Darius returned to his castle and wasted no time in seeking the solitude of his quarters.Solitude aside from Mitzi, that is.This was the first time he had been away for more than a day where he had to return with her there, and at first the thought irritated him.The angst was quickly washed away, though, when he realized that he didn’t have to ring a slave in the kitchen for a hot plate of pancakes and eggs should he feel like indulging.He just had to order Mitzi to make it.And, there was always the fun of making her watch him eat food that he didn’t need when she hadn’t eaten herself and she desperately needed to.
Mitzi’s blood was unique.It amazed Darius that she hadn’t been devoured by some other vampire long before now.He wasn’t complaining, though, because now she was his.Thinking of this made him wish to snack on her.He craved the sweet nectar that left a satisfying tanginess on his tongue after he was done feeding.
“Mitzi!” Darius entered his quarters and closed the door behind him.He checked Mitzi’s room in passing and she wasn’t in there, not that he expected her to be.It was working hours and she should be cleaning one of his many rooms.But after searching through his quarters, Darius still could not find Mitzi.Frustrated, he sought her out on the balconies.The only reason she should be out there would be to care for the plants and to wash the stones, but that wouldn’t be a task that should take too long.However, she wasn’t on any of them, either.There was no way that she could hope to be successful at escaping him.Darius searched his rooms again and roared when he did not locate his little human slave within them.
Just outside of the heavy door to his quarters and after locking it behind him, Darius sniffed the air to scent out the human girl.He began to pace the hall until he picked up the direction of her scent, then he began to follow it with fury.He walked with such purpose and ferocity that anyone human who saw him ducked for cover.Once he neared the halls that led to the laundry rooms, he bellowed Mitzi’s name.His powerful and angry voice echoed through the corridors, causing many slaves to cringe upon hearing it.“I sure am glad I am not Mitzi, whoever she is…” remarked a cotton-topped slave woman who had the deep lines of worry permanently etched around her eyes and mouth.The other woman that stood next to her agreed by nodding her head silently and solemnly.“I can’t remember the last time I heard Master so angry with one particular slave.” The older woman continued. “I wonder what she did?”
Darius seemed very large in these narrow corridors that led underneath his castle to where the kitchens and workrooms were.It was no wonder his food was nearly always cold before it got up to him prior to having the convenience of Mitzi to cook for him within his own quarters.He would rather keep the other slaves as far removed from him as possible, though, and for a moment found that he did appreciate Zane’s intent when he gave Mitzi to him.But, where was that damn girl now?He could smell her here very strongly and thickly, he was definitely closing in on her.
Darius stopped when he reached a small door that was only open about six inches.He could hear women’s voices from within the room.He peered around, careful to not be seen, and found himself looking into a smaller room with several tables spaced within it.There were four women standing at the tables folding laundry that had just been washed and dried.Stacks of towels were piled on one of the tables.Three of the women had their backs turned to him and the fourth was too busy folding as she talked to notice anything.When she was finished, she stacked a pile of about ten blood red towels into another girl’s arms.“Don’t drop them, he will notice.” She paused, then spoke again. “So, you stay up there with him?In his quarters?”
“Yes.”Mitzi’s voice!Darius had to suppress a growl that wanted to erupt from his throat.
“It must be so beautiful!” A blond slave spoke as she turned toward Mitzi, who was holding the red towels now, adjusting her weight to balance them in her arms. “Nobody has been up there in years.”
