17 Blood Soaked Poppies
Drake frowns and his bushy brows furrow. He stands from the bench and turns to Rayne.
"Excuse me." He says, "I'll be right back." Rayne nods and Drake ushers over to where Walter stands holding his coat. He slips it on and the two exit the room. Rayne waits, running her fingers over the smooth keys of the piano. The men walk out and down the long dirt trail to the barn where the town veterinarian and a few of the stable boys stand staring at them. Even in the dark, Drake can see their faces look grim as they approach. The veterinarian steps forward in between them and the body of a horse behind him. The short, chubby man does not block their view well as they are both taller than him, especially Drake, and they can see the young stallions corpse is bloody and mangled.
"What happened here?" asks Drake, his voice sounding cold. The stumpy old man swallows hard under the vampire's shadowy gaze.
"Uhh…well, it appears as though a werewolf has gotten him, sir." He answers nervously. Drake pushes past him to get a better look at the dead, black horse which was nearly shredded now. It's blood soaks the grass and poppies around it, turning them a deep red. Drake frowns and walks away, feeling sorry for the poor creature. He's always had a love for animals. Their lives are so simple and generally easy. He thanks the veterinarian, leaves the stable boys to clean up the mess, and heads back up the dirt path. Walter follows quickly behind him.
"This isn't good Walter." Drake states. "The wolves are getting braver, closer. They never used to come up the mountain." He continues as they stroll back to the house, his long, lean legs taking wide strides. Walter struggles to keep up. "We need to do something to keep them in Yurbank. For now, have a fence put up around the perimeter of the property." He instructs. Walter nods and hustles away to carry out the task asked of him while Drake heads back into the house. Rayne has wandered off from the foyer where he left her. Drake searches numerous rooms before finding the girl in the house's library. He leans cross armed in the doorway, watching her silently as she curiously searches the tall bookshelves. Rayne reaches out and runs her small hand along the spines of the old books before plucking one from the shelf, opening it to the middle. Her big blue eyes shuffle across the page then catch a glimpse of Drake in the doorway. She blushes and carefully puts the book away.
"I'm sorry…" she starts.
"Please, don't be." Drake interrupts. "Do you read?" He asks inquisitively as he walks toward her. Rayne shakes her head, embarrassed.
"No, I never had the chance to learn, though I wish I had. I always enjoyed the stories others would read to me." admits Rayne. Drake sits on the edge of the dark wooden desk, his black eyes watching her playfully.
"What kind of stories?" he asks.
"Mostly stuff about…erm…night creatures." She confesses bashfully. Drake smirks, mischievousness dances on his face.
"Oh?" he asks teasingly, "And what did your books say about us?" He stands up, towering over Rayne and grinning down at her.
"Umm…" she gulps.
"Nothing good huh?" Drake asks, stepping toward her. Rayne shakes her head and he begins circling her slowly like a hungry falcon to a field mouse. His warm breath on the back of her neck leaves her frozen where she stands. "So, they didn't talk about my amazing piano skills?" He continues jokingly, making Rayne smile.
"No, I'm sorry they left that out though, it was beautiful." She says, turning to face him. She is surprised by how close he's standing to her and stumbles back a few steps, bumping into the desk behind her. Drake flashes a taunting smirk, amused by her shyness. He steps closer to her.
"Tsk tsk tsk and I bet they didn't mention how handsome and charming I am either. Or how I can be very, very passionate." He leans close, placing his hands on the desk on either side of Rayne. Their faces are now only inches from each other, leaving her speechless with her inner thighs heating up at the smell of him. Drake stares seductively into her icy blue eyes. Rayne's gaze trails down to his thin smiling lips and her stomach does flips. Drake starts to lean in closer but a loud crash in the hall outside the library breaks the silence and catches their attention. A young maid dropped a platter of silver goblets and is now scurrying to clean up the mess. Drake looks back to Rayne and grins. "Would you like some dessert?" he asks, standing back.
He outstretches his hand to her, and she takes it, nodding her head and smiling. Her small hand feels soft and warm in his. He leads her through the hall and into the kitchen which is much larger than the one upstairs. An older maid quickly approaches upon seeing them, her head hanging low as not to make eye contact.
"Master Drake." She says, curtseying.
"Evening Helena." Greets Drake, "What do you have for me today?"
"I have some tapioca pudding, peach puffs, or yellow cream cake sir." She answers. Drake looks to Rayne who shrugs, unsure of what these delicacies are.
"Cream cake, please." He says. The maid bows again and scurries away to prepare their dessert. Drake leads Rayne out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. He sees a maid in passing and stops her, muttering something before sending her on her way.
"What was that?" asks Rayne nosily.
"She's going to grab us some jackets."
"Jackets? We're going outside?"
"You'll see." Drake smirks. They walk down the hall to a skinny black door. The maid meets them and places the coats on their shoulders. Drake opens the door which leads to a small hallway with only a staircase. Rayne looks at him unsure. "Go on." He urges. Rayne heads up the dark stairwell to another door. She opens it to a large platform. The night wind whips by her as she steps outside. Drake closes the door behind them and takes her hand again, leading her over to the edge's wall. Rayne peers out over the dense forests below. The trees expand for miles from what she can see. "The night is pretty clear." He says, "Have you ever used a telescope?" Rayne looks at him puzzled, her brows slightly furrowed. Drake tugs her hand and nods for her to follow him over to a large, odd looking contraption at the far end of the balcony unlike any she's ever seen. Drake adjusts it, pointing the wider end high in the night sky toward the bright full moon. Rayne watches him in wonder. Drake steps back. "Okay, take a look." He says, pointing to the smaller end of the scope. Rayne leans down, placing her eye to the lens. Through the telescope she can see all the little details of the moon. Its wide craters and glowing aura leave her breathless.
"This is amazing!" she exclaims. Drake smiles at her giddiness. The door behind them opens and a maid carrying their cake emerges. She sets the plates on a little table between two chairs and leaves. Drake and Rayne sit down and begin eating the creamy dessert while staring out over the trees and up at the stars. The delicious custardy cake melts in Rayne's mouth.
"You like?" Drake asks, watching her admiringly.
"Oh my gods, it's so good." She answers. "I've never seen or had anything like this. Not just the food but all of this. It's all so extravagant, I never noticed how simple my little village was compared to the rest of the world." She says.
"Sometimes simple is good." Drake replies, "I enjoy the finer things for sure and I live this way because it's what's expected of me, but I often wish life was less dramatic." Rayne remembers him getting called away by Walter for business.
"Was everything okay earlier?" she asks, setting down her empty plate. Drake peers out at the forest.
"One of my horses was killed by a wolf." He states. Rayne's heart sinks as she remembers what Eleanora said about the savages. "They don't normally come up the mountain this far but lately they've been getting bolder. The wolves have lived in fear of us for centuries and it troubles me that they no longer seem to be afraid. We cannot have the savages running amuck in Hasting's or any of the other civilized regions. That's why we allotted them Yurbank." explains Drake. "I will need to go to the Capital tomorrow to bring this to their attention. I hope it doesn't take too long but there's a chance we won't be able to visit many villages. Do you mind?" he asks Rayne.
"No." she shakes her head, "I don't mind being here as long as you don't. I would hate to impose." she says. Drake grins at her.
"Not at all. You can stay here as long as you like." He says. Rayne blushes and smiles. She peers up to the stars. One of them shoots across the sky. She thinks about how different her life is now, how just days ago sitting on top of a mansion with a vampire eating cream cake would have been unthinkable. She closes her eyes and thinks fondly of her grandmother, Clementine, and the other villagers that were kind to her. Slowly she drifts off to sleep in the chair on the roof.
