The Vampire King's Possession

Mauve got into the room assigned to her and resisted the urge to throw herself on the bed. She did not need anyone to tell her to take a bath first, the dried sweat on her body and the smell were more than enough indication that a shower was needed, not to forget her episode in the forest.

She stood and stared around the room while they waited for her bath water. There were two beds in the tiny room, one was relatively smaller than the other but they were both in good shape. The room was bigger than the servant room she had stayed in but compared to the princess room, this room was a dump. 

She was not complaining though, she was just glad she got bath water and a bed to sleep on. The rest of the room wasn't impressive but it didn't matter, they just needed a place to rest their heads.

A soft knock and Mauve's attention was immediately drawn to the door. Vae answered it and two servants walked in with the bathwater and a tub. Mauve immediately noticed their stares but they looked down as soon as her eyes met with theirs.

She could only imagine the gossip that was going around. Mauve cringed, she could wait to get out of here. 

"Thank you," she said to the servants and they bowed slightly before leaving the room.

"Would you like me to wash you?" Vae asked as soon as the door closed.

Mauve was tempted to say no but she was sore everywhere, her rear still had not recovered from the night's troubles. She nodded a little too quickly and Vae rushed to her side and began to take off her clothes.

Mauve sighed in pleasure as she sank into the hot water. It was just the right temperature for her skin, hot enough to ease her soreness but not enough to burn her skin. 

She let her thoughts drift as Vae washed her clean. She tried to think of happy things but all she could think of was how things might get relatively worse when she gets to the vampire region. The only consolation she had was that she was not alone. She stared at Vae.

"Are you okay, milady?" Vae asked, noticing the sad look on her face.

Mauve forced a smile, "I am good, just tired and my rear still stings."

"Don't worry about it, I will apply a soothing cream after the bath. I am sure you will feel so much better after a good sleep." Vae smiled at her.

Mauve nodded and tried to brighten her face, she could not afford to look sad when Vae, who was only here because the Queen had asked her to, was smiling. Maybe, things weren't so awful. She had half expected the maid to hate her but it was pretty obvious she did not.

"All done, princess," Vae announced.

"Thank you." She announced and stood to her feet.

Droplets of water streamed down her body as Vae quickly wiped her clean. Vae dressed her up before leaving the room. The next time she returned, she came with a tray and the same two servants who took the dirty water away.

Tears nearly poured out of Mauve's eyes when she saw a bowl of hot soup, meat, and bread. She had eaten nothing but fruits on this trip. She ate in a rush and ended up asking for seconds, just in case there was no opportunity to eat hot food again.

A loud knock and Mauve jumped out of bed. Vae was still fast asleep. She rushed to the door and opened it to find the vampire whose name she did not know standing outside the open door.

"We leave in thirty minutes," he did not even wait for her response before he left.

She rolled her eyes, closed the door, and woke Vae up. "We are to leave now."

Mauve walked behind Vae as they went down the stairs to the tavern. She braced herself as she heard noises, she could tell it was a full house. The voices were pretty loud and even though the sun had just set they sounded pretty drunk. Mauve hoped they would get outside without incident.

They got to the counter and the innkeeper wasn't behind it, instead, a young woman was, she looked to be around Vae's age. The woman eyed Mauve but there wasn't any malice behind her eyes, the woman just seemed to be taking her in.

Vae quickly made her way between the tables and Mauve followed behind her, trying to keep up with her. The tavern was strangely quiet at their presence and Mauve heard a voice say, "That's the princess."

She cringed and suddenly wished she was invisible. Just two more tables and chairs and she would be out of the inn. Just as she got to the last door, with the doors literally three feet away, Mauve felt a hand on her arm, stilling her movement. She yelped at the sudden touch.

"Are you the princess?" A drunk fellow said. Mauve could smell the ale off him and something else marinated sweat and dirt.

Mauve was instantly irritated and could not hide her disgust. She tried to pull her hand away but the drunk man would not let her go.

"Let her go, Felix!" The woman by the counter yelled.

"Why? I am not hurting her, I just want to ask some questions."

"Really?" The woman was not backing off. "And if she is really the princess don't you think you will lose your hand?"

"But that is only if she is the princess even Lord Welldick doesn't leave his castle without at least twenty guards but here is the supposed princess gallivanting with just a maid. I suspect foul play."

"It is not worth it Felix, it is none of your business and she has done you no harm. Let her go before you get yourself into trouble. Besides, she has three vampires as guards. You know the rumor that a vampire is equal to at least ten men in strength."

The rest of the audience stared in silence as if enjoying the show that was unfolding. Nobody made any unnecessary sounds, even the sounds of chewing or drinking could not be heard.

"Vampires!" Felix yelled and spat. "To think the royals are in cahoots with such devils. All the more reason why you are no princess, the princess would know better than to…"

"Is something wrong?" Damon's voice rang and Mauve could swear that everything froze. The tavern was already quiet but somehow it got quieter.

Mauve turned to look at Damon glad that help was here. However, the eyes that met her made her blood cold. Mauve felt intense fear and from the tension rising from everyone, she was not the only one who was scared.