The Lord and Lady

Deaken and I have been training off and on for a week now and I still haven’t managed to take him down. I have gotten a hit in here and there but not enough to cause any major damage. He’s a powerhouse of muscle far different from lord Syndril, actually they couldn’t be any more different from each other. Despite my best efforts I can no longer deny my feelings for Deaken. He is soft and caring under all that hard exterior. He is the only friend I can say I have within these walls. Just when I thought I was getting somewhere with the lord he ran away. Ever since that night in my room we haven’t spoken to each other. Now I get a glass of blood before bed. Every now and then I think he is watching me from the shadows, but I can never seem to catch him, the only thing that gives him away is his lingering sent.

I don’t know what happened between us, I keep playing it over in my head, but I never come up with an answer. I wish I had someone I could talk to about this stuff. It makes me miss Gorgia even more. I wish she was here now; she would know what to do. I climbed out of bed in no mood to mope about today. Deaken will be here soon for our training session away.

I get out of the shower just in time to hear the knock on my door. I wrapped my dark hair up in the extra towel and tightened the other towel around myself. “Come in,” I shouted to the door. Expect the person that came through the door was not who I was expecting.

“We need to stop meeting like the lady Caroline,” his thick accent was like music to my ears. I didn’t realize how much I had missed him until now.

I chocked back a few tears, “Damon?”

He pulled out a golden pocket watch, “yes last time I checked that was my name.” he snapped it shut. “It is the first time I have heard you use it though.” He said followed by a shit eating grin.

He must be in a good mood, “what can I do for you today my lord.”

May popped up next to the lord holding a small velvet box. “I thought today we could do some training together today.” He took the box from May and inclined his head in a dismissive manner. “Deaken can teach you hand-to-hand combat, but I am the only one that can show you how to use your vampire abilities.”

I wrinkled my nose in confusion. “Do other vampires not live here?”

“Of course they do,” He gave me a sour frown. “They just can’t do what we can do.”

“I don’t understand my lord,” I have read all the books he left me, and none have talked about special abilities.

He nodded his head as if that was the answer he was expecting. “That would be because I don’t know what you can do yet. The last thing I needed was for you to try and use an ability on your own.” He pointed to my towel, “Yous should go get dressed. I don’t want others to see you like that.”

I turned to my closet, “I don’t hear you complaining about it.” I popped my head out of the closet once I have a bar and undies on. “Damon?”

“Yes Caroline,” He licked his bottom lip. “What can I do for you?”

I haven’t had a chance to ask him about my room. “Why are all of my things here?”

He looked at me like I just asked him a stupid question. “Your mother sent over everything before the binding ceremony. She said you packed it all yourself.”

That bitch, she never intended for me to return home. “She’s not my real mother you know.”

His eyebrows shot up at that, “She’s not?”

I shook my head, “No... What do I need to wear for this training?”

“Something comfortable, you are going to want to be able to move freely.” He said before he asked, “Why is she the head of house? Where is your father, the last we spoke was one your sister's birth.”

That took me by surprise, I had no idea they knew each other. I would have been a few years old at the time. I slipped on a loose shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, and some old sneakers. Once I was back in the bedroom I told him the truth, “He is dead.”

“I am so sorry; I had no idea he had passed away.” He grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze. “I know what it is like to lose a loved one, it never gets any easier. How long has he been gone?”

This is not something I wish to talk about right now, but if it means he is going to give me free information then I shouldn’t shut it down either. “He passed away right after Gorgia’s accident.” Thinking about him takes me back to that day on the lake. The flashback hit me like a punch in the gut, a visceral reminder of the day that changed everything. I see my little sister Gorgia’s lifeless body being pulled out of the lake, her once vibrant eyes now closed forever. The image is so vivid, so painfully etched into my memory, that I can feel my chest growing tight as if I’m being dragged down into the depths with her. I sink deeper into the memory, each detail surfacing with agonizing clarity. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the sound of water lapping against the shore. My throat feels raw just like it did that day, the taste of panic and despair lingering on my tongue as I screamed and cried for help. People rushed over, their faces blurred by my tears, but it was too late. Gorgia was gone, taken by the still, silent lake that had always seemed so harmless.

“Gorgia was your sister?” He said pulling me back to the present with him.

“Yes, she was.” I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts, “she drowned in my family's lake. Not long after that my father also died in a car accident.”

I choked back a sob as he wiped tears from my face, “I am sorry for your loss. You must have been very young at the time.”

I nodded my head, “I was ten. It had been sixteen years. I am sorry for crying.” I sobbed into his arms. “I am not normally this emotional. I think this vampire thing is starting to get to me.”

“Shh...” He soothed me. “It’s okay take all the time you need.” He brushed my hair from my face. “We can leave when you are ready.”