Vampire Princess

Chapter 7

"This is the mysterious Gran's house?" I ask incredulously. 

"Yeah, pretty much," Daniel replies as we walk up the path. He still held Chloe cradled in his arms as he had the whole time we ran here at full vampire speed; which if you didn't know, is faster than a speeding bullet. Whoever says cheetahs are the fastest animals has clearly never seen a vampire running. 

"It looks so..." I trail off searching for the right word. "It looks like a dollhouse." It does. There's a flower garden in front with all kinds of roses and wild flowers growing and the white picket fence running around the perimeter of the land is immaculate. The three story building is painted a light purple color with pink accents by the windows, doors and a few other places. There's a stone walkway leading to the oak front door that's flanked by two rose bushes. The whole thing looks completely out of place in the middle of the country side with all the plain green hills and forest around. There isn't even another structure for miles. 

"If you have issues with the decorating take it up with the owner, not me," Daniel says shrugging his shoulders as much as he could while still holding Chloe like a child. "Open the gate, please."

I obey and pull open the wooden painted white gate letting Daniel go in ahead of me before stepping through and locking the latch behind me. It was like going through a portal. If I thought it looked like a dollhouse before, actually standing in the yard was like being transported into a fairytale. This was about the part where the witch usually shows up to ruin things even more for the princess and her friends. 

We trudged right up to the front door and I ring the bell hesitantly, with a bit of prompting from Daniel. I hear heavy footsteps approaching the door before a shrill voiced woman calls out, "Who are you and what do you want?" in an American accent. 

"I bring a descendant and her Guard seeking sanctuary and counsel," Daniel replies formally. 

I can see something moving behind the small peephole on the door and the woman says, "Enter freely if you mean no harm." The oak door swings open to reveal a short black haired woman scowling as she gave the three of us a once over as we walked in. 

The inside of the house was much different from the outside. It reminded me of the palace. Paintings decorated the cream walls and ornate furniture was arranged in the sitting room, down the passage, to the right. An old, expensive looking rug lay on the floor covering the hardwood. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. There are no windows.   Strange, but I suppose it’s a necessary precaution if vampires live here. Forgetting to put on a moonstone before being exposed to sunlight will kill any vampire no matter how powerful. Older ones can stay in the light for longer periods but someone like me can’t be directly exposed without some serious protection. 

"Who is at the door, Matilda," a feminine voice called. 

"It's us," Daniel called out before the woman, Matilda, could answer. "I brought Nicole with me but her Guard is hurt. Can you please help her?" 

"Come in," the woman called and I saw a pale hand appear from one of the chairs with its back to us. She motioned us into the sitting room and Daniel rushed forward obediently while I trailed behind casting a backwards glance at Matilda as we passed. 

"Sit," the woman commanded as I entered the room a few seconds after Daniel. I look at her properly for the first time and see that she's an old, petite woman with this aura of authority. She's used to being obeyed and it doesn't seem like crossing her is a good idea. "Dimitri!" she calls sharply. "Come in here."

A pale man enters through another door that I didn't notice when we first walked in, I peek through before it swings closed and see an immaculate looking kitchen with people buzzing about busily. "Yes Madame?" he says like a servant addressing a queen.