Prince of Blood

6: Cyr the Blood Servant

          While I was busy admiring myself in the mirror, the door behind Jahal opened and another young man entered. Jahal didn't immediately acknowledge him and somehow I detected the tiniest hint of distaste. Without turning around, Jahal introduced the newcomer to me.

"Cyr will inform you of the details of how things work around here and be at your every command. Please excuse me, I have business I must attend to." Jahal said, stepping down.

He bowed slightly before turning around and passing by Cyr as he left. They didn't look at each other and I was suddenly curious about this. Cyr waited until Jahal was gone from the room before walking over to the bedside. As he got closer, I was able to see his features more clearly. Cyr appeared somewhere near my own age and therefore younger than Jahal. His hair was a golden blonde and his skin was fair and smooth. But the one thing that I instantly picked up on was his eyes; they weren't red. Not even close. They were a crystalline blue. He was rather handsome but in a oddly different way. Somehow I knew instantly that he wasn't even a vampire. A slight smile slipped onto his face as he saw me studying him.

"We have a lot to cover, but if you have any questions, I'll answer them now."

His voice didn't hold the airy, silky tone that Jahal's had and he spoke in a more relaxed and laid back tone. There were too many questions to ask but I narrowed it down.

"Where are we?" I asked, a little startled by the sound of my voice.

I couldn't think of how to describe it...but it was definitely different.

"You're now far away from where you used to live when you were human. I guess you could say you're in the vampire's land now, but you can just call it Larai. This is the castle of Larai." Cyr said, speaking slow enough so I could take things in.

He was watching me carefully and waiting for a few moments for the question that was obviously next.

"What am I doing here?" I asked, still confused.

"The one who transformed you was Prince Celrisid. He was a Pureblood vampire. Here Purebloods are rare and considered the royalty. Being that you were turned by a Pureblood; you are now a Pureblood."

"...so I'm a Prince?" I asked, somehow not too shocked by that.

Cyr nodded.

"The Queen and yourself are the only two living Purebloods. Though you aren't related directly, she is your 'sister' now in a way."

Things were slowly starting to come together and I began remembering things that I'd been told about vampires when I was a human. There were many different versions...and I suddenly remembered the mirror in my hand. Somehow it hadn't crossed my mind that it was odd to be able to see my reflection now that I was a vampire. Well, that meant one thing I'd heard about vampires was false. Also the vampire who had...'turned me', as Cyr had said, had mentioned that a bite from a vampire did not transform a human into vampire. As I began to work things out, Cyr waited patiently. I knew it'd take days for me to learn everything about vampires but I decided to change the subject and glanced up at Cyr.

"What are you? You're not a vampire are you?"

Cyr slowly shook his head.

"No. I'm human, basically."

Deciding to ignore the 'basically' in the sentence for now, I probed farther.

"So humans are allowed into...Larai?" I asked, remembering the name of the land I was now in.

Cyr thought for a moment.

"Not exactly. This might seem odd, but vampires go and select special servants to come to the castle with a specific purpose...which is basically letting the nobles that live in the palace 'feed' on them. Unlike the ones you feasted on," He said, glancing at the pile of corpses. "the vampires do not drain them completely, because their blood is more rich in flavor and satisfies quicker. It is also sometimes forbidden to drain them."

"So...that's what you are?"

Cyr nodded slightly and I was now able to spotted the two fang marks just above his shirt collar.

"We're just called Blood servants, or Seroe."

"How does that work? Can anyone...feast on you?"

"Well with me it works a little differently but usually at least two vampires create a 'bond' with the Seroe, which is like a agreement that they are both allowed to feed on the Seroe. They show this by a small colored chain that is wrapped around the Seroe's hand. The color and way it is wrapped on the hand, tells other vampires that the blood servant is off-limits unless they have permission. There is no limit to the number of vampires that can use the same servant but typically it is kept at six. Too many and the risks of killing the servant are high."

"And you said it works differently for you?"

Cyr nodded.

"I have no bond, but you could say that I am 'claimed' by the queen which means I get a little more respect. Any vampire outside the castle is forbidden to have my blood and many of the lower class nobles that live here are discouraged from tasting it. There are really only three others that are daring enough to try it."

The whole idea was interesting and a little strange to me, but it also kind of made sense. I thought about this for a few more moments.

"Is Jahal one of those three?" I asked slowly.

Cyr raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes...what made you guess that?" He asked.

"I don't know...Just had a feeling, I guess. Who exactly is Jahal?"

"He's the head of the Queen's military and her personal bodyguard. He has more importance than half of the people here." Cyr said.

"And you said that there are nobles staying at the castle as well, correct?"

Cyr nodded.

"All the Lords and Ladies either live here or stay here for long amounts of time before heading back to their homes. Don't worry about figuring everything out all at once. It's going to take a long time for your to grasp everything."

I slowly nodded. My human mind would've been spinning in confusion and thinking that everything was weird and foreign...but I wasn't human anymore so things made sense and seemed normal somehow. Still a little strange but not all too mind boggling.

"I'm sure Jahal as mentioned this to you; you're going to need to pick out a new name for yourself. Do you have any in mind?"

Honestly, I had no idea, so I shook my head slowly.

"Not really...if I'm going to be stuck with the name for the rest of my life, I want it to be one that I like." I said slowly.

"I can bring a list of names if that'll help."

Nodding, I slowly realized that I was getting drowsy.

"For now you'll be addressed as 'Your Highness' until you decide."

"That's fine." I said, blinking to try to stay awake.

Cyr smiled softly and picked up the mirror, setting it on the counter.

"You rest, I'll be back when you wake, your highness."

Gratefully, I closed my eyes and almost instantly fell into sleep.