Slipped My Mind
Slipped My Mind
Rainer
After trying to rack my brain for hours about how I know Willow, I decide to ask Kane if he knows anything. He’s always had a better memory than me. He has a good head for remembering the smallest details. I’ve always been more of a bigger picture kind of guy.
I wait until after dinner to get Kane alone. We go to his room, and he pours us both a glass of blood mixed with whiskey. We have done this plenty of times before, so we don’t rush into talking. We sit on the chairs by the window and are halfway through our drinks when I bring up the woman.
“Do you know the new librarian?” I ask.
“The one that replaced old Gaius?”
Gaius had been the castle librarian before either of us had been born. He had practically been part of the wallpaper with how much of a staple he was in the castle.
“Yes. The pretty brunette. Kind of flighty. She likes to hide herself in the library.”
Kane takes a sip from his glass. “I believe her name is Willow. Why are you asking about her?”
“Do you know where she came from?”
“Willow was part of the staff. She earned that position. Gaius had named her as a successor in case anything happened and he had to step down from his duties. Which my father saw to, as you know.”
“And who was she before she was one of the staff?”
Kane stares at me. It feels like his blue eyes are penetrating straight into my soul. He asks, “You really don’t remember?”
I
“I wouldn’t be asking you “I can’t remember anything significant I may have done to her.”
if I did,” I reply
He puts down his glass on the table. “Rainer, she came to the castle a long time ago as a feeder. Her father had sold her off to pay his debts.”
“Human feeders aren’t that valuable compared to shifters. “Why was she considered substantial enough?”
Most human feeders don’t last long in the dungeon. They can’t heal like shifters, and there is a greater risk of them being turned into a vampire by mistake. It’s why we mostly have wolf shifters as feeders now. They can’t be turned even if we try.
“I have no idea. The deal was made with my father. He had a fondness for oral contracts which makes keeping track of every deal he made impossible.
This is a problem we don’t talk about enough. The older vampires are set in their ways. They like to do things the old-fashioned way, no matter how impractical they may be. Kane is considered a progressively modern king by our kind’s standards even if the other species still see us as archaic. King Peter is part of the old guard, which is a problem.
If King Michael would have made sure to leave a paper trail for all his contracts, life would be easier. If
not more convenient whenever we have to look something up.
Sipped My Mind
+25 BONUS
“But I do remember Willow because she was turned accidentally,” Kane explains. “This was when my father was trying to control overpopulation within our species. He wanted to have her executed, but my mother pitied her and said that it wasn’t Willow’s fault she was turned.”
Since most vampires can’t procreate naturally aside from a few royal bloodlines, we add to our numbers by turning a human into one of us. It’s not a complicated process, but it does make overpopulation a possible problem. King Michael was especially strict about who had the privilege of being turned into a vampire. Because of how long we can live and how we are superior in strength and speed compared to the wolf shifters and humans, a single vampire can cause a lot of damage, particularly if they have a weak personality to begin with.
“Queen Agatha saved her life.”
Kane nods. “After that, Willow became part of the castle staff. Galus took a shine to her and made her his unofficial apprentice.”
I
“There’s something you forgot to mention,” I point out “What happened to the vampire that turned her? Were they executed?”
“You don’t remember that either? Don’t you remember that time my father almost killed Lex because he turned someone into a vampire by mistake? It was Willow he turned.”
The dots are connecting in my mind. I remember King Michael’s fury at Lex for his carelessness. Lex had been a young vampire, barely in control of his thirst back then. Most vampires that disobeyed King Michael’s rules were executed without mercy. Lex got off with a slap on the wrist due to royal nepotism. Being a prince, even the spare son, does have its privileges.
That explains Willow’s behavior at the picnic after I made that thoughtless joke about finding my own feeder. Even if it has been a century, some wounds don’t heal for the longest time. No wonder she looks so uncomfortable around me. She probably thinks Lex and I are friends. I need to apologize to her for my careless behavior.
I thank Kane for his help and leave him to look for Willow. It’s getting late, but I have heard from the servants that she likes to stay late in the library most of the night. I’m not disappointed when I find her shelving books in a corner. She stiffens when she hears me coming towards her.
“Good evening.” I say, contritely.
“Good evening,” she replies, without looking at me. She focuses on shelving. “May I help you with something? I’m about to close up here.”
“I came to apologize.”
She stops, holding a book in her hands, clutching it like a lifeline. “What are you apologizing for?”
“I’m apologizing for my behavior earlier. I was careless with my words. It’s no excuse, but I had forgotten about your past, and I didn’t think about how my joke would land.”
She finally looks at me, her blue eyes wide in disbelief. You forgot my past?”
Embarrassment makes me want to hunch my shoulders like I’m some adolescent boy. I run a hand through my dark, curly hair
hair any
“I don’t have the best memory,” I admit. “I forgot you used to be a feeder.”
Sipped My Mind
“How?” she asks. “How could you forget?”
“I remember the situation with Lex, but I forgot the details. We never really interacted before recently, so it just slipped my mind.”
“Slipped your mind?” She drops the book back on the cart. Her eyes close as if she is trying to control her emotions. “You just forgot everything?”
“Just the stuff with Lex turning you. I’m sorry. It must not have been a good memory for you.”
Her eyes open, and they’re twin blue flames of anger. “You forgot what you used to do to me?”
I blink. My mind goes blank in shock. “What I used to do to you?”
Her entire body is shaking, her voice rising as she exclaims, “You fed on me!”
“I did?”
“Don’t you look and pretend to be so innocent!” she screeches. “You fed on me the most. You and Lex. Sometimes, you’d come down to the dungeons together, and you’d drain my blood into a cup and share it. You never took enough to kill me, but it was close. You were always on the verge of killing me, but neither of you had the mercy to end things and finally free me from that living hell.”
I think back and I have faint memories of being blood drunk. I remember frightened hazel eyes and long, brown hair. I remember the taste of her blood. There’s never been anythingn like it–before or after. Her blood tasted sweet and powerful with magic. I used to feel like I could fly when I had her blood on my tongue. It was the only time I’d ever go anywhere with Lex. Both of us agreed to put our differences aside for a taste of that magical blood.
I look at her face, glowing with anger and indignation, and all the puzzle pieces snap into place. That was you?”
“Yes, Rainer,” she spits my name like a curse. “That was me you fed on again and again until Lex got too careless and drank too much. He turned me into one of you, and then you both forgot about me like I never existed.”
There are flashes of more moments–Willow in my arms as I carry her up the stairs to the healer, bite marks on her neck, her wrist, and her thighs. Her fair skin with a trail of bite marks. She lay still in a dirty
unable to move, her hazel eyes glassy with tears
gown,
I struggle to say anything. I was the one who brought her to the healers to try to save her life. But I shouldn’t have let Lex do that. I’d rushed in just in time to keep him from draining her. She must not recall that, and I won’t tell her now. “I didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?”
“I didn’t know that was you.” I’d been under the impression that human had died.
Her pretty face twists into a sneer. “Well, now you know. And what are you going to do about it?”
Shame makes me want to run away and hide, but I’m not a little boy. I’m a man who faces my mistakes. head on.
I
“I’m sorry,” I say sincerely. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you. I wish I could take it back-”
+25 BONUS
Slipped My Mind
“Don’t!” She turns away, and her whole body shudders as she does er best to contain her sobs. “Just leave me alone. Apology not accepted.”
I don’t know what to say. I brought the book she dropped outside. I quietly put it down on the cart and move toward the doors. Willow’s hushed cries echo in the large room. I ignore them and walk away as
she’s asked me to.
Kane
Every day is just another day I have to put out another fife. The attack on Bernard is concerning as that means Jacob has been able to leave his cell. I have interrogated the guards in the dungeons, and the never–ending problem of them being swayed by bribes has not gone away. While the feeders are being treated more humanely, Jacob has been helping himself to the prisoners of war. Some have died, and their bodies have been disposed of.
I cannot sleep, so I decide to visit the current bane of my existence. Jacob sits on a thin cot in the corner of his cell, a far cry from the luxurious bedrooms he’s used to. His leg has healed after Dr. Martin reset his femur in the right place. He is wearing an old gray shirt and pants that look like they’ve seen better days, and he smirks at me as I enter his cell.
“Your Majesty.” He gives me a mocking bow from where he’s seated on the bed, but he doesn’t get up. He is chained to the wall, after all. “It’s been far too long since you’ve graced me with your presence.”
I don’t dignify that with a response. I grab the chair nearby and take a seat. I’m in no mood for games tonight. I want the truth from Jacob even if I have to beat it out of him.
“Who bribed the guards?” I question. “You don’t have any money on you, and guards don’t bother with promises of riches if they can’t have their gold immediately.”
He shrugs, still smirking. “Who says anyone bribed the guards?”
“Jacob, I could break your leg again and have Dr. Martin reset it. I could break both of your legs or your arms. As long as I have a doctor heal you afterward, I’m not in breach of the contract I made with your father,” I tell him. “So I will ask you again. Who bribed the guards?”
“I did,” he replies, unfazed with my threats. “1 gave them my gold cufflinks and a watch. It’s vintage. It’s worth a lot.”
“You didn’t have anything on you when you were dropped in here.”
“I hid everything up my ass. No one checked before leaving me here to suffer by my lonesome. Can you really blame me for trying to better my circumstances? A man does have to eat, Your Majesty.”
I pull out the aforementioned cufflinks from my pocket. They’re gold with the letter J written in diamonds.
I have seen Jacob wear these before. The last time I saw them was the dinner before he and Opal attacked Emory in the library.
“The guards told me the same thing when I asked them what they were bribed with. It was almost word for word, actually.” I just needed him to confirm it. It’s a crime to bribe the guards in my kingdom. For both parties.
Jacob smiles wider, and it looks like he’s baring his teeth. “I guess that means I’m telling the truth.”
+25 BONUS
Slipped My Mind
“Maybe you are.”
1 stare at him, waiting to see if he will break under my gaze. He fidgets slightly but keeps quiet. Eventually, I rise from the chair and walk away.
“Good night, Prince Jacob.”
“Good night, Your Majesty.”
When Jacob was imprisoned, I had his room ransacked. A maid had found the watch and cufflinks in his drawer which meant someone had taken them from his room and used the items to bribe the guards. I only had one suspect. A rat always sniffing for cheese is always close behind.
