23. He is Scary

Mauve slowly opened her eyes, there was a lit candle beside her bed. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Princess you are finally awake," a soft voice said.

Whatever sleepiness was left in her body instantly vanished. "Vae!" She screamed and jumped out of bed rushing to hug the woman that stood about two feet away from her bed.

Vae chuckled and pulled away, bowing her head a little. "I am happy to see you too, Princess."

"Are you okay?" Mauve asked and lifted Vae's arm to check. There were two spots where the vampire had pierced Vae with his fangs, it was covered.

"I am," Vae cried and pulled her hand away.

Mauve looked around and saw that her belongings were no longer scattered in the middle of the room. There were also candles placed in strategic places in the room and all of them were lit.

It was dark out but at least the moonlight was generous, a little was seeping through the open curtains. Vae did not look pale and Mauve genuinely believed she was fine.

"That's good. I was really worried."

"Thank you, princess but you don't have to worry about the likes of me," Vae said with a smile.

"Of course, I will worry,  you are only here because of me and now you're stuck in vampire regions with me."

Vae's face fell but was immediately covered with a smile. "Pay it no mind Princess, it is an honor to serve you. Let me get you your bath water and a hot meal."

"No, don't bother…" The door closing behind Vae told Mauve the maid was gone.

She sighed and sat back on the bed. She felt exhausted even though she had just woken up. Barely five minutes later, she heard a knock. She quickly went underneath the sheets as her night dress was appropriate for guests.

"Come in." She called out when she was properly covered.

Vae walked in and following behind her was the servant who had brought the tub during the day. The guard glanced at her again and quickly turned his gaze away. 

Mauve opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. When the servant dropped the tub, he rushed out even before Mauve could give her thanks.

"Do you need help, princess?" Vae asked.

Mauve frowned.

"Your night dress."

"Oh, I am fine." As she spoke she slipped the dress off her head.

Vae walked closer and gave Mauve a hand. She carefully lifted Mauve from the bed and led her to the tub.

"You don't have to Vae. I can wash myself, I did it yesterday."

"I don't mind."

Maybe sighed, the determined look on Vae's face told her the maid would not back down easily. "Fine."

Vae scrubbed her back softly. "Have you seen the vampire king?"

Mauve groaned, "Yes."

"And what did you think?"

"I don't think I like him very much."

Vae gasped, "You can't say that princess. He is your husband."

Mauve rolled her eyes, "I know but he is still the vampire King. We are scared of vampires."

"Do you think he is scary?" Vae asked and moved to Mauve's hands.

"Yes, very."

"Has he done anything to make you feel scared?"

Mauve paused and gave it some thought. "Not really."

"I see. Well, it's understandable. To be stuck in a house full of vampires I can only imagine how you feel."

"What do you mean, Vae? You're in this same situation as me."

Vae forced out a chuckle. "Don't worry about me, Princess."

"Well, I have to worry. You are in this situation because of me."

Vae dried Mauve's hair and body. "What would the princess like to wear today?"

"Anything comfortable and no corsets please."

Vae frowned, "It is your first night here which is the day for vampires. You have to look your best, especially for the King."

Mauve's face fell immediately, "Can I look good without it?" 

Vae glared at her.

"Fine." She pouted.

Vae brightened up. "Will you like me to braid your hair?"

"As you wish."

When she was done dressing up, a servant brought her breakfast. Vae accepted it and Mauve didn't see who brought it.

Vae placed it on the bedside table, "The King has already eaten but if you want to eat in the dining room, I can tell the servants."

"No, it's fine." The idea that she will have to eat alone in the huge dining hall, didn't sit well with her.

"Okay,"

After eating Mauve spent the rest of the day in her room, it wasn't until after she had eaten that she realized she woke up so late that what she ate was late lunch and not breakfast.

Dinner time soon came and Vae freshened her up. She was annoyed that she had spent those hours in a corset for no reason but at least now she could show it off.

Not that she wanted to look good for him but Vae was worried about such little things. She stopped in front of her room and was tempted to knock on his door but decided against it.

She made her way to the dining hall and didn't run into a single vampire until she got in front of the door. They opened the door for her with grim expressions.

"Thank you," Mauve mumbled, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

She did not get any response but it wasn't like she had been expecting any. She sat down but there was no sign of Jael.

As soon as she was seated, a servant opened her meal. She opened her mouth to ask where Jael was but decided against it.

She ate with a grim expression. Halfway through her meal and there was still no sign of him. Even though he made her comfortable, she didn't mind the company.

By the time she was done with her meal, it was obvious he was no longer coming. She stood up and stormed to her room. Vae was nowhere to be found. She ripped the corset off but kept the dress on. 

Mauve lay on the bed for a while. She then stood up and paced the room, the lack of what to do was getting to her. She wasn't sleepy either and at this point, the sun was out.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. If everyone was asleep, she could take a tour of the castle. There wasn't any rule that said she couldn't walk around and nobody had told her she could go anywhere.

The idea had barely formed when she threw her doors open and stepped out. As soon as her doors closed, she heard his doors open.

"Where do you think you are going?"