Chapter 7

"Get up!" she ordered," we have things to do and little time!"

She looked me up and down before rushing me out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom,"In!"

I obeyed and entered the bathroom wondering what she meant by things to do and little time. There was a pack of toothbrushes and some soap on the sink. I brushed my teeth then washed my face in the shower. .After wiping down with a red towel, I exited the bathroom. The maid stood there, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Come on come on!" she rushed me back down the hall.

Her short figure shoved me inside the bedroom and opened the closet.

"What are we doing?" I finally asked.

Instead of answering, she ran out of the room leaving me confused. A couple of minutes, she reappeared with a bag full of stuff.

"Sit child," she smiled.

I obeyed when I realized that that was the first genuine smile I had seen since I had arrived at this place. She went to work on my hair and face and I couldn't help but notice she had the same scar on her neck as the previous maid did. When she noticed me staring, she smiled down at her, her brown eyes soft and gentle.

"You're the first human we have seen here that isn't from the village," she spoke softly," You're a foreigner to the Cold Ones, caused quite a mess."

"The bite on your neck, is it-" I fumbled with my words as I searched my brain for a polite way to ask," Did they do that to you?"

The smile on her face lessened and she focused on plucking my eyebrows," I come from a breed that was meant to serve the Cold Ones. They don't feed on me anymore."

"What do you mean by breed?"

Instead of answering my question, she handed me a mirror.I almost gasped at my reflection.

My brown hair was styled into thick curls that nested down my shoulders. The black eyeliner on my lids made my green eyes shine.My skin sparkled slightly and my lips were a glossy red.

I turned to the maid," Why did you do this?"

She smiled slightly,"Do you like it?"

"Yes of course, but why?"

"You get to go home tonight. Tomorrow, you'll have no memory of this and you can go back to being a human. That's never happened here before," I saw a glint in her eyes that turned into a tear," People like us, we don't just walk out of here, unscarred."

"I'm Holly," I replied, having no idea what to say to her or how to help her," and you are?"

"Im Meredith."

"Nice to meet you, Meredith," I took her hands in mine and smiled up at her.

"The ritual is tonight. The last one was over a decade ago."

"Did it... work?" I asked.

"I'm not sure but I hope it will tonight."

She strutted past me and headed toward her bag," Now, wear this," she said, pulling out a white skin tight silk dress.

The dress was sleeveless and looked more like lingerie. All in all, it was beautiful.

I grabbed it from her hands,"This looks too small.

"It's traditional," she simply replied.

She handed me the matching heels and when I was done slipping everything on, I was taken back by my reflexion in the mirror. I looked beautiful. Seductive but elegant.

I look like I can compete with Isabelle.

"What time is it?" I asked Meredith.

"The ritual starts in half an hour," she said," I have to leave now."

I nodded,"Okay, will I be seeing you tonight?"

"Yes you'll see me tonight," with that, she smiled and exited the room and I was left alone with nothing but my reflection to stare at.

About twenty minutes later, I decided I had to go now. After exiting my room, I realized that I had no idea where to go. It was about ten minutes later that I remembered the note from the King and Queen instructing me to wait for a servant to bring me down when it was time.

Dammit I forgot.

I roamed around the castle until I heard shouting.

"You are always disobeying me!"

I turned and saw the same metal doors from yesterday, when I had met the King and Queen. I put my ear on the door to listen.

"When will you finally listen!" I recognized the voice immediately as King.

"I'm sorry father, I really am," a voice that sounded like Damon responded.

"If you continue to show compassion for the humans then you will never make it as King!"

King? Did that mean that Damon was meant to take over the throne?

I remembered briefly meeting his older brother yesterday.

I thought the eldest takes the crown.

Damon stayed silent.

"That jester that you rescued will go back into the village and let the others know that he was spared," said the Queen," It doesn't look good when the castle they are meant to worship and fear begins to spare lives."

"I apologize," said Damon," I will accept whatever punishment you have for me."

Damon saved the man? I thought that he didn't care? I thought the man had already died?

I felt relieved to hear that the man made it out alive but more confused as to why Damon would react so harshly yet spare the man's life.

"Don't forget that the villagers are ours," said the King," Humans outside our territory may not belong to us but the natives are ours. We breed them to keep our kind alive!"

Questions ran through my head and I felt more confused than ever.

Is that what Meredith meant when she said she was bred to serve the Cold Ones? Did they breed humans to use as their own? Chapter Three

I was too caught up in my own thoughts to even remember that I had to be at the ritual. Still curious as to why Damon had lied to me, I forced myself a reminder that I did not care and averted my focus back to getting to that ritual and getting the hell out of this place.

But where do I go?

I watched as a guard dressed in heavy armor passed by and debated asking him but before I got the chance to utter a word, I heard the big metal doors unveil behind me and out stepped Damon. He grabbed my arm and turned me around. He took a couple seconds to look me up and down, his face scrunching up in an expression I can only describe as curious or maybe taken back. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment and was suddenly very aware of how little fabric was covering my skin. I watched his eyes linger on my exposed neck, observing the bite Isabelle had given me.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay in your room?" he finally spoke, balmier than I was used to.

I yanked my bare arm from his grip and retorted,"I didn't know where to go, for the ritual."

He swallowed as if his throat had suddenly gone dry," I see Meredith has gotten to you." I simply nodded.

"Come with me."

Without giving me a second to respond, I silently obeyed. We walked for what felt like a couple of minutes and I realized every step I took felt as if something in my stomach was dropping lower and lower. The thought of getting out of here and back to my normal life has distracted me from asking certain questions.

What exactly are they going to do to me? Will it hurt?