The Diary of a Vampire

Spring, Year xx73

          One unfortunate thing about being within Lord Ryan's inner circles is being required to spend time around Christine much more often than I would like to. Or rather, I would call it less "spend time around" as much as being in the same room with a dozen other vampires and we are forced to make eye contact occasionally. Both of us detest it. There is no secret about that.

          However, I am able to see sides of Christine that I never thought I would be able to. She is much different around Lord Ryan than she is around me, although that was to be expected. But it is more than that. Sometimes it seems like she wants to go against him, but she just... stops. I don't know what the last decades have been like for her, but to me she has never gotten a criticism from Lord Ryan. It is strange.

          For instance, just yesterday Lord Ryan's inner circle vampires were with him in a meeting. Still being relatively new, I do not speak up in these such gatherings. I do not want to lose my place. However, Christine seems to have no such reservations. She challenged Lord Ryan on one of his suggestions and when he looked and her and changed it to an order, she still looked like she wanted to argue against it.

          That's when it happened. His voice turned to honey, a tone that I am not a stranger to in the least. Even across the room it made me waver in my seat slightly, like I wanted to do what he ordered myself. His words were disapproving, and his touch mirrored them, holding her chin lightly but firmly up so that she was staring straight into his eyes. As I watched, the tension in her body drained and after a second, his grip changed to cup gently on her cheek as she looked down and voiced her agreement. She almost looked like a lifeless puppet doll and Lord Ryan was the one pulling the strings. I had never seen her like that.

          I can't get it out of my head.