Faline

There are nearby shelves that hold assorted bathing items, from sponges and loofahs to body wash and conditioners. I don't even look at brand or name as a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and the roughest sponge there get snatched up.

I get to work on scrubbing off the first couple layers of skin, finding my human form repulsive right now. Washing and wringing out my hair so hard that I'm pulling out strands, shaving it all off sounds real good right now.

I even look around for shears, but there aren't any. Not even any razors. Snorting, I wash all over again. I hope I'm running up her damn hot water bill.

Tossing the pink-tinged sponge and bloodied soap bar back to the shelves, I stand under the hot water, my tears hidden as they fall. I look over to the boy who's facing the other way with the robe in his hands.

"Maii?"

His head turns enough to show he's listening.

"If you could leave here, would you?"

He shrugs, even from what I can see of his face he's unsure. I close my eyes and return to facing the wall while steamy water cascades around me. Might not be able to control things while I'm here, but I can choose to either let it break me, or find a way to rise above it.

I'm so deep in thought that when someone touches me, I lash out, catching their arm in a hard grip. Lips pull back in a growl as my eyes open, stepping out from the water enough to see who I have a hold of. It's someone I don't know, so someone who has even less of a reason to touch me. Someone with dark skin that looks even darker against my pale skin.

When your heart doesn't pump like it's supposed to, blood doesn't circulate very much, meaning Vampires aren't pale from just no sunlight, but from blood not giving their skin that peachiness, or 'aliveness'. The woman touching me has caramel-colored eyes, striking against her dark chocolate skin. Can you tell I miss food yet? Black hair in thin beaded braids fall around her chest, calling attention to her nakedness.

With the gold chained nipple clamps, I'd bet submissive, but she isn't looking at me with submission. I keep hold of her arm and stare at her till she tells me what the hell she's doing. Slave or not, my patience is seriously nonexistent right now.

Her bust is at least double the size of mine. If I'm lemon-sized, she's a large grapefruit. Another food analogy, lovely. She has what would be called an hourglass figure; a flat abdomen leading down to flared hips.

Can't tell from this angle, but I'd be willing to guess that she also has the ass to go with it. My eyes take stock, then go back to hers. She's not so much being defiant as much as indifferent.

"I was sent by my Lady to tend to you. She said she knows you won't feed on Maii, so I am to be used."

I don't even wince at the term 'used' when given that way. Seriously think about sending her away, but I'm damn near starving. Not having fed for a while and then Her Lordship binging on me has me on a very low tank.

Being just about eye level with a couple of inches in her favor makes pulling her closer and feeding that much easier. I make myself numb to the act and ignore all her memories that come flying into my brain. Drinking deeply but not to where it disables her, just making her a little light-headed.

Taking as I normally do and pulling away to yet another stunned expression, I tell her to go to the kitchen and get some juice. Need to keep the fridges stocked with several flavors just for this purpose. Gathering herself, she lowers her head and nods. I keep an arm on her till she's for sure on balanced ground, then let her go. Retrieving a fluffy towel from one of the shelves, I get to buffing myself dry.

The scraped and bloody skin has healed faster from a decent 'meal'. I wait for the rush from Shifter blood, having first noticed it when I'd changed from Avina to Kerry. Avina, of course, has human blood, where Kerry is a Shifter, giving her blood an extra kick.

From what I've observed between Nicolaus and Anthony, Were-animal blood has a kick of its own. Since my Vampire feeds at least twice a day, he probably mixes Were blood and human. I've noticed for me I can go longer without feeding when my last one is a Shifter. Where human blood satisfies, animal gives a longer period of time before I feel I have to feed again.

Huh. Could say humans are like rice, Shifters a loaded potato, and Weres the three-course meal.

I miss food.

Finished drying both body and hair, I put on the silver robe. Feels both silky and rough. The roughness more like a gossamer gauze-like texture for the silver, the silkiness coming from the black and red. The belt on it goes across my front just under my chest to the back, then it crosses and comes back around at the waist were it ties and hangs down. Guess the belt is more like a sash but whatever.

The black designs that go over the chest are small, meant to draw the eye but also divert attention from the flesh beneath. Blood red is threaded in the black in pinstripe swirls. Same for the groin, but it starts at the waist, a thinner black flame-like pattern branching down and inwards from either side of my hips to play peek-a-boo with inner thighs.

The black and red sash hangs down over most of it, doing a good job in covering just by itself. It goes all the way down, ending just above the hemline. The wide sleeves go to my elbows and hang down from the underside. A longish silver, black, and red train drags behind me by about a foot and a half.

Like I said; pretty. Real pretty. But I still miss real clothes. This 'robe' reminds me of a cross between an ancient Greek chiton and a medieval renaissance dress. Finding a hair clip amongst the shelves, I put up my hair. Amazing how I find a hair accessory but no damn brush.

This place is so ass-backwards it's not even funny.

"Alright, Maii. Let's get to the kitchen. I have a responsibility to get back to."

The heightened blood is making me seriously antsy to either run, or start some trouble. Since making trouble isn't a good idea right now, I hike up the robe dress. Looking over at the boy who's giving me a weird look, I tell him to run with me.

He smiles wide and takes off. I keep up rather well, footfalls soft and light. No harsh or stuttered breathing. The very action brings a smile to my own face as we go through two ballrooms, several corridors, a great hall, and even an atrium.

Have to move fast and skirt most of the room, as the sun is up apparently. We go the long way to the kitchen and dining area, but there are other dining type areas that we go through, looking more like private date dinner spots or small restaurant eatery sections.

Really wonder how old this place is since some rooms are all brick while others are wood. It reminds me more of pictures I've seen of castles and such. I can't be in a castle, can I? Just where the hell am I?

Those thoughts bring up outrage and fear, so I push them away. Enjoying the run while working out the hard rush of alien blood. Once we reach the hallway that leads where we're going, I slow and stop.

We'd gotten many looks from over a couple of dozen people. Some I'd recognized while others I didn't. All species. All the ones I know of anyway. If Vampires, Werewolves, and Shape-shifters are real, what else is? Now that's a sobering thought.

As I stop, I let down the material. Sheer silver falls into place with its red and black accents. My mind starts to go through what I'll make today. The stew being for the 'dinner' meal, should make some biscuits to go with it.

We walk in easily, Maii still having his giant smile as his breathing is a little sped up, but not by much. Ahh, the young and their hidden inner animals.

Heh. Seeing as how I just turned twenty-four before this all started, it'd only been a week or so when I had been taken. Is it still October or is it November now? Does it matter?

"You know what? Screw traditional breakfast foods. I want to make pizza. Pizza and doughnuts."

The boy looks at me curiously, I look back in astonishment.

"Don't tell me you've never had pizza?"

He shakes his head. Well, shit. Didn't think it was possible for a boy his age to not know what pizza was. Then again, there's no telling where he came from an all, so I just give him a toothy smile.

"You're in for a treat my man, I make an epic deep-dish pizza. Everyone is going to go nuts. In a good way, I hope."

I cry out in mock agony.

"I miss food! This shit sucks. What good is being immortal if I can never eat ice cream again? I want a refund."

That gets several people around me snickering that I hadn't even noticed were there. I thought my sister was bad with her attention span of a squirrel on crack, but mine seems to be even worse. It's a wonder I'm not dead yet just from not being aware of the things around me.

One of them is Kerry, few other submissives, couple Vamps, and either another Shifter or Were-animal. Just know he doesn't smell like a human or an undead. Blinking at them all, I turn to go to my counters.

They're still where I put them, so no one put the one back. Stools are gone again, but that I don't mind so much. Speaking of which...

"Hey, Kerry? Is that list I started still around here? The one with the stuff that's needed?"

She shakes her head, so I sigh. Thinking I'm going to have to write it all out all over again, but the sneaky Shifter is smiling.

"When I saw it, I had it taken to the Lady. Most of it arrived shortly before you did."

Moving around her, I see the new unpacked and set up equipment.

An actual, honest to God squee comes from me as I see it all.

New appliances on the newly installed counters on the edges of the 'dining room', not just one but two giant-sized meat slicers sit on the far wall counters and two commercial rotisserie ovens are set along the wall. Those big ones you see in stores. Two commercial-sized deep fryers have also been installed. Picture what the french fries at McDonald's are fried in, that's what these are.

Really taking a look around, the very large room has been rearranged a bit. The small picnic tables have been taken out and replaced with two long wooden tables with benches. Castle reminiscent indeed.

Don't see the point of all the others anyway, not like this place has over a hundred people in here at once to need all that space. The new tables provide just as much space to eat just in a smaller area. The large machine taking up a lot of the room where tables had been, I have no idea what it's called, but it's like an island counter.

Salad bar?

A floating counter that has glass over it and small bins to hold food from salad stuffs to pizza toppings and desserts. Seeing as half of it is bins and the other is a flat surface. Heating and cooling coils will be inside it. Wow.

Old hag really went all out. Some of that stuff I'd been obnoxious about, like the rotisserie ovens, broilers, and one of those convection ovens. Yet there they all are along with several toasters, waffle irons, and juicers. Talk about a dream kitchen.

Now this I can claim as my own. Several classes I had in school had something to do with food, even an online class. My mom and sister aren't big on fancy made foods, so all this is huge. I've used it all before, so learning them and teaching to others should be easy.

Realizing I've been muttering 'oh my God' under my breath for who knows how long, I shut up. People had been seriously busy while I was asleep and pestered by my bane.

Also catch myself tugging at Kerry's apron in excitement, my euphoria being shared by both her and Maii who's on my other side. I bound from one item to the next and explain their use to everyone within the kitchen, whether they want to know or not, they learn. I'd be out of breath by now if I needed oxygen, so my heart makes up for it in its joyful pounding. Gotta find happiness somewhere, right?

Kerry is also enjoying all of it, Maii is always bouncy anyway, and everyone else is either smiling and sharing my enthusiasm or looking at me like I've lost my mind. Guess a cooking Vampire isn't very common.

I can't even have coffee anymore. Sigh.

Turning on the spinning ovens, deep fryers, and the salad bar thingy, I decide if it should be hot or cool while I stare at it, picturing everything I can put into it. Since I planned on pizza and doughnuts, stew for later, and putting some chicken on soon, I put it on cool.

With all the hot stuff planned out and started, I start on doughs and have Kerry make up large batches of icing and cream filling. Maii I get planted in his stool and have him tracing words I write out for him. Multitasking like a boss.