NOVEL WEB 12. Thanks
"Sorry?" Amber said, "Sorry for wha-"
"You're bleeding!" Millie said, interrupting Amber. "What happened to your hand?"
"I..." I muttered, my tired eyes looking down at my bloodied hand. It was still curled into a fist, I realized. Still shaking. It had stained some of the bedsheets as well, with light drippings leading from the mirror to my bed.
"Here," Amber said, pulling out a tiny vial of crimson liquid. "Drink this."
She popped the top off and, if its appearance failed to give it away, the sweet aroma of blood filled the air ever so tantalizingly.
I failed to resist its allure and accepted it rather quickly, holding it with my unharmed hand and feasting on its contents.
Within moments, the pain dissipated and every single cut the glass gave my fist began to mend itself.
"How..." I began to say, bewildered.
"One of the perks of being a vampire," Amber said with a wink and a smile. "I always keep spare vials on me, just in case."
"What happened to the mirror?" Millie asked both Amber and I, as if she had no doubt that I was innocent.
"I broke it," I said, finally unclutching and caressing the fist I used to do the deed. "I'm sorry."
Millie rose an eyebrow.
"You broke it? But why would you want to-"
Amber cut her off with a light elbow to the side.
"I understand Lil', I do. I know it's hard to look in the mirror and see yourself like this, but we promise you'll be able to go back to being a guy agai-"
"It's not that," I said, catching her off guard. "I saw what I looked like before."
The confusion on their faces was very visible, especially Amber's.
"Then... why did-"
"I looked just like my father," I stated. "...my shackler, I mean..."
"What?!" They both said furiously.
"Lady Magnolia had mentioned you were shackled before turning, but to think it was your own father..." Amber said.
"How could your own father do that?! What a monster," Millie said.
Their pity was somewhat comforting.
"When Mag- when mother revealed that I was shackled, I questioned if my parents were even related to me... I thought maybe it would make more sense if they weren't. But when I saw what I used to look like for the first time..." I said, "it was obvious I had their blood in me."
There was a short moment of silence.
"And... when I saw that, I just..."
"Hey, it's ok Lil'" Millie said, comforting me. "That monster isn't here and you're nothing like him."
"His blood doesn't even run in your veins anymore. That's what a 'Royal Turning' will do for you," Amber added.
"A Royal Turning?" I asked.
"Mhmm, I'm a vampire myself, but not from one of the Four Great Houses. The smaller and impure families, like my own, only barely affect the person when they turn. Sometimes you might have an eye or a bit of hair change color, but never a complete genetic transformation. I didn't change at all when I was turned."
No longer having his blood in me was a pleasing thought, at least.
"Oh! And you don't need to fear looking like him ever again. Once Lady Magnolia acquires the elixir for you, you'll look like a, uh... well you'd look like a male version of Lady Magnolia! Handsomeness equal to her beauty," Amber tried assuring me.
I nodded my head. I guess it did assure me, I was relieved to know I wouldn't have to see his face again in any shape or form. But handsome? Would I really turn out handsome? I mean, given the circumstances, I turned out cute instead of beautiful. So, what's the equivalent to cute?
"Oh!" Millie said as if she forgot something. "Your breakfast!"
She turned around, revealing her big fluffy tail that I'd nearly forgotten about (and avoided randomly speaking of, this time), and picked up a platter.
"Aww, we let it get cold," she said as she delivered the platter to my bedside.
It was a few slices of cold bacon, a piece of toast slathered with strawberry jelly, and a scrambled egg.
"Is this for me?" I asked, realizing I had been pretty hungry.
"Yes, but-"
That was all I needed to hear before reaching out for a piece of bacon. Getting the leftover crumbs was always the best.
But before I could, Millie's hand stopped me.
"Wait wait, don't eat it cold!"
I tilted my head. It seemed fine to me.
"Here," she said, laying the platter down on the bedside.
I almost reached out for a piece, but I felt a strange warmth in the air. I noticed she had an intense look on her face, something unlike anything I had seen before. Her arms were stretched out towards the food and the heat in the air intensified, but not uncomfortably so.
She let out a deep breath.
"There! As good as new! Well not new, then it would be raw. I mean fresh out of the oven. Well, it wasn't cooked in the oven, b-but look it's hot now, ok?!" Millie said almost out of breath.
I figured it was ready to eat now, so I picked up a slice and immediately noticed how warm it was.
"How did you do that?" I asked like it was my first time seeing magic.
"Magic," she said smugly. "Just a bit of pyromancy. But tell me, how does it taste?"
I bit off a piece and...!
"It'sh delishioush!" I said with stars in my eyes.
"Bacon can taste this good?!" I asked in-between swallowing and stuffing my mouth with more bacon.
"Glad you like it!" a very pleased Millie said.
"Try the toast next," Amber suggested somewhat slyly.
I happily obliged and tried the toast, but the first bite's taste surprised me, in a good way. I had to resist the urge to eat all of it at once.
"Is this..." I asked.
"It is. Only a bit for flavor, though. It's called blood jam," Amber swiftly replied with a smile.
That explained the way it made me feel. I'm not sure if allowing myself to so easily accept the idea of consuming blood was good or not, but it was quickly becoming my favorite.
I finished the rest of the platter, feeling very satisfied.
"Thank you both," I said heartfelt.
Suddenly, they straightened themselves and did a slight bow, saying, "You're welcome."
"But, you don't need to thank us for every thing we do," Amber said.
"As your assigned maids, we're going to end up doing a lot of things for you," Millie said.
"So, unless you want to be thanking us all day long, you'll want to accept our services in quiet," they said in unison.
"Oh, uh, ok." I said. Even I could tell how arrogant that sounded, yet when they say it with such confidence I can't help but believe they mean it.
The stern and emotionless faces they had after I thanked them was abruptly replaced with snorts and giggles.
"We're just joking," Amber said as Millie was laughing too hard to comment.
"Oh."
I started to laugh along with them, the despair from earlier a distant memory.
But it was still a memory.
After we calmed down, I asked them a question with a sad yet hopeful smile.
"Are we friends?"
"Of course we are!" Millie said enthusiastically. "Aren't we, sis?"
Amber was quiet for a moment, then made a subtle head movement to her sis.
"Ah, right, I'll go ahead and clean up the room then," Millie said.
I was really happy to hear Millie's response, but Amber's silence was concerning me. I looked away from her, but I still really wanted to know if this counted as a friendship to her.
"Are we...?" I asked again in a quieter voice.
She sat down beside me on the bed.
"We are," she said with a smile. "But I don't take being friends lightly. If we're friends, then that means we trust each other, ok?"
"Ok," I nodded.
"I'm serious. In return for trusting you, I want you to trust me. Can you promise me that?" she asked.
I paused for a moment.
"I don't really have experience with trust," I admitted. "I want to promise you that, but I'm scared I'll fail. I... I've never had a friend before."
For just a moment, she had a surprised expression. It was replaced with a sincere smile.
"That's good enough then, friend."
"Really? Even though I can't promise you..." I responded.
"I wasn't completely sure by the end of last night, but I've decided. I'll trust you, not because Lady Magnolia and Millie both do, but because I personally think I can trust you," she said resolutely.
"I..." I started to object. "Thank you."
"I thought we said no thanking," she teased.
I couldn't help but giggle. I've made not just one friend, but two in one day. Maybe I'm actually good at this.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat after we finished laughing. "With that out of the way, it's time I tell you."
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"I'm transgender."