Chapter Ten
When Adalyn opened her eyes, she had a blissful moment of a blank mind, and then with the next breath it all came flooding back.
She had no regrets about her sister. The woman was evil, and the world was better off without her poison.
One more gang had been eliminated. How much hurt and maliciousness had they caused innocent people like herself?
She made a vow right then and there that she would never think about them again.
They would never take up residence in her mind ever again.
The door opened and the maid from the other day poked her head in. She smiled when she saw that Adalyn was awake.
“Good morning, miss,” she greeted.
Adalyn sat up. “Good morning. I’m so sorry but I never did learn your name.”
“I’m Gabi.”
“Hi, Gabi. Please call me Adalyn.”
“Certainly.” Gabi entered the room and shut the door behind her. “I’ve come to help you dress and prepare for the day.”
“Oh, you don’t have to help me dress,” she said, throwing back the covers and stretching. “Is Lord Huntley home?”
Gabi shook her head. “He has a lot of meetings to attend before we head to the capital.”
“Oh, when is that?”
“Next week,” Gabi replied as she opened the closet door and walked in. “Would you like a dress or slacks?”
“What?” Adalyn stood and followed, her eyes widening when she saw all the clothes. Dresses, skirts, blouses, slacks. Rows of shoes. Hats. Drawers filled with panties and bras. “Who does all this belong to?”
“You,” Gabi said with a smile. “Lord Huntley had all these delivered yesterday.”
Adalyn could hardly believe what she was looking at. “This is all for me?”
“Yes. You are to be his thrall, after all. Which reminds me, a marm will be here right after breakfast, so may I suggest a dress?”
“A marm?”
“She’s coming to teach you how to be a thrall. Poise, vernacular, bowing, dancing. Lots and lots more. I’m super excited because I’ve never met a marm before.” Gabi pulled out a pretty blue dress with a Peter Pan collar. “How about this one? It matches your eyes.”
Adalyn nodded as she touched the material. She had never worn anything so soft and delicate. “I love it.”
Gabi smiled, her enthusiasm lit up her face. “Good. Now, into the shower with you. It’s going to be a busy day.”
****
Adalyn’s first glimpse of Marm Scarlet caused a bit of intimidation.
She was a tall, regal looking woman, with her salt-and-pepper hair in an elegant up-do.
With her chin lifted just-so, she looked down upon Adalyn with narrowed, emotionless eyes.
The dress she wore had starched lace around the collar that ended just below the jaw.
The sleeves long enough to buckle at the wrists.
The hem ended an inch below the knees. She looked like one of those bitchy, prudish old women in movies.
Marm Scarlet encircled her, judging her up and down. Adalyn was glad Gabi had picked out a demure dress because she instinctively knew this woman would’ve judged her harshly.
“Lord Huntley hired me to teach you proper thrall etiquette,” the haughty woman stated, although Adalyn knew that already.
“Becoming a thrall is the highest honor a human can hope to achieve. It is a life filled with nature and nurture, and will be the most intimate relationship you will ever have.”
In the past, being someone’s paid companion held a negative connotation.
Concubine. Geisha. Courtesan. Mistress. Women who sold themselves for a privileged life.
Although status had never been important to her, and to a lesser degree money, all Adalyn wanted was a place where she felt wanted and loved.
“I have one week to teach you all you need to know about court life in the capital, so you won’t embarrass Lord Huntley.
” Marm Scarlet came to a stop in front of her.
“Today will be history and evolution. Tomorrow will be mythology. Then walking, curtsying, table etiquette. There will be dance lessons, formal arts, lingo, and so-on and so-forth. Please follow me to the library.”
She turned and marched out of the den, and Adalyn hurried to catch up, receiving a side-eyed stare from Marm Scarlet.
Fantastic. Not even half an hour and already she got a mark against her.
The library had been pulled directly from Beauty and the Beast, with floor to ceiling shelves full of old tomes and new paperbacks.
An electric fireplace was built into one wall where two leather wingback chairs resided.
Instead of heading over to them, Marm Scarlet led her to a table where several pieces of paper were neatly arranged and came to a stop by the ergonomic chair. She gestured for her to sit.
“In a social scene,” Marm Scarlet said, “the proper way to sit is at the edge of the chair, legs folded under. Back straight and chin up. Practice.”
Adalyn was more than a little intimidated by this woman, but she didn’t want to embarrass Gareth, so she did as instructed. Marm Scarlet gave a little click of her tongue and said nothing more. Adalyn took this as a good sign.
“Now, as I said, today is the history of the vampire race.” She handed a tablet to Adalyn. “I have several pamphlets for you to study tonight, but let’s begin at the basics. Turn on the tablet and navigate to the first video.”
Adalyn did as ordered, and a streaming platform came on. The video was a simple introduction to how vampires came to be.
“Human evolution developed over a megaannum, with modern-day humans first appearing roughly three hundred thousand years ago.” The audio commentary overlaid against an animated video.
“While Homo sapiens share many genetic similarities to the ape classification, vampire evolution came from a divergent branch and is classified as Sanguessuga lamia.”
Adalyn found the lesson fascinating. She had never heard of the two diverging ancestry trees between the species.
“While early man was learning how to hunt and gather, and to make weapons, vampires became the weapon. Absorbing many characterizations of the animals and creatures around them into their own physiology. Their teeth elongated to rip meat apart. Their biological systems came to need the nutrients that were in blood. Their eyes grew a tapetum lucidum layer to allow them to see in the dark. They even developed pluripotent stem cells that regenerate, allowing them to live far longer than an ordinary human.”
Adalyn was completely caught up in the story. When the video ended, Marm Scarlet instructed her to move to the next one. This one was why vampires decided to hide.
“As the human population grew, early man perceived vampires as deadly. Humans grew scared of them. When the black plague started in 1346, killing millions of people, vampires suffered from what they called the red plague. Their numbers dwindled and soon, they faded into myth.”
Adalyn knew the rest. Knew how they rose after the atomic bomb was dropped to end the second war of the world. How they were the reason that the Earth and life on it flourished, despite them being labeled demonic bloodsuckers from Hell.
Humans were stupid.
She didn’t know how life was before them, and while there were many bad guys in the underbelly of the society, vampires had managed to unify the world to end third-world problems like hunger and endless war.
“Because their numbers had come close to extinction, all born vampires are required to procreate before their turning. Once turned, the sterilization process kicks in. However, with the modern invention of cryogenic storage facilities, procreation has turned into a medical procedure rather than a parental bond.”
So, somewhere out there, Gareth might have children. It seemed so odd.
“There are three types of vampires,” she continued.
“Born, made, and dhampirs. Most have heard about the first two, but the third is a hybrid technique that only born vampires can do. Dhampirs are only made in the strictest of moments, usually to preserve the life of a human. A thrall, for instance. The effect isn’t permanent, but could last anywhere from forty to one hundred years. ”
They stopped for lunch, and she mimicked how Marm Scarlet ate.
Proper eating etiquette was going to be some other day, but she figured it didn’t hurt having it in her brain.
The rest of the day she took notes and stayed attentive to the videos and lessons, soaking up the knowledge like a sponge.
All she wanted was to make Gareth proud.