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Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

The moment the palace came into view, I was ashamed of myself for not being able to look away from it. I had never seen anything like it before. It was beautiful. It looked like an old country mansion. It was placed high up on a hill, overlooking the busy town. The walls were stone, with white marble pillars, leading to the entrance.

The prince led me through large, double, french doors painted a deep red colour. There were paintings everywhere adorning the walls, especially paintings of flowers. None I could name, but nevertheless they were still painted beautifully. What looked like family portraits, were painted in oil and hung up on the walls in gold frames. Were they perhaps the ancestors of the prince? I wanted to know but didn't want to engage in conversation with the enemy.

I glanced up at the roof and saw more beautiful artwork. Never in my life had I been dumbstruck looking at paintings before. But there was always a first time for everything.

When I took the first step inside, the palace echoed. Beneath me, the floors were marble, with each tile decorated differently than the others. The air smelled like fresh flowers. There was a double staircase, one on the left and one on the right with an enormous fountain in the middle. The railings were exquisitely engraved with flowers and vines, and were also mahogany, tidily carved and polished.

Inside, there were no doors, only arches.

I ignored the stares and whispers as I followed the prince deeper into the palace. I wondered to myself where he was going, when he opened another double door leading into a drawing room with six male servants, tidying in complete silence. Each one wore black house jackets, all neat and clean shaven, all with brushes, dusters and feather brooms. They were all preferably the same, small size and almost looked the same. Once they acknowledged the prince, they bowed and continued on with their chores. Neither of them paid any attention to me. And why would they? I was just like them, a servant.

"You always knew how to make an entrance."

I swung my head over to the entry to see a woman swaying her hips slowly towards me and the prince. My eyes widened in recognition as I recalled seeing this woman at the auction. She was the woman who claimed Noah. She was dressed elegantly, her raven black hair styled in a chignon, bringing out her stunning features. I could not move as I stared in fascination at this alluring creature before me.

If she was here alone, then where was Noah? Was he alright? I prayed that he was unharmed and well, but I couldn't help the panic creeping in when I thought of the horrible things she might've done to Noah already. He could be lying in a ditch right now and nobody would know. Or even care.

God bless his soul.

"Lilith, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" The prince asked dryly, without acknowledging her.

"Do not sound so bitter about my sudden appearance, Alexander. I wanted to see you. It's been a week since you last visited. I was starting to think you had forgotten me." She said in a sultry tone.

"What do you want, Lilith?" The prince sighed and turned to face her. "I can see the wonder in your eyes. Spit it out."

She ignored his rudeness and grinned. "I couldn't help but overhear that you attended the auction this morning. I was merely curious to know the reason why. It's unlike you to have a blood servant."

The prince arched a brow. "I answer to you, do I?"

The woman ignored him, glared in my direction and cleared her throat. Immediately, a young girl servant appeared and bowed before her. "Take this thing away and get her cleaned up. A dirty thing should not be brought into the palace looking like that."

I looked down at my appearance, and for the first time ever, felt the shame and guilt of my imperfect way of living. The disgusted look on her face made me want to hide in embarrassment.

"Yes, ma'am." Said the servant.

"Alexander, let us talk. Alone." The woman shouldered past me and headed into the drawing room, the prince following leisurely behind her, without even sparing me a glance. I couldn't help but glare at their retreating forms disappearing from view.

"Miss?" The girl servant next to me smiled shyly and motioned for me to follow. "Come. This way."

I followed the servant up the staircase, where I noticed a huge, shiny chandelier hanging from the ceiling above. I couldn't help myself but gape at it as I continued up the stairs, rushing to catch up with the girl.

While walking along the corridors, I refused to look anywhere but in front of me, I was afraid that if I kept looking at the decor, I'd fall even more in love with this place.

Once, when I was young, I had always dreamt of being a princess who lived in a big, pink castle. Wore beautiful, dear dresses, attended many balls and fell in love with a prince, but now that I was somewhat in a castle with a prince, I was glad that the dream of me wanting to be a princess was just that. A dream. Because the reality of it was a nightmare.

I followed the servant into a large, lavish room and it took my breath away. The king sized bed, although big, did not even fill half of the room. I looked up to see the ceiling decorated in a complicated moulded design of roses, garlands and lozenges. All of the walls and the floor had a beautiful floral design. The armchairs were covered in chintz. Expensive looking artwork adorned the walls. Potted plants were placed in every corner. A big, stone fireplace faced the bed, with two pictures placed on either side of it. There was a gargantuan window that overlooked the gardens where you could smell the flowers bloom. I let out a soft cry.

I hated it. Hated all of it.

"This is your room, miss."

My what?

"My room?" I asked, my voice still trembling.

The girl nodded. "Yes, the prince wishes to keep you close to his quarters."

I frowned. "For what reason?"

"Well, aren't you a... blood servant?" She asked, hesitantly.

I recoiled from the word. "I am not overly fond of that term."

The girl shrunk back. "But it is what you are, miss. A blood slave."

"Slave?" I blinked at her in surprise. "Is that what they are calling me?"

The girl avoided eye contact and slowly nodded. "Considering a vampire purchased you, you are now a slave, miss."

I crossed my arms over my chest and swallowed hard. "Now, I truly feel dirty."

She bowed. "I am sorry if I have offended you, miss."

I lowered my head and scoffed. "Don't be. It is not your fault."

"Would it make you feel better if I called you by your name from now on, miss?"

"Please." I looked over at her and smiled. "It is Jane. And please, do not bow. I am not royalty."

The girl smiled and rushed over to a door, placed adjacent to the bed.

"Where will the prince be resting?" I asked as I ran my hands over the pine furniture.

She came out of the room with fresh towels and clean clothes. "His highness' room is just down the hall from yours."

"Lovely." I said, my voice filled with sarcasm.

The girl chuckled and handed me the towels and clothes. "You probably wish to freshen up before seeing the prince again, so I have run you a hot bath. Take all the time you need and when you are done, wait here until my return."

"Thank you." I said.

She smiled sweetly and made her way to the door.

"Wait."

She stopped and turned around. "Before you ask, no. I am not a vampire."

I was taken aback by her words. "That's not what I was going to ask you."

She raised her brows. "No?"

I shook my head. "But since we're on the topic, what are you really?"

"I am a human, such as yourself."

My eyes widened and lowered my voice. "You are? But why have you chosen to serve the enemy?"

She shrugged. "Because I have no family. They died during the rebellion."

My heart restricted at her words. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

She smiled warmly. "Last year at the auction, I was chosen by the prince's family, and they took me in as their maid."

"How kind of them to take you in like that."

She nodded in agreement. "They have been very kind to me."

I ran my hands over the cotton towels. "What is your name?"

"Isabella." She answered.

"Thank you, Isabella. For everything."

"You're welcome. Enjoy your bath." She turned and quietly left my room.

Once the door was closed, I had not noticed the tears running down my cheeks. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of the vampires. I refused to break in front of them, but keeping up a strong facade could only last so long. It angered me that I was crying. I knew all of this would happen one day, but I wished I had prepared myself more because this wasn't what I imagined would happen to me. I should be grateful to the prince for saving me from that ugly creature because I probably would have been dead by now, but he didn't save me. Not really. I was still trapped and still a blood servant.

I hastily wiped the tears away and headed to the bathroom, quickly undressing to prepare myself for a much long needed soak in the big, hot tub.

I must've have been in the tub for at least an hour. I could not recall the last time I had a warm bath, or even a bath for that matter. After lying in the tub for a long while, I scrubbed my body from head to toe. I had scrubbed so hard that my skin was red raw. Afterwards, I dressed in a plain, white dress that fell just above the knees, towel dried and brushed my hair, then sat on the end bed, waiting patiently for Isabella to return.

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I did not know how long I waited for Isabella's return, but I waited on that bed for a while.

Where had she gone? Has she forgotten about me?

My knees wouldn't stop bouncing in anxiousness. I'd lost count of how many times I'd walked around the room and I'd chewed off most of my nails, waiting in anticipation for Isabella to return. I wasn't the patient type, never had been.

After another five minutes, I shoved myself off the bed and walked towards the door, looked up and down the long corridor and quietly tiptoed down the stairs. I did my best to remember my way down, and when I'd reached the ground floor, I knew I'd gone the right way. The vampires could probably hear me due to their heightened senses, and they were probably laughing at me but I couldn't care less. They were vile and cruel creatures who should be buried into the ground. Each and every one of them.

I looked at the open double doors leading into the palace and think to myself whether or not to escape. It was quiet and there was nobody around.

Maybe I should escape..?

Just as I made my way over to the open doors, preparing to make my escape, raised voices coming from one of the rooms halted my movements. I tried to remember which room the prince and the woman disappeared into.

With a concentrated look on my face, I slowly and quietly made my way towards the door the voices were coming from. When I reached the correct door, I pressed my ear against it and immediately heard their voices inside.

"Have you heard any word from him?" Lilith asked.

"If you're asking about who I think you are then no, I haven't." The prince replied, his voice filled with boredom.

Who were they talking about?

I did not know of whom they spoke of, but I was curious to know. So, I continued on eavesdropping.

She sighed. "Where is he? Not hearing from him has me worried."

Her voice was filled with worry. Who was this person to her? A friend? Brother? Lover? Who knew? But she seemed to care deeply for him.

"He's a big boy, Lilith. He's either fled the country or worse drowned his sorrows in wine and women."

Lilith clicked her tongue. "Alexander…"

"What? He's a pain in my backside. I do not know why we befriended him in the first place."

Lilith chuckled. "You two are like brothers and besides, you're both as bad as each other."

The prince scoffed. "Brothers? Not once have I ever considered him a brother."

Sounded to me that the prince wasn't very fond of this person, but why?

"We grew up together, Alexander…"

He cut her off. "And? That does not make me like him nonetheless."

I heard Lilith scoff. "Well, he won't be overly fond of you either once he hears that you have a blood servant. You know how Phoenix feels about humans."

Phoenix? That must be his name. It was beautiful.

"And you're going to tell him, are you?" The prince asked.

"No matter where he is, he has probably found out by now. You know how fast words spread in this particular area."

No doubt the whole town had heard about the auction and the prince's appearance.

"What I do in my own time shouldn't be anyone's business. Including yours or Phoenix's."

She gasped. "But why! Why have you brought a human into the palace?"

"Lil…"

"Are you alone? Is that it?" She asked.

"Stop." The prince ordered.

"Is my company not enough for you?"

"Lilith!" The prince yelled, his deep, baritone voice causing me to jump.

There was silence for a few seconds, then the sound of something like a window being shoved open. Or maybe I was imagining things. Maybe the vampires wanted some air but shoved the window a little too hard.

"When will you two ever stop arguing and actually get on with one another? Or maybe this is foreplay for you two."

My heart stopped.

I frowned as I hear a third voice in the room. It was a male's voice and it was soothing and sultry. His tone of voice embraced the air like the evening perfume of night flowers. It was beautiful and serene. I wanted to hear him speak more.

"I've told you more than once to stop doing that." The prince spat. "I have lost count of how many times I've had those windows repaired."

"I wanted to surprise you both!" The male gleed cheerfully. "Surprise!"

The prince growled. "Well, the next time you choose to surprise us, use the doors and not my windows."

He chuckled. "And miss that look on your face? I don't think so, Dracula."

"I've also told you to stop calling me that. I don't like it." The prince's voice rises.

There's a smirk in the third male's voice. "And yet I never listen to you, and never will."

A chuckle was followed by what sounded a lot like someone getting shoved out of the way.

Lilith gasped. "Out of the way! Where have you been!? You made me worried sick."

"I took a little vacation to catch some sun and to have a little time on my own, but then I missed my two closest friends and decided to come back." The male's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"You should have stayed where you were." The prince murmured. "Nobody missed you here."

"He doesn't mean that." Lilith reassured the stranger.

"Yes, he does. The look on his face says enough."

"Well, I'm glad that you're back and well." There was a smile in the woman's voice.

"It wasn't like I had a choice. I would have stayed there longer but my courtesans were well and truly exhausted after I overused them."

Ugh.

Lilith made a sound of disgust. "You and your whoring ways. I know that we are close, but some things are meant to be kept private."

"I thought you wanted to know where I had been?"

The woman tutted. "Yes, where you've been, not what you've been doing!"

The prince sighed. "Look, this really isn't a good time. You'll have to come back later."

"Why? Are we keeping you from something?" The man called Phoenix asked. "Or rather...someone?"

"He has a blood servant, and she's been listening this whole time." The woman spat.

A long pause.

Suddenly, the double doors burst open with such force that I get thrown back a few metres behind me, and land on my back. I lifted up my head to see the prince lounging on the sofa, one leg planted on the floor. Lilith was standing next to the huge fireplace, her arms crossed at her waist with a smirk on her face.

My jaw drops when my eyes fall on the other male. He was at least seven feet tall, slender and lithe. I could not see his face because I was too far away, but I could imagine that he was also very beautiful.

"Is that what I think it is?" The male points in my direction.

Why was he pointing at me? What had I done?

"I told you now wasn't a good time." The prince murmured.

"I do not care! What the hell is that thing doing in here?" The male uttered in disgust.

"Phoenix…"

He snarled. "Kill it."

And that was when I made the biggest mistake of my life.

"This thing you speak of has a name!" I spluttered.

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