Prince of Blood

7: Gathering Knowledge

          The sleep felt unusual and...empty somehow. Also, I had no dreams at all and my eyes opened automatically when I awoke. It was so strange that I just stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, considering this. There was no 'heavy' feeling when I fell asleep and woke up and I felt instantly wide awake. My eyes also didn't have to adjust at all either and I slowly sat up. As he had said, Cyr was there. He had placed a very thick book on the table near the side of the bed and my gaze lingered on it for a few seconds. It was a book of names complete with origin, meaning, and alternate spellings. Cyr was leaning against the wall, fingering through another book and somehow I knew he was aware that I was awake but was waiting for me to be of need of him. Curiously, I opened the book to the center and scanned the names. Reading seemed to come extremely easy now and in a couple minutes I had read both pages, and could still remember what was on it.

"You may take as long as you wish on deciding on a name." Cyr said, speaking in his usual reserved but clear tone.

Closing the book, I returned my attention to Cyr.

"Do you usual do this? Attend to new vampires, I mean."

"Well...Purebloods, yes. Though I have only assisted three. Common vampires are taught by the one who turned them."

"Only three? Are Purebloods that rare?"

Cyr hesitated for a moment and set his book on the table beside him.

"Recently they've become rare, but in the past, there used to be a large number of them. The three that I knew were all from the same line. Meaning that the first one I met, turned the second, and the second turned Prince Celrisid. And as I mentioned, he was the one who turned you."

I frowned. Even not knowing much about vampires, I knew that this was strange.

"...what about the queen?"

"I did not teach her. She has ruled for almost two hundred years now. I've been here only one hundred."

I blinked in confusion and looked closely at Cyr.

"I thought you said you were human though."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and he glanced at the side door, before speaking.

"Yes, but I'm not fully human and there have been numerous experiments run on me to alter things." He said.

Instant curiosity stirred up in me but I kept myself from asking more, sensing that Cyr didn't want to discuss it. Besides, I was supposed to be learning about the ways of a vampire right now. Redirecting my thoughts, I searched for other questions that were more applicable.

"What am I supposed to do here at the castle, other than just live."

Cyr appreciated that I hadn't continued with the last conversation and assumed his 'tutor-like' attitude again.

"Your purpose is to provide support to the queen when needed and establish yourself in society as a respectable Pureblood. It is a game to vampires to test the Purebloods. Some do this to see if they are worthy of their loyalty. You don't have to worry too much about this; it will come natural once you are fully recovered."

"What do you mean, 'fully recovered'? I thought the transformation was complete already."

"It is, but your body needs to get used to the thirst for blood instead of relying on food for satisfaction. It doesn't recognize the need and your hunger will come without warning. But judging on your rapid change, you could possibly be fully recovered by tomorrow morning."

"What is the usual recovery rate?"

Cyr seemed to study me for a few moments before answering.

"Five days is how long it usually takes, but it is different with each Pureblood."

As my mind pondered this, I suddenly felt a surge in my chest and a now familiar sensation of hunger. It was more controllable this time and I was able to feel the difference. My pulse had quickened and both my fingers and jaw felt a little stiff. A glance in the mirror confirmed what I had suspected about vampire's eyes glowing when they were hungry. It wasn't a bright and blinding glow and appeared more like just a change of color than a complete glow. My senses seemed stronger now as well, specifically my sense of taste and smell. It was a little unnerving but I could smell Cyr's blood and the rich scent instantly made my mouth water.

"Even discussions of feeding can make you aware that you're actually hungry." Cyr said. 

He moved over to the side door and tapped on it twice. It opened and figure was pushed in. She was clothed in the same unattractive dress as the ones that I had drained earlier had worn. Her eyes also had the same dead look in them and she approached the bed without hesitation. This time, I paused for a moment before leaning up and digging my fangs into her neck. She didn't move and I closed my eyes as the blood flooded my mouth. It seemed thin and not very flavorful but I couldn't be very picky. This time, it took me longer to drain her completely and I was satisfied afterwards. She collapsed on the ground and I studied the corpse for a few seconds while wiping the blood from my fangs with my tongue.

"So...those aren't Seroe, or Blood Servants are they?" I asked.

Cyr shook his head slightly.

"No. They are the ones who are unfit to be Seroe because they lack physical beauty or their blood doesn't tastes as pleasant. There is no name for them really, so they're referred to as Unwanted."

"Does appearance really matter that much?" I asked, my gaze falling on the limp form on the floor.
"Vampires see themselves as beautiful creatures and prefer to surround themselves with beautiful things."

"I guess that makes sense." I murmured, shaking off the thought and changing the subject. "How often do vampires need to drink blood?"

"That depends on whether you wait until the starving point. For Purebloods it's differs but typically it ranges from three days to twelve days before they start starving. Normal vampires only need to feast once between two or three weeks." Cyr said, pushing the corpse under my bed with his foot so it was out of sight.

It was strange how I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or excited that I had to feed more often than normal vampires. The taste of blood always brought a strange thrill with it and I relished it, but at the same time, drinking someone's blood was still a bit disturbing and new to me. Many things were new to me here. The book of names caught my eye again and I lifted it from the table. Opening to a random section, I began reading through the names to see if one caught my attention. Some where normal and could pass as human names, while others were very different and I had never heard of before. Cyr glanced at the large grandfather clock against the wall for a moment.

"If you don't need anything else at the moment, I have some other tasks that need my attention. I'll only be gone a little over an hour." He said.

Nodding slightly, I watched as Cyr left the room before returning to the book of names. I knew that I couldn't rush myself with this; Choosing a name that I'd be called for who knows how long, was a extremely important decision and I wanted to get it right.