1 Journey

Roman

I sighed, as I walked out of the third pet shop of the day. I had been looking all over, and none of these girls seemed like the perfect pet for me. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I knew I would know her when I saw her.

I had never thought about owning a pet until after my wife and mate of 800 years was killed 5 years ago during a war against the werewolves. It was tragic really, and had I been any other Vampire, I would not have survived losing my mate. But now I'm just a lonely old man in need of some companionship.

"Have you thought about going to an orphanage, father? You can find you a young one, and train her how you want her to be?" My son, Prince Levi asked me.

"I guess that is my only option now. None of these other girls have sparked any interest in me," I replied, wishing I knew exactly what I was looking for.

As we walked into the orphanage, I suddenly felt a little lift in my spirit. I guess it was all the happy energy the young children were giving off.

They were running around all happily laughing and playing games with each other. None of them worried about what their futures may bring. They aren't told at this young age what they will one day become. In fact, they are treated quite well in these orphanages.

It's true, even though you may not believe it. Yes, Vampires are normally monsters, and we do use humans for our own selfish needs. But children are allowed to remain in their happy little bubble until the age of 16.

"My King," the owner said, as she walked out of her office, and did a respectful bow to both me, and my son. "How can I help you today?"

She was a very sweet looking woman, she could have been around 500 years old, a little overweight, but not much. She had vibrant red hair tied into a very tight bun on the top of her head. Her makeup was done flawlessly, and as all Vampires are, she was stunningly beautiful.

"Yes ma'am. I'm looking for a- oooph," I groaned as a tiny little ball of blonde hair came running toward me, and jumped on me.

She was hanging from my shoulders like a little monkey. It was adorable really.

"Hey mister! Pick me up," she ordered in her cute little voice.

I instantly put one arm under her butt, and twisted her so that she sat on my hip. Looking down at those big hazel eyes, staring up at me with an adoration all her own.

"Journey! Get down from there this instant. You don't just climb on our King, young lady. You will be getting a visit from my belt today," the older lady demanded with eyes as big as saucers.

"Oh no," Journeys little eyes filled with water instantly, as she tried to wiggle her way out of my grip. "I'm so sorry mister King," she whined.

"I'm so sorry, my King," the woman said, as she reached for the young girl in my arms.

"No, it's okay, Journey," I pulled back from the woman, as I patted Journey's back as reassuringly as I could. It's been many years since I've dealt with a young child. "It's fine, Ms....." I said, basically asking her name.

"Young, Ms. Young," she said, almost in a flirtatious manner.

She should know better than to flirt with the King. I've only been widowed for 5 years, I would never dream to take on another woman in my life at this point, if ever. If I want sex, I will buy a sex slave. But I wouldn't even want to be in any relationship again.

"So Ms. Young. I'm actually looking for a pet, and I haven't found any at the pet shops in town. So I decided to come here to maybe find a somewhat younger one, and train her myself," I replied in answer to her earlier question.

"I'm a pet," Journey piped up, as she looked at me hopefully.

"You want to be a pet, Journey. But the way you're acting, you will end up as a sex slave. You refuse to be trained, no matter how many times you've been punished," Ms. Young said, giving Journey a stern look.

Her eyes instantly became sad, and she looked down at the floor ashamed of being busted out in front of people.

I couldn't stand to see that sad look in her eyes, it was really pitiful to see such a beautiful young girl looking that way.

"Hey, how old are you, Journey?" I asked, juggling her a little in arms to get her attention.

"I'm 10 years old mister," she said proudly looking somewhat confident. "How old are you?"

"Journey!" Ms. Young said in a warning.

"Well I'm 1,200 years old, sweetheart," I replied giving her a nod.

"Wow! You're oooooold," she said in awe.

"I am," I chuckled.

Well 10 years old was a little bit younger than I was looking for. I was wanting someone maybe around 14 or 15, but 10. I don't know if I have the patience for that. It would be like raising a child again. I had already raised my 3 boys, and I really wasn't interested in raising another one. Although, I had always wanted a girl.

I don't know, maybe I should look around first. And see what all is out there.

"Hey Journey, why don't you go play with your friends while I look around a little bit," I said, as I put her down on her feet.

"I don't have any friends," she pouted as she looked down at her feet.

I suddenly felt a real connection with her, she was lonely too. She needed a companion as well. I tilted my head to get a better look at her, she sure was small for a 10 year old. She must be the runt, and that's why nobody plays with her.

"Just go to your room," Ms. Young told her, and she nodded and instantly went for the stairs.

Well at least she seems to be pretty obedient.

"How tall is she?" I asked, looking back at Ms. Young.

"Uh well she's definitely the runt. Last time she had a height check, she was around 3 feet and 5 inches tall. She's kinda stuck in the middle, she is way smaller than all the kids her age, and even some of the ones younger than her. And she's so hyper that no one knows how to deal with her. If you're asking why she has no friends. They all just pretty much ignore her," she said with a sullen look on her face. I guess she cares about Journey too.

"What is her blood type?" I asked, curiously.

"Father, you can't actually expect to buy a 10 year old child. She's barely been potty trained. How are you going to deal with a little girl like that?" Levi asked me, obviously flabbergasted.

"Her blood type is O negative. She is really young, my King. We don't normally let them go this early," Ms. Young agreed with my son.

"She's needs a companion as much as I need one. She's as lonely as I. I could easily train her over the years, Levi. I want Journey to be mine," I stated confidently.

"Are you sure, my King? She really is very excitable, and you saw yourself how hyper she is," Ms. Young once again to tried to dissuade me from my decision.

"Are you trying to tell me what to do, Ms. Young?" I asked, giving her a stern look.

No one tells the King, no. That's just how it is.

"Uh, no sir. Not at all. I will go help her pack her things immediately. And bring you her file," she sounded flustered, as she took the same steps that Journey had.

Journey

I was sitting on my bed, waiting on Ms. Young to come take me to the punishment room. Apparently I had messed up again, and jumped on the King of the Vampires. He seemed okay with it, but I know Ms. Young, she will spank me for it.

I get punished more than everybody here all put together. I know Ms. Young cares about me, and wants me to act right, but I sure hate that she does it by punishing me. It really sucks.

The King is really old, but he doesn't look like he is. I've never seen someone so old. Most of the Vampires that ever come here, are not that old. Even though not many people come here, except the workers

The ones that make us food, or care for us. Sometimes they put all our leashes on us, and walk us to the park. No one ever plays with me there, but there are more things to do than on the playground outside.

"Journey," Ms. Young said, as she walked into my room and closed the door.

"To the punishment room?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," she sighed. "You're going to live with the King."

I suddenly jumped off my bed, so excited that I started jumping up and down.

"Calm down Journey. Don't get too excited and anger the King. I've heard rumors that he's got a very short temper. I need you to go be a very good girl so that you don't get hurt, okay? Can you do that for me?" She said, looking very serious.

"Yes ma'am," I said as I stood still and nodded my head at her.

"Good girl. Now let's get you packed up. Quickly now, dear," she said, as she pulled out my suitcase from my small closet.

I didn't have much to pack, it wasn't like we were neglected, but we pretty much only ever got hand-me-down clothes from the older girls in the orphanage. We don't need many clothes because we don't have a lot of visitors. And we shared all the toys in the playroom, so we don't have any that are our own.

I do however have one stuffed animal of my own. A little foot dinosaur that one of the older girls left for me about 5 years ago. She was going off to live in the pet shop, and she passed it down to me. It had apparently been passed down to her when she was a young girl. But I don't have anyone to pass him too. And he's been my only friend all these years. I had to take him with me.

"Ms. Young, can little foot go?" I asked, as she was neatly packing clothes in my little suitcase.

"He won't fit in here, sweetheart," she gave a sad look.

"But I can carry him," I replied, as I hugged him to my chest tightly.

"I'm not sure the King will let you have him," she answered, giving me a sympathetic look.

I just nodded and looked down to my feet, sniffling sadly.

"But it can't hurt to ask right," she said, as she closed my suitcase and walked over to me with a collar and a leash in her hands.

"That's not my collar," I said, pointing to her hand.

My collar was old, light blue, and worn completely out. And my leash was the same only it was brown.  This collar was lined with diamonds, and had the initial R encrusted in diamonds hanging off the front. The leash was also lined with diamonds.

"This is your new leash, the King provided for you, Journey. You could be a very lucky girl, if you can just control your impulses. I want you to always say 'yes sir' or 'no sir', remember to always sit on your hands and knees on the floor by his feet, never jump on him like you did earlier, never look him in the eye, and always call him master. Unless he says differently, that's how I want you to act. This is very important, Journey. If you want to stay alive, follow all my instructions. Do you understand?" She asked, as she fastened my new collar around my neck, and attached the leash.

"Yes ma'am," I mumbled, suddenly terrified of the King. Would he really hurt me?

"Listen to me, sweetheart. Don't be scared, okay? I just want you to show him more respect than you have ever shown anyone in your life. I want you to always be on your best behavior," she sighed, once she realized she had scared me to death.

I nodded, looking down at my feet. Best behavior. Always. I thought I would have more time to train for this. I never thought I would be taken from the orphanage this early. I guess it was my own fault for jumping on him like that. Why do I always do things before I think about them?! Ms. Young has always told me not to do that, but I never listened.

"Come, let's go," she said, as she gave a gentle tug on my leash.

I'm told that it's Vampire law that all pets must be on a leash when out in public. I hate Vampire laws, but I guess being pet to the King would mean that I have to follow the law, even if no one else does. I wonder just how strict the King will be.

As we walked down the stairs, I saw the King and his son waiting on us, and I gulped. The King actually seems very nice, but his son looks very strict and kinda mean.

"Who is that?" My new master asked, as he pointed to the stuffed dinosaur in my arms.

"His name is Little Foot," I announced proudly.

"She was going to ask your permission to take him, my King," Ms. Young said. "She's had him for years, and it's her only toy that belongs to her."

I looked at him pleadingly, while he seemed to think about his answer. Then suddenly he smiled a really bright smile, showing off his fangs.

"Of course you can keep him. But if he's your only toy, we will have to do something about that. A girl can't live with one toy alone," he said, cheerily.

"Dad, she's your pet, not your daughter," the Prince growled from behind him.

"She can still have toys," master replied, as he took my leash from Ms. Young.

I suddenly felt very excited, and started bouncing on the balls of my feet, really wanting to jump up and down. My own toys? My very own toys? Oh my Gosh! I can't wait!

"Journey, remember what I told you," Ms. Young said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," I replied, and quickly stopped bouncing, as I looked up at my master.

He was looking down at me, smiling like it didn't even bother him. But I know Ms. Young knows what she's talking about, and I need to remember her instructions.

"Okay. I will get you her files, and then you'll be ready to go," Ms. Young said, as she handed my suitcase to a servant boy who appeared out of nowhere from behind the Prince.

While she was gone, my master pulled on my leash a little to get my attention.

"Journey, I want you to meet Prince Levi Black, my son. You are to always address him as Prince or Sir. And this is my personal servant, Asher. You can just call him Asher. He will always be somewhere close by, if you need anything." Master told me, as he pointed to each of them.

"Yes master," I nodded to Asher, and then bowed to the Prince, as politely as I could.

"Well at least the girl has manners," Prince Levi replied, as he looked me up and down. "She's awfully tiny though, father. She looks like she could easily get hurt. How will you even brand her without killing her?"

My eyes went wide, as I looked back and forth between master and the Prince. I had forgotten all about that! How could I have forgotten that?! Vampires always brand their pets with their mark to make sure they are returned if they runaway or get lost.

I've heard the branding really hurts like so bad! Like they take this long iron rod and light the end of it with fire, until it is red hot. Then they put it on your skin until it basically melts your skin.

Even the biggest pets pass out when this is done to them. I'm too little for that. It will kill me.

"I might not even brand her," the King replied, and I let out a sigh of relief. "I might just tattoo my mark on her." Never mind, that hurts too and takes a lot longer than branding does. "But I will probably have her put under anesthetic while it's done, so that she never feels it."

Okay, that might not be so bad. I wonder what anesthetic is. I just like the part that said I wouldn't feel it.

"Okay, my King. Here is the paperwork for little Journey here. As you can see, she was not set up to be educated. She doesn't know how to read or write or any of that. It's a shame too, because she's a really intelligent little girl. She picks up on things easily and she has an excellent memory. I don't know why they determined she would not receive an education. Also, for your own sanity, and her safety, please don't give her anything sweet or anything with caffeine in it. She will get way too hyper, and be almost uncontrollable," Ms. Young said, as she walked back out of her office with a file folder in her hand.

Dang it! Why did she have to tell him that I couldn't have sweets. He could have just found that out himself. But I have to admit, most of my punishments have happened when I've had caffeine or something sweet. That definitely gets my engine going.

"Very good," master said, as he tugged on my leash lightly. "Let's get going, pet."

I gave Ms. Young once last hug good bye, and then followed behind my new master, the King of all Vampires.

As soon as we got to the big car, Asher opened the back door for us to climb in. Prince Levi went first, and then master motioned for me to go in next. So I crawled in and sat on the floorboard of the huge car on my hands and knees just like I'm supposed to, as the King followed.

"What are you doing pet?" Master asked me, as he reached down and pulled me up by my waist, to put me in the seat next to him. Then he strapped a seatbelt on me. "You never sit on the floor of a car. That's not safe, you need to always have a seatbelt on," he chastised.

Oh great, I already messed up. I really hope, he's not going to spank me already.

"I'm so sorry, master," I shakily said, as my vision blurred with unshed tears.

"What is she crying for?" Prince Levi asked, disgusted with my tears.

"She probably thought she was about to get punished. You're not going to get punished, Journey. Calm down," master said, as he put his arm around my shoulders, comfortingly.

I simply nodded, biting back the tears before they had a chance to roll down my cheeks.

"Are you hungry, Pet?" Master asked me, as he removed his arm from my shoulders, when he noticed that I had calmed down.

"Yes master," I replied, trying not to sound greedy, but it was well after lunch time, and I accidentally slept through breakfast this morning.

"Do you like fast food?" He questioned, as he looked down at my confused face.

"Um, sure master," I nodded, looking away feeling stupid that I didn't know what fast food was.

"Okay, first things first," he said, as he grabbed my chin, and pulled my face to meet his. "Don't lie to me. If you don't know what fast food is, just say that. And secondly, stop saying master after every sentence. You could have just said 'sure' instead of 'sure master'. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma- sir," still sounded like master though. I tried to look down, but he kept my chin firmly in his grasp.

"We'll work on it," he chuckled, as he finally let go of my chin. "I appreciate your respect, but I don't want you to feel that you always have to call me master. In front of people, yes, but not when it's just the 3 of us."

"She's too young to understand that father. And what about when she doesn't call you master in front of my pet? How will I explain that to Daisy?" Prince Levi scoffed.

Oh so the Prince has a Pet too. I wonder if she's nice, or if we will get to play together. She's probably much older than me, anyway. And she would never like me, I'm just the runt.

"Okay Fine. Journey, always call me Master in front of Levi's pet. You will meet her when we get home," Master said.

Then he suddenly pushed a black button above his head, and ordered Asher to pull up to a McDonalds. Whatever that is.

A few minutes later, the limo stopped and Asher opened the door for us all to get out. I knew this wasn't a home, it looked more like a store. It was basically a big glass building, with shiny yellow trim all along the top of it. There were all different Vampires coming in and out of there, some of them with their pets, and some, with their children.

When we walked in the door, the whole place got quiet, and everyone stared. I guess because the King and the Prince walked in together. They didn't even seem to notice, but Asher and I sure did.

Everyone moved out of the way, and let us walk to the front of the line, where there were 3 cash registers. I've only been in a store once, and it looked nothing like this. They actually served food at this store, already cooked food. The store I went to, had only uncooked food, I believe it was called a grocery store.

"Pet, do you want a hamburger or chicken nuggets?" Master asked, as he looked down at me.

Oh I couldn't decide, I loved both of them so much. How could I choose between the two. I just looked up at him, shaking my head. Maybe he would just make the choice for me.

"Okay, I'll have one chicken nugget happy meal, and one hamburger happy meal, with sprite for both. And I'll have a number 1 with a coke. And whatever they are having is on my tab too," master said, as he pointed to the Prince and Asher.

I wonder what a happy meal is. How could it be bad with the word happy in it. Oh, I can't wait!

"Are both of the happy meals for girls, my King?" The lady at the register asked.

"Yes they are," He said, as he tugged on my leash so that we could go sit down and wait for our food.

Soon after that the Prince and Asher came and sat on the other side of the booth from where Master and I were sitting.

"Father, you are already spoiling her," Prince Levi said in a warning tone. "She shouldn't be getting two meals," he shook his head in disapproval.

"I just don't want her to be hungry. And did you see the deer in the headlights look she was giving me when I asked her to choose. She couldn't decide, so I decided for her," master defended.

"When we get home, you need to set some rules and boundaries for her immediately. I can already tell you want to spoil her, but what will the other pets in the castle think if you treat her differently?" Levi insisted, with a very stern look on his face.

"The other pets in the castle are not my pets. And if I want to spoil her, then I will. I will set rules and boundaries for her, but she is 10 years old, Levi. I'm not gonna be as strict on her as you are with Daisy," master countered.

I just sat there quietly with my head down and my hands in my lap, while they argued about me. I get the idea that Levi is a very strict pet owner. He probably won't let Daisy play with me. I'm guessing that I will be the youngest pet in the castle.

A few minutes later, our number was called, and Asher went to get our food. I was handed two separate bags, and two small cups of sprite, whatever that is. I've never had anything like that to drink, I've only ever had sugar free juice. Once the workers realized what sugar does to me, they had sugar free juice purchased just for me.

Master pulled the paper off the straw and poked it through the lid on the cup, and handed it to me. When I took the first sip, I was in heaven. Sprite was now my absolute favorite drink. I almost drank the whole cup in one gulp.

"Slow down, Pet. You need to eat some before you drink all that and get full on your drink," master said, as he took my cup away from me, and handed me one of my bags.

I reached in the paper bag, and felt something plastic inside. I quickly pulled it out, and it was a toy Princess Elsa.

"A toy Elsa," I squealed loudly. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had ripped the package open and pulled her out.

"Journey, put that away, and eat your meal this instant," Prince Levi scolded.

"Yes sir," I dropped my head, and put my best pout on my face, as I put the toy back in the bag, and pulled out a little paper baggy with French fries in it.

"There's no need to fuss at her, Levi. She just got excited. The woman said she never had any toys of her own. Of course, she's happy to get a toy of her own," Master scolded the Prince.

I looked over to see Asher grinning at me with amusement swirling in his eyes. I smiled right back at him, probably thinking the same thing. It was funny to hear the a Prince getting fussed at.

"Yes father," Levi groaned with his arms held up in a mock surrender.

We ate the rest of our meal in silence. Master was impressed that I ate both of my French fries, my hamburger, and my nuggets. So he let me drink my other sprite to wash it all down. And then he let me have both of the toys, which turned out to be two toy Elsa's.

I was full as a tick when I noticed the indoor play ground sitting right on the other side of the door. I got really excited, and starting bouncing in my seat, patting master on his arm to get his attention. When I pointed at the play ground, Levi shut me down immediately.

"No, Journey. We need to go home now. Father and I have lots of business to attend to," Prince Levi growled at me, impatiently.

"I'm sorry, Pet. He's right, we do need to be getting back soon. And we have a 2 hour drive home. Do you need to use the restroom first?" Master said before I could react to Levi's statement.

I nodded, as I put my head down again. Disappointed that I couldn't play in the playground. It was an indoor one and everything.

He stood up, and walked me to the rest room, taking my leash off and allowing me to go in alone, while he waited outside.

As we walked back to the car, I suddenly started feeling very bouncy, and excitable. This is gonna be a long ride to his castle.