The Vampires' Best Pet

Chapter 1

The Pet Store was cold and smelled strongly of blood and lavender. I sat in my cage and hugged myself for warmth, the girls in cages next to me did the same.

The black silk dress that was a thin piece of fabric with two thin straps did nothing to keep us warm. Though I could not complain since some of the pets were completely naked or wearing blood and grime stained rags.

A young girl in the cage across from me was lying facing away, through the rags on her body I could see the cuts bleeding through from the whipping she got last night for crying too loudly. I could see the scars on her body from punishments, and how small she was from malnourishment.

We were from a Breeder so we couldn't be whipped but the Seller had different ways to punish us. The shock collar was too tight, digging into my neck, but it was better than the chain collars on the girls who were captured.

The Breeder had a strict diet for us that even the Sellers had to follow but it was different for captured pets. They were barely fed and usually died from infection and sickness.

Someone came in.

When I heard the bell, I began to kneel and folded my hands on my lap, the other girls from my batch did the same. 

I heard the Seller ask what this customer was looking for and introduced the new batch from Mistress Henley. The customer said they would love to see us.

They came around the corner. The Seller, who was a fat and balding human, led a female vampire. As all vampires, she was lovely like a rose. Her hair was blonde and flowing, her eyes icy blue. She wore a white dress that made her look misleadingly innocent.

As they came closer, I looked at the floor of my cage.

"Premium pets are to the left, as you can tell." The Seller said proudly. "The signature of Mistress Henley, her girls are dressed in silk and kneeling obediently."

I kept my head up but eyes downcast like I was trained to do.

"I'm buying a present for my brother, his last pet only lasted a week so I need something more resilient." The female vampire said, looking at us carefully. "Can I see this one closer?"

I didn't dare to look but I heard the cage next to me being opened.

The girl who I grew up with got out without a struggle and stood silently. We were assigned numbers as birth as names, she was number 47 and I was number 3. Being from the same batch meant we had the same mother, so I suppose that meant I was her older sister.

Her hair was light brown just like mine but her eyes were blue unlike my brown ones. I remember Mistress Henley punishing her many times for failing etiquette.

"Very well behaved." The vampire said in a pleased tone.

I could see them reflected on the steel floor. 47 had no expression on her face but her shoulders were tense. We were taught to be emotionless and obedient but it was human nature to be afraid of vampires, afraid of death.

"I'm sure this one would make a great gift." The Seller said.

"Hmmm, I don't know, it seems very frail. I want to see the other one."

I couldn't stop the way my blood went cold as I heard the door of my cage open. I stepped out and stood up straight for the first time in a week since the last customer came in to buy a pet.

"This one is one of the Mistress's finest, third of it's batch, O negative blood type of course." The Seller appraised. "You may test yourself."

Customers were not allowed to drink from us without purchase, but they were allowed to other things as long as we were not harmed.