body. He took his time, savouring the flavours.
Young.
Full
bodied.
Tart
aftertaste. The wine, the only human sustenance he could now enjoy.
Food was relegated to a memory of things long past.
He
closed his eyes as the last drop flowed, and breathed deep. Yes, a
Master could very quickly become accustomed to this lifestyle, but
not now and not today. He needed to meet this Hope, the one who had
turned their entire world upside down. James had told him little
about his daughter, save that she would need to remain within the
house, protected from the world. That someday she would assume the
mantle of leading the house from within, while her brother oversaw
the legal and financial affairs of the nest.
He
pushed the bed covers away, unconcerned about nudity as he padded to
the bathroom. He might be a vampire, but he still bathed and shaved,
a thought that made him chuckle. Even after all these years, when
vampires had made their entry into the human world, humans outside
nests thought vampires had no need for those daily rituals.
He
moved through his ablutions. She would be waiting for him, but he
would present himself to her in his most urbane incarnation. She
would take her oath of fealty, then he would meet with his advisers,
James and David leading the human contingent.
