Her First Bite

"I don't think I could harm anyone, Lord Mahlikai." He straddled the balcony fencing while gesturing for her to come closer. She had never been entirely afraid of heights, but that didn't mean she would willingly throw herself from the building just because he asked her to. "My mother would disown me more-so than she's currently planning to." 

"Your mother will understand, come." Briar shifted herself back and forth on the balls of her feet as she watched him gesture her way. After a moment, she found herself slowly placing her dainty hands into his soft ones. He smiled at the trust and swiftly swept her off her feet into a bridal style. The girl quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling. He swung his other leg over the railing then walked just off the balcony. 

The woman squeaked, clutching tighter onto the demon who had betrayed her just a day ago. He laughed at her over reaction after easily landing on his feet. It took her a moment to realize that they both ended up fine and she requested to be let down to walk on her own. Her face was a vibrant shade of red due to the closeness of their faces. "Thank you," she said gratefully when she could back up a few feet from him. He nodded while watching her reaction closely. "I just don't think I would be able to actually go through with it," the girl whispered while playing with the ends of her sleeves. 

"No worries, darling." He began to walk towards the fountain at the center of town. She followed purely out of curiosity while she prayed the victim he chose for her would not be someone she knew. "As you decide on your prey, your body will begin to run completely on instinct. You won't have to do anything. Not of your own conscience." 

That made her feel even worse than before. Did that mean that she wouldn't be able to control herself around any human? She wanted to be in complete control. He said he would help her have some self-restraint. Was he lying to her? If so, she would have to hide away. Though that wouldn't make any sense since he was able to control himself at the balls he attended and in his time courting her. So he had some way to do so. He had to.

He was watching up at the sky, but he seemed to already know where her mind had wandered to. "I realize that sounded fairly dangerous for you, seeing as your mother and sister are purely human." The lord turned back down to her with a polite grin, "You choose your prey while you're in your right mind. As long as you do not decide on eating your mortal kin, your body won't go into its 'hunting' mode." 

"That is a relief. You had me worried for a moment, my lord." She was still fiddling with her sleeves as she followed a step behind the demon. The streets were lit up with the bright flames of the lantern posts, but the center of the cobbled road was still as dark as night. If anyone were to look out their curtains, they would only be able to see the silhouettes of the deadly pair.

"However, I must warn you, darling. If you are hungry enough, your body won't care whose life is on the line. It is that way so you cannot waste away." Briar was thoroughly stressed out with this new set of expectations. Part of her wondered if she would be haunted by the memory of her victims? Briar hadn't hurt a soul in her short, mortal life. That was not an option anymore if what he said was the truth. "Also, there is no need to call me so formally anymore. Just Mahlikai is suitable."

Her mismatched eyes slid over to him with them narrowed to slits. "You have flipped my life in a few careless moments. I won't have you force myself to abandon my familiar societal rules." 

Thankfully, he was more amused than offended by her quick denial. "Yes, of course. I had not thought about it that way. Please pardon my rashness." They finally ended up in front of the fountain though Mahlikai didn't stop there. He led her around the beautiful town's centerpiece and followed the road down to the shabbier side of town. Her mother didn't allow her around these parts. She had said that she would rather be caught dead than be caught wandering the streets around here at night. Which also meant that it was a bad idea for Briar to be found on this side.

"I am well aware that this side of town is no place for a noble lady such as yourself, but this is the closest place that I thought we could go without you feeling guilty about the prey you've chosen." She looked up at him with bright eyes. Wide and confused eyes that he seemed mesmerized by for a long moment. "Have you never heard about what goes on around this side of the city?"

"Mother forbade me from even looking on this side," she explained with a short bob of her head in his direction. "She had said it would make me a disappointment to the Blythe family name. Since I had no urge to go against my mother, I did as she said."

He grimaced as if he didn't enjoy the idea of introducing her to such things. Yet, since they were still moving through the dark side of the city, he hadn't changed his mind. Their walking had gone on for a long while before they found something that was still open for the night. The light within the run-down two story building brightened up that whole side of the street and the noises from it echoed in the quiet night. He had pulled her aside a block before actually reaching the building with a frown.

"This place is what men call a brothel. Sinning men come here to take advantage of poor women or sold slaves. None that use this place are worthy of living the rest of the greedy lives out, do you understand, my Briar?" He had placed his palms down on her shoulders to focus her attention solely on him. The woman frowned up at him with her head cocked to the side. It was as if he believed knowing that they were bad people would make it easier on her conscience. She didn't know if that was completely correct or not.

Her eyes flipped to the sight of two wobbly men leaving the 'brothel'. They were making their way towards the pair of demons. "But a man is still a man. It isn't up to us to decide their punishments," she tried to justify her hesitance in killing anyone. He frowned down at her for the way she was thinking. 

"We aren't punishing them, love." He removed his hands from her small body, glancing over his shoulder at the men approaching them. "We are simply speeding up the process for them to be punished. Like an executioner for the king. This change doesn't make you or I sinners. We are simply trying to survive and thrive as what we are." He refocused on her and cupped her jaw in a soothing manner. "Do you trust me?"

Did she even have a choice anymore? His eyes didn't leave her's for a moment as she blinked up at him. "You are the only one I trust enough to be caught alone with at night, my lord." He smiled, deciding that was enough of an answer for him. 

"Oh?" A smug voice echoed through the empty street and her wide eyes turned to the two shadows that stood closer to the light of the outside street. "What do we have here? A brothel runaway? Where is your chaperone, girl?" A dry tongue nervously flicked over her chapped lips as the disgusting men began walking towards her. Giant grins showed their crooked teeth. Her wide eyes turned back to her beloved, only to find him missing.

The sound of her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears and she curled in on herself to hide as much of her nightgown as she could with the thin limbs. Her mismatched eyes watched them with a shy gaze as they moved closer with boisterous laughter. Her nose twitched at the smell of liquor, smoke, and sweat that radiated around them like an aura. 

"Qui es-tu? Er, who are you?" Her voice was quiet and innocent, then she had to repeat herself in English as she thought they may not have understood her. Her question, in both variations, only had them laughing again. The sounds were like silverware scraping against Abigail's fine china.

"You don't look like a French woman." The men were only a few feet away now and the heartbeat seemed to get louder as they did so. She was terrified and so very hungry. "But you are much prettier than any of the women in that joint, do you not agree Daniel?"

His arm reached out to grip her chin, but she acted much quicker than him. Completely on instinct. She grabbed his fattened arm in an iron grip and pulled him forward as close as she needed so her dainty hand could wrap around his sweaty neck. Her mouth formed a grimace as the disgusting feeling. The man cried out while trying to move as far away as she would allow him, but she wasn't entirely there as she kept him tightly in place. His companion, Daniel, attempted to flee the horrific scene though she watched as he was thrown back into the shadows by the reappearing Mahlikai.

They attempted to scream for help, but they quickly saw the fault in their ways. If no one would hear the screams of a young damsel in distress, as the grimy men had expected, who was really going to come to the aid of two fully grown men? It was at this moment that Briar realized that it hadn't been her heartbeat that rattled through her head like a drum. It was his and his friend's.

Her brows furrowed at his attempt to pull away from her. It reminded Briar of the time her father hunted rabbits while they camped within the woods on the outskirts of the city. He had allowed her to follow as a toddler and watch him clear the snares. All had been empty except for the one. His squirming mimicked that of the rabbit stuck and trying to flee from its inevitable death. Except this time, she understood why this needed to be done. "I am, truly, so sorry."

With lightning speed, her teeth sunk into his fattened flesh. The taste of the sickly sweet, red nectar drowning away his pleads for help. She didn't let a single drop go to waste, letting it move down her throat similar to the texture of warm honey. The branches in her veins seemed to vibrate as they were watered with the tasty blood. She held the man still as his clawing slowly lessened, then he went slack. The dark liquid stopped flowing and she pushed the man away from her. He fell to the floor limply with a heavy hit. 

Just like the corpse falling, her senses came crashing back to her. She had just killed a man without remorse. A vial, disgusting man, but a man no less. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring down in horror at the lack of life.

Mahlikai pulled her into a hug. Once again comforting her as she was having a mental breakdown. A mental breakdown that was forced on her unknowingly by him. "It's okay, love. They were bad people. They deserved what they got." He held her close to his chest, which she pulled away from to look him in the eyes. It was only for a moment, as she made sure that he didn't see her in a new light. The only thing she noticed was a far more deadly glint as he stared back down at her with a lazy grin.