Valerian Empire

Katie sat in the wide bathtub as bubbles surrounded her. The water was warm and it soothed the little girl. Sylvia had assigned a human maid named Daisy to Katie, who was in her mid-forties so that she could take care of the little things. Katie’s cheeks turned pink as the woman wrapped a towel around her naked self when she stepped out of the tub. She wasn’t used to such treatment from strangers and it was uncomfortable. She had protested to Sylvia that she didn’t need help but her new friend had insisted.

Daisy and Katie were the only ones in the room as they walked out of the bathroom. The room was elegant with soft light being emitted by the lamps.

“Let me get another towel while you change,” the woman said, going back to the bathroom while Katie took the white nightdress that was lying on the bed with the undergarments she was provided to change into.

Her hair dripped with ringlets of water that formed at the ends of the strands. The maid took hold of the towel and rubbed the girl’s head gently, making sure she didn’t hurt the little girl in front of her. Daisy had been taken aback when Sylvia had come to her, asking to assist the little girl with the small details. It wasn’t because she was asked to take care of a child, but due to the fact that the little girl whom she had met was human. The Lord treating the little human as a guest would have to be a joke, she thought previously but Sylvia was serious about it.

She looked at the girl who was sitting on the bed quietly without a word as she dried her raven black hair. She couldn’t deny the fact that the girl was adorable with her big brown eyes and the innocence they held.

She wondered why her Lord brought her home; of course, she heard about the nearby village being ambushed but he could have sent her to a human orphanage. It was out of character for him to do it unless he was possessed, but then it might also be because he wanted her blood. It was rumored that younger humans had a better flavor than the adults. Hopefully, he won’t do it, she thought to herself.

“Mm, I’ll do the rest,” she heard the girl’s small voice which made her smile.

“That’s alright, dear. Your hair is almost dried up, would you like me to braid it?” she asked, to which the child nodded. “Let me finish with your hair and then you can go down to have dinner, okay?”

“Thank you, Daisy,” Katie thanked the kind woman who had done her hair so prettily.

“You are welcome, dear” the woman replied as they walked out of the room.

When Katie entered the hall where dinner was going to be served, she became nervous upon looking at the new faces in the room. The room had suddenly gone quiet with her presence. She caught sight of Sylvia who smiled brightly and waved at her to come as she hesitated to take another step forward. The Lord sat at the far end of the table who only glanced at her once before going back to talking to the man near him.

“Princess Katie, you are here!” she heard someone exclaim. Turning her head she saw the man she had met a few hours back. She remembered he had introduced himself as Elliot. Why did he call her Princess? She knew she wasn’t one.

Elliot got up from his seat and went to Katie to pull her small hand in his as he took her across the room to seat her next to him. Elliot was third in command and also known as the right-hand man of Lord Alexander. He was tall with wavy reddish-brown hair.

“Don’t you mean human? I wasn’t told a human was joining us for dinner,” a woman spoke from one side of the table. She had long blonde hair that was combed at one side, lips painted a bright red as she spoke at Elliot with an arrogant tone.

“I’m sorry, my fair lady,” Elliot said bowing dramatically at her and pushed his chair, “Everyone, this is Katherine who is a very important guest. She’ll be living here for-”

“What do you mean by living here?” One of the vampires interrupted.

“And guest? You must be joking,” the woman who previously spoke scoffed with a sarcastic chuckle in the end. Soon murmuring began in the room and suddenly the sound of breaking glass was heard. After noting who had broken it, everyone went quiet.

Alexander stood up from his seat, looking at everyone in the hall as he held their undivided attention right now. He looked at the girl, whose eyes were fixed on the plate, looking more nervous than before she entered the room.

“As Elliot said, Katherine will be staying here for some time and I would be pleased if everyone would keep their hands off her for blood. Is that clear?” he asked everyone in the room.

“But my Lord she’s a human. True, we have good relationships with the humans but this one-” the woman spoke again.

“Are you questioning my decision, Gisele?” Alexander asked his tone turning cold, challenging the woman to cross his words.

“No, my Lord,” she murmured putting her head down but not before throwing a glare at the little girl making Katie flinch.

Gisele didn’t understand why a pathetic human was allowed to have dinner with them. Was it because she was still young and ripe in the age that the Lord wanted to violate her? No, that couldn’t be true, she was the one whom the Lord desired; but things change. She had to eliminate the problem before it grew.