Court of Darkness

4. Returning memories - Nicki

The next night came. Nicki woke up late in the evening and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to order her thoughts. Yesterday she had remembered something from her time as a human and while she had been asleep she had dreamed about a few snippets of her life. Her family had sold her to the palace as a servant. To be the servant of Alexander's father, the king, to be exact. She had been selected because she had a pretty face. None of her skills had mattered. She had been pretty. That had been enough. Disgusting. The king would've had bad plans for her if it hadn't been for Alexander. He had insisted on needing a servant and had claimed her for himself. He had basically saved her. He had given her space in the beginning. He had allowed her to cry in her room for days. She had been upset with everything that had happened. Her family had sold her without a second thought. Money had meant more to them than she had. Anger. She knew what the king would've done with her if Alexander hadn't interfered. Confusion. Why had the prince saved her? He obviously didn't need her because he had allowed her to stay on her room for days. Could it be that a spoiled prince could be a decent person? Or was he just waiting until the right moment? To use her like everyone else used her. She was just a bargain chip. Nothing more, nothing less. How wrong she had been. Alexander was actually a decent human being towards her. She had a fairly easy life. She would bring him his meals when he was busy with work. She took away the empty platters. Refilled his cup when needed. Sometimes she was even allowed to bring some of his letters to the mailroom. Only the head servant was allowed to do that. Now she also had that permission.

After a few weeks he had decided to strike a conversation with her. He asked her how she was doing. If she was still upset because of her family. If she liked it here. If there was anything HE could do for her. She started to grow fond of him. Her master actually cared about her wellbeing. He didn't have a secret agenda when it came to her. He just let her be and wanted her to be happy. It was an odd thought but it was something she could get used to. She would finally be happy for the first time in her life.

All those feelings... All that hope. How had she ended up like this? What had happened after Alexander had became a vampire? Something must have happened between them for her to start hating him. Human Alexander had apparently been a gentleman to her when they first met. Alexander the first vampire had also been gentle with her after she had turned. Had explained to her how vampirism worked. What their strengths and limits were, how to feed, how her new abilities worked. He had been patient yet she had never felt a click with him. She had pushed him away once she understood what it meant to be a vampire. Once she had been able to function one her own. But Alexander had and still was trying to prevent her from leaving him. He had offered her much needed protection from the rebels and given her a high status in the palace. She hadn't been able to reject that offer at the time. She had always been able to leave whenever she had wanted but Nicki had never taken him up to that offer. Centuries had passed by in the blink of an eye and she had became Alexander's most trusted servant and spy.

Nicki stood up from her bed and rang the bell. Her maid was already in the room when she turned around. "Do you need help to get dressed or would you like to start the day with a cup of blood first, miss?" The brown haired girl asked politely. Her name was Reeva. She wore a brown uniform, like all the other servants but she wore a badge as a sign that she had access to Alexander's wing.

"Bring me a cup of blood please and place it in the living room. I'll get changed myself". Nicki wasn't in the mood to get dressed by her maid. She could do it easily by herself and it felt personal to have her belly exposed like that since she was showing. Reeva nodded and quietly left. Nicki decided to change into a black flow dress with long sleeves. She put in ruby earrings and a red pendant to finish her look.

Nicki entered the living room and sat down on the chair that Alexander had used the night before. Next to it was a small table that had a cup of blood on it. She drank from the cup and absently caressed her belly as she was thinking. Life could be really strange... One night had changed her whole life.