‘Come’ the vampire soldier barked at Abel. ‘It is time.’

Without a pause, Abel rose from the bed, quickly following after the vampire, who turned, walking out of the barrack quickly.

Abel followed a step behind.

They left the camp together, walking out of the great gates at the entrance. Glancing to the side, Abel could see the great fence that ran all around the camp, the ‘farm’ as the vampires called it. There were many watch towers about the place, many smaller buildings where the vampires that would watch and control them stayed during the night. In the daytimes, the humans were locked in their barracks, and were not allowed out for any reason.

Abel had not experienced this yet. He was still new to the farm, having led a resistance against the vampires, a small group or rogue soldiers. Just a handful of men left over from the army he once commanded. They had been able to evade capture from the vampires for quite some time. But as he had known in the end, their capture was inevitable.

Some of his men had been killed in that last struggle, but as soon as he realised the time had come, he ordered his men to surrender.

They had been loyal to him, immediately dropping their weapons and falling to their knees, hands raised to show submission.

His company had been split up by the vampires, used for different purposes. Abel had come to this camp near the manor, though some of the men he had commanded had been kept with him. They were still loyal. They loved him, had looked up to him, followed him, some had even died for him, had friends that had died for him. But they had never doubted him, never blamed him. None of them. Not once.

‘The royal family has arrived’ the vampire that led him spoke out of the blue. ‘You are to be prepared’ he continued. ‘You will be given as a gift to the young lord, Cid is his name, but you are not to speak to him, or anyone, unless you are specifically told to do so. Is that understood? You may answer.’

‘Yes.’

Abel spoke clearly and precisely.

The vampire who had turned to glance back at him faced ahead again.

‘Cid is a much loved figure in our society, the people adore him especially. If you do anything wrong…do anything to hurt him…you could not even begin to imagine how severely you will be punished for it.’

Abel said nothing, continuing to walk quickly behind the vampire.

His heart skipped in his chest then as a thought struck him.

They were walking alone a quiet path now through a sparse area of woodland. Abel widened his eyes, struggling to see through the darkness.

His attention slid then to the vampire that led him again, staring at his back.

His heart quickened in his chest.

He glanced either side then, heart jolting in his chest as he noticed then a vampire soldier lingering in the shadows, eyes turned on them. Abel stared back the vampire, suddenly noticing another vampire behind the first, his silhouette only barely visible.

And as Abel looked his other side, he saw more vampires in the shadow of the trees. Sentinels.

He let out a heavy sigh, heart hammering in his chest, though he began to calm. He didn’t know what he may have done, but he had considered, just for a brief moment…

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

No…I cannot be rash…you didn’t come this far by acting so carelessly…

He raised his head, staring ahead of him at the manor that came into view as they walked onwards.

The vampire that led him paused then, looking around briefly, before carrying on.

They entered a small door near the base of the building, Abel could see very little of the building itself. It was so dark, the moon hidden by the clouds. It had only been a short time, but Abel was missing the sun, he missed its warmth, he missed being able to see the world around him clearly.

The vampire led him down a narrow corridor. Glancing around, Abel thought these may have been the servant quarters. They were completely bare.

At the end of the corridor were metal sliding doors. As they stopped before it, Abel realised it was a lift.

Inside it was small. They stepped in and the vampire pressed a button to the top floor.

The doors closed gently, and the lift went into motion.

They waited for a moment, before the lift eased to a gentle stop, opening its doors on the correct floor.

They stepped out.

‘You will wash yourself properly’ the vampire said without looking back. ‘You have to be presentable.’

It was dark inside the corridors, which were lit by only the faintest of lights, electric lights mounted along the corridor and intervals.

They slowed to a stop when they reached a door.

‘The bath is ready for you’ the vampire told him shortly. ‘Be quick.’

*

Abel stepped into the room, and the vampire closed the door after him.

Abel glanced back, not hearing the sound of any footsteps. The vampire must be waiting just beyond the door, he thought, turning back to the room. Unlike the rest of the manor, this room was brightly lit. There was tub filled with plain warm water, no bubbles. Upon a simple table beside it was a single thing, a bottle of clear liquid. Abel approached it, picking it up. He recognised it suddenly as a produce made by the vampires, he remembered seeing it advertised on TV fairly recently before he was captured. It was a brand of soap, but one made for the vampires, but intended for use by humans. It would clean you, but was completely odourless, so that when a vampire fed from a human who had used this, there would not be any lingering scent. Vampires wanted to taste only the blood.

Abel grimaced then, putting the bottle down.

Sickening he thought bitterly to himself. They truly have made this their world.

He began to take off his shirt, undressing quickly. He knew he should not keep the vampire waiting, he wanted to remain submissive, to become invisible, overlooked. He wanted to vampires to ignore and look through him, that was the best way.

He took the clean white cloth that was folded on the table beside the bottle, slipping into the water and leaning back. The tub had been filled nearly to the top, and he began to wash himself quickly. The clothes had taken off were old and filthy clothes, his own ones he had fought and lived in.

He felt a twinge of nervousness in the pit of his stomach then, and flicker of fear as he pondered his situation, and what would happen to him.

I wonder what the lord vampire will be like…

He washed quickly, rising out of the water and using the towel to dry himself. The door opened and the vampire that had led him spoke.

‘There are clean clothes for you on the side’ he said indicating, as Abel clutched the towel to him.

Abel glanced away as the vampire stood there with a tired expression. ‘Be quick’ he said again, closing the door with a snap.

Abel moved over to the white clothes, and he felt sick to his stomach.

He had seen these type of clothes before, they were designed for vampires and worn by humans. Pure white they were, so they could be easily seen in the dark. It was a loose fitting white shirt and trousers, the shirt was low-cut at the neck, running across the shoulders and leaving them bare (all the better to feed from) the sleeves only came just past the elbow, leaving the forearms bare.

Abel felt disgusted looking at it, but he put the clothes on quickly, trying not to think about it. Though he felt defiled just wearing them. All his life he had been a free man, the thought of being own by anyone, especially such parasites, was almost too much for him to bear.

He left the room, opening the door tentatively and stepping out into the corridor.

‘Good’ the vampire said to him, sparing him only the briefest of glances. ‘Follow me.’

Abel was taken up a flight of steps through the dark manor, and led towards a door.

The vampire paused at the door, knocking hard on the wood. He waited, when there came no response, he opened the door, seeing the room inside empty.

‘Wait in here’ he told Abel sharply. ‘The young lord will be along shortly.’

Abel quickly stepped into the room, wandering uncertainly forwards and stopping near the centre of the room.

He turned in time to see the vampire close the door, leaving him alone in the silent and dim room.