???: Julia, wake up this instant!

  Someone shakes me furiously. I am jolted awake by a sharp pain on my arm, as if someone is pinching me

  Julia: Ow!

  Cressida and a maid stand on the side of my bed. The maid is still shaking me after I open my eyes

  Julia: Ok. OK! Stop I am awake now

  My eyes dart to the countess, irritation written all over her face. What’s got her so worked up this early in the morning? Did someone lose her golden goblet or something? Whatever it is I am probably in trouble

  Cressida: I cannot fathom how I’ve ended up with a servant so incompetent that I must wake her myself, that too on her very first day of work. Pitiful!

  Julia: What? *yawn*. Ah sorry, yes. I don’t have an arm. Sorry

  Cressida: *sigh*

  She shakes her head. Looks like I’ve disappointed my boss on the very first day. I hope she calms down though

  Cressida: Wear this and join me for breakfast in within 5 minutes.

  Cressida leaves and the maid hands me another gown. This one seems as stuffy as the one I got yesterday, but I guess it's better than all the gear I used to wear.

  Maid: I will wait outside miss

  She says before leaving. I dawn the stuffy but beautiful gown and brush my fuzzy hair before tying it into a ponytail… Wait I need to brush my teeth… There are no toothbrushes or toothpaste in this world, are there?

  Julia: *sigh*

  I will just rinse my mouth with some water ter. I go outside and follow the maid waiting for me. She leads me downstairs to the same dining table I had my breakfast yesterday

  I take a seat opposite Cressida.

  Cressida: Ugh. Finally!

  Julia: So sorry my dy…

  A maid hands Cressida a gss of blood. It's a wine gss with gold on its rim, not tacky but not very subtle either. It whispers wealth to anyone paying even a bit of attention. Another maid brings a tray with a bowl of hot steaming vegetable soup, some bread and some neatly cut fruit and pces it in front of me. It's not the feast that was id out yesterday, but it's better than starving or cold food, so I am grateful. I remember reading about bnd soups and hard bread they used to eat in medieval time; this soup though smells very good, and the bread seems freshly baked as well…

  Cressida: Going forward, one of my servants will make sure you rise early like everyone else.

  Julia: Y-yes. Thank you my dy

  Cressida: Hmm

  We eat in silence for a while, even though I still have a lot of questions I don’t have the courage to speak up, not after seeing her this upset. Does she always get so irritated when one of her employees wakes up te?

  Cressida finally speaks breaking the uncomfortable silence (uncomfortable for me at least)

  Cressida: About bonding…

  For once, I felt like her eyes weren’t on me while talking to me.

  Julia: What?

  Cressida: You wanted to know why I can’t feed on you again for a while. The answer lies in the fact that you’re not bonded.

  Julia: Oh yes. You told me you can’t drink from me again for another two or three months

  Cressida: With a bonded human, I could drink as much as I wanted—several times a day, in fact.

  Julia: Oh, that seems…

  Cressida: Impossible?

  Julia: Frankly, yes. How is that even possible?

  Cressida: Well, since you didn’t even know vampires existed until recently, I suppose I’ll have to start from the very beginning.

  She downs the st bit of blood still in the wine gss and wipes her lips with a napkin in one smooth motion, before finally moving her gaze to me. Her expression neutral as her hypnotizing eyes lock onto mine. I swear this woman can chug cans upon cans of beer and still somehow manage to look elegant after it

  Cressida: There was a time, long before I was born, when the vampire popution grew unexpectedly fast. The influx caused many to struggle with finding willing blood donors. Driven by hunger, they became frantic and lost their sanity. They started going on rampages and feeding on any human till death–

  Julia: Do you mean they drained humans of all their blood?

  I say finishing up my breakfast. Nervousness and fear grip my heart as I hear about her story. I don’t believe Cressida would ever kill me like that however there might be other such killer vampires

  Cressida: I can sense your worry, but you need not fear. Neither I nor any other vampire of civility, would ever drain someone completely. In fact, it’s a big taboo among us to feed from a human who isn’t willing.

  Can she read minds or something? Whatever the case might be her words ease my worries, not by much, but they still do ease my worries

  Cressida: To answer your question—yes, those vampires did drain the humans entirely. This, of course, fueled the hatred between humans and vampires. The church didn’t help, either, as they eagerly stoked the fmes of anger. Riots spread, and many humans sought refuge with the church. With their newfound support, the church waged a hunt, going from door to door in search of vampires. My father…

  She looked away staring into empty space, thinking about something. Was her father killed by this church? She continues but this time her eyes do not meet mine, they continue staring into empty space

  Cressida: My father once spoke of an incident… The hunters set a house abze. A human man and a vampire woman, lovers, resided in that house, along with their 3 children. My father only managed to save the mother. The cries of the mother kept the whole neighborhood up at night, yet no one except my father came to comfort the woman. Her neighbors who mingled with her everyday, their own children pyed with her children, yet the only thing they felt was either hatred for the woman for being a vampire or fear of the church

  She pauses and then looks back at me. Her eyes, they held this deep sadness, yet her expression remained stoic like always. Hell even I was sad, the way she described the incident, I could almost feel that woman’s pain.

  Cressida: Ah… I apologize for getting carried away. So, most cities were engulfed in riots. The vampires began to organize, and though they were fewer in number, their natural strength more than compensated for it. And so, the great war between vampires and humans ignited. I wish I could say my kind were the virtuous ones, but unfortunately, vampires began ensving humans, treating them like mere cattle, existing solely to feed us. The church, however, wasn’t any better. They hunted down every vampire they could find, whether they were a child, a man, or a woman, and killed them on sight. Any humans who dared to aid vampires, or even the human families of vampires, were burned at the stake.

  Ok that sounds brutal, god this world is fucked up. I hope there aren’t any more of these wars. Wait… vampire children? Did they turn children into vampire?

  Cressida: I can tell by the look on your face, you have a question. Go ahead, ask.

  Julia: Vampire children? Did the vampires turn humans at such a young age?

  Cressida: I’m not certain I understand.

  Julia: Do the vampires turn human children into vampires? Is that normal?

  Cressida: Turn human children into vampires?

  Julia: Is that not how vampires are created?

  She raises her eyebrows in surprise. Clearly I said something ridiculous again

  Cressida: Not at all. I think you're quite mistaken about how vampires are created. Are you familiar with the process of how babies are made, or do I need to expin?

  A maid behind me giggles earning herself Cressida’s furious gre. She quiets down and Cressida turns back to look at my very red blushing face. I reply to her in a low whisper

  Julia: I know how babies are made.

  Cressida: Good. Just as two humans make a human child, when a vampire and a human have a child, the result is up to chance—either a vampire or a human.

  I furrow my brow

  Julia: What about a vampire couple then, do they have only vampire children then?

  Cressida: No they can’t produce any. Consider it—if both parents are vampires, who will provide blood for the child? This is actually one of the reasons why couples where both partners are vampires are so rare.

  Julia: Oh…

  Cressida: Hmm. Shall I continue the story?

  Julia: Yes please

  Her beautiful green eyes once again lock onto mine as she continues the tale

  Cressida: The war dragged on for nine bloody years before the human king, the cardinals of the church, and the vampire leaders finally met to discuss peace. But the cardinals, fearing their grip on power would loosen, rejected the peace offer. So, the king offered them a deal: nd of their own, a safe haven free from vampires, in exchange for peace, they accepted and created the Theocracy to the north. The war ended, the human sves were freed, and the vampire prisoners, those who had survived at least, were released. Eventually, the human king fell in love with a vampire from the council— though I suspect it was more of a political move than true affection, a way to ease the tension between the two factions.

  Julia: What about the blood shortage?

  Assuming both humans and vampires had died proportionally, there would still be a blood shortage

  Cressida: And now we reach the answer to your question from yesterday. With the blood shortage, the king ordered every able-bodied human to donate blood, and a system of rationing was put in pce. It practically emptied the kingdom’s coffers, but after six years of trying to find a solution, a group of magical schors discovered a way to alter the magical sve contracts. They modified them so that humans could get the regenerative abilities of their vampire masters, allowing vampires to feed on them multiple times a day without harming them.

  Julia: Wait, so humans are sves to vampires here?

  I don’t want to become someone’s sve. Hell no I’d rather die!

  Cressida: Not in the way you’re thinking. The bond is entered into voluntarily by both parties. For humans, it provides two key benefits: enhanced regeneration simir to a vampire’s and an increased lifespan of nearly a thousand years—

  Julia: Wait what!!??

  My jaw dropped when I heard that. 1000 years!? Holy shit. This world may not have technology but it sure as hell has some incredible benefits. Super healing AND 10x the lifespan. Oh what I could do with 1000 years

  Cressida: Ah… I often forget you come from a pce that has no vampires. What’s the average lifespan of your people? Fifty? Sixty years?

  Julia: Eighty… I think…

  Cressida: Interesting… Well, it’s not without its fws. Vampires who are bonded by the contract lose their immortality, their lives shortened to match their human counterpart. Still, they gain a dependable supply of blood, which benefits both them and their offspring.

  Julia: So like marriage?

  Cressida: I suppose calling this a vampire’s version of marriage is an apt analogy

  A maid walks to Cressida’s side and says something in her ear. Cressida replies to her

  Cressida: I see…

  She looks back at me

  Cressida: Come that's more than enough talk for today. We have work to do.

  Cressida starts walking briskly probably heading to her study upstairs. I rush to follow her. I hope she remembers I am only a human and cannot move as fast as her. While we walk I start to think about this bonding thing. Living for a 1000 years sound cool, I could travel the world, do everything in my bucket list and then some

  As we move through the hallway, Cressida slows down and turns her head. Looking at my giddy daydreaming expression.

  Cressida: Let me make this clear, Julia—a bond is permanent. Once made, it cannot be severed. Choose with the utmost care.

  Her words snap me out of my daydream. She is correct, at the end of the day the “bond” is still a sve contract. I should probably spend a few years thinking before making such a big commitment. After all spending 80 years alone is better than being a sve for 1000

  But I can’t help but think…

  Julia: Are you bonded to someone my dy…?

  Just as we were about to enter her study she stops and looks at me with a scrutinizing gaze. Fuck me! Who the hell asks their boss such a question, it's basically asking her out. I avoid her gaze, looking at the floor

  Julia: … I am sorry…

  Cressida: Hm.

  God, she is so scary when she looks at me like that! Also, what's with the “Hm”, at least reward me with an answer!

  She unlocks the door with a small key and we enter her study. It's my first time being here in daytime. This office looks very… old and regal… I can’t describe it any other way, it’s not too big but not too small either. The furniture is all wood and gss a bit foggy. Clearly this office has been used a lot.

  Cressida points to a sack on the floor

  Cressida: Go through every letter in that bag and sort them into three categories: requests for military aid, requests for food or blood supplies, and everything else into a third pile.

  Julia: Yes my dy

  I salute and pick up the bag filled with letters. She looks confused momentarily by my gesture but decides to ignore it. The big dark brown desk at the center is clearly hers, so I take my seat at the smaller one in the corner of the room.

  Cressida: You will find a letter opener in the drawer

  She says while her eyes still fixed on the document in her hand

  Julia: Thank you my dy.

  I got to work reading each letter. I thought the task would be easy, but it wasn’t. All these goddam letters were in come weird cursive font! Why can’t these people write like normal. After 2 hours of reading I was finally done.

  Julia: I’m done my dy

  I say softly so as to not disturb her. She is still writing. From the all the these letters I read today I think this nation might be at war or is having skirmishes with the Luxaria Theocracy and the reports from the frontline don’t paint a good picture. Cressida looks up for a moment

  Cressida: A bit slower than my expectations, but adequate. Take the military-reted requests to Aurel, and I’ll handle the supply letters myself.

  Julia: Yes my dy

  I hand all the supply requests to Cressida and gather all the military aid requests before leaving her study. Wait. Shit I forgot to ask where Aurel is right now. I slowly move through the hallway checking each door until I find Helen in one of the rooms.

  Julia: Hey Helen where is Aurel?

  Helen: Julia! Congratutions! I heard my dy hired you.

  Julia: Thanks! Now where is Aurel

  Helen: She is probably in her study.

  Julia: And where is her study

  Helen: Oh. Right. It's the second room on the right after you pass the stairs.

  Julia: Thanks!

  I leave and go to Aurel’s study. There is a namepte outside the door, it reads “Aurel Vryss”. I knock before I hear a stern voice

  Aurel: Come in

  Aurel’s expression immediately sours after she sees me

  Aurel: Human what is it?

  Ugh what's with the stick up her ass. Would it kill her to be a bit nicer to the new girl. In her pce I would probably get bored seeing the same faces every day, I would be more welcoming towards change

  Julia: My dy sent me to give you these letters

  Aurel: Put them on the table and leave

  I do as she says and leave quietly. I do not want a confrontation on my first day at work. As soon as I back to Cressida’s study, her voice greets me, without looking up from the document she was writing she gives me another command

  Cressida: Pick up your chair and sit beside me

  Julia: Yes… my dy

  I pick up the chair (which is heavier than it looks) and move it beside her, still giving her plenty of personal space. As I sit, I smell a faint pleasant scent lingering in the air… Is that her perfume? Or does she always smell so nice? And how did I not notice it before?

  Cressida: Go through these and identify any errors. They are vital letters, so ensure you review them meticulously.

  She hands me some letters written on the pure white paper I had summoned yesterday.

  Julia: My grammar isn’t that good my dy…

  Cressida: Still, it’s always wise to have another set of eyes review them.

  Julia: As you wish my dy.

  Time flies by as I triple check each letter for mistakes. All of them seem pretty much perfect, I mean considering the era we are in paper and ink must be super expensive, so Cressida has to be good at writing without mistakes. When she is done with writing one letter she hands it to me to get it checked as well

  Cressida: *sigh*

  She puts down her pen and stretches her wrist. She then looks at me

  Cressida: Julia? Did you not have lunch?

  Julia: I-I… forgot

  Cressida: If I’m not mistaken, you also missed dinner yesterday, didn’t you?

  I look down, not ready to meet her eyes yet.

  Julia: Yes my dy…

  Cressida: Hm. Follow me, let's get you some food. I need a break as well

  We are again at the long dining table. Cressida is seated opposite to me, her chin resting on her hand looking at me. A maid brings a pte of sandwiches and puts it in front of me

  Julia: Will you not drink… blood?

  Cressida: I only have some in the morning

  Julia: I see…

  I take a bite from the sandwich and immediately feel it's missing something… Sauces! Yes, sauces. I won’t compin though, It's still decent

  Julia: My dy, I am wondering, can you eat normal food?

  Cressida: If you’re asking whether I can eat human food, the answer is yes. Though, for vampires, it offers no nutrition and tastes remarkably bnd.

  Julia: Oh…

  She looks down at the polished wood table, drawing empty circles with her finger. My eyes go to her nails. Perfectly cut and a bit on the sharper side.

  Cressida: With your help, we’ll finish early today. I was thinking we could experiment more with your magic this evening.

  Julia: Yes my dy!

  I am very excited to try out more magic. I could have tried it out more in my room yesterday, but I didn’t want to risk it angering Cressida, after all I did almost get killed earlier that day for performing magic. And who knows what side effects it can cause?

  -------

  Oh god this paperwork is exhausting! I already miss flying… But now that we are done its time for some magic! I feel like a kid who got a Harry Potter’s wand! Except it's better since I don’t need a wand to perform my magic

  Cressida: Here we are

  Cressida has taken me outside the mansion as a precaution. She feared our experimentation might destroy the important documents in her study. Currently, we are standing in front of the mansion although some distance away from it.

  Cressida: Before we start…

  Julia: Yes my dy?

  I look into her eyes with excitement. I see a small smirk form on her lips

  Cressida: Be cautious with your words, even in your own chambers. A vampire’s hearing is far superior than you might imagine.

  I tilt my head in confusion

  Julia: I’m not sure, I follow

  She puts a hand on her hip

  Cressida: Can you recall what you mumbled after screaming in your chambers yesterday?

  What did I say…… The words suddenly come back to me: “Why do you have to be so beautiful Cressida?”. Oh… OHHHH FUCK!

  I could feel the blood rush to my face and ears. It feels like everything just suddenly become hotter… I look away from her, all the previous confidence I had is now gone.

  Julia: S–

  Just as I was about to apologize Cressida interrupts me

  Cressida: Thank you for the compliment, it’s rare to hear such sincerity. Though, I would have appreciated it more if you had addressed me properly.

  Julia: S-sorry my dy

  Cressida: Hm.

  Oh I can feel the smugness without even needing to look at her. If I wasn’t, so tongue-tied right now I would have definitely thought of some witty or flirty reply. Wait! Was she just teasing me or was she flirting with me just now?

  Cressida: Let’s not waste any more time. We should begin before the sun sets.

  Julia: Y-yes

  She steps to my side and says

  Cressida: I suspect paper and those quills aren’t the only thing you can summon. How about you start by summoning some fruits

  Julia: Yes my dy… I wish I had some fruits

  A handful of strawberries materialize in front of me, I catch some in midair before they fall to the ground. I hand all except one to Cressida and eat the one in my hand

  Cressida: I intended to test if these were edible myself, but it seems you’ve taken care of that for me.

  Julia: Oh… welcome?

  Cressida: *exasperated sigh*

  She folds her arms

  Cressida: You mustn’t repeat such recklessness. I will not allow you to die from something so trivial as berries.

  I look down again, apologizing without meeting her eyes

  Julia: Sorry…

  How many times have I apologized just today?

  Cressida: Lets try–

  Julia: My dy if I may…

  Cressida: Speak

  Julia: I… read the letters… the ones you gave me today. We are at war, aren’t we?

  She eyes me with a curious look

  Cressida: I take it no one has informed you. Yes, we are at war with the Luxaria Theocracy—the very nation founded by the vampire-hating church I spoke of during breakfast.

  Julia: Then wouldn’t it be better if I summon weapons

  Cressida: That was my ultimate goal—to have you summon that metal bird you mentioned. But since you’re so eager, let’s see what you can manage to summon.

  I bow slightly.

  Julia: Yes my dy! But I don’t think it's a good idea to summon something so big when I have just started to use my power. I will start with something small my dy

  Cressida: Wise choice

  Julia: Well then… I wish I had a nine millimeter pistol

  The dark metal handgun nds on the stone ground with a thud. I pick it and examine it. It's a standard 9mm Glock. Pretty much like the one I trained with. I removed the magazine and check the chamber, it was empty. Cressida’s eyes shined with curiosity as she eyed the weapon in my hand. I hand it to her, and she grips the gun by the barrel.

  Cressida: Is this it? What… Do I just use it like a hammer now?

  She spoke while still gripping the gun by the barrel, swinging its butt through the air with each strike. How the fuck can someone be this beautiful, elegant and now cute as well. As I continue to admire her, that feeling of cuteness is turned into fear as the force and speed with which she swings increases dramatically. She can probably kill me in one blow with that thing

  Julia: Stop!

  I say raising my voice. She stops

  Julia: M-may I show how to use the weapon

  Cressida: You may…

  She gesture to someone behind me and a guard appears beside me not even a second ter. These vampires are too fast!

  She says something to him and a minute ter he is back with a dummy made of hay wearing a medieval metal pte armor that looks like it has seen better days. There are many dents on the chest pte.

  Julia: Let's move back my dy

  She doesn’t question or protest me and just follows my lead. Once we get sufficient distance, I summon a box of standard 9mm bullets for the gun. Cressida just observes me carefully without saying a word. After loading the gun I take aim at the dummy and pull the trigger.

  *bang*

  Cressida: By the stars Julia! Why didn’t you tell me this weapon was so loud?

  By the time she finished her sentence 7-8 vampire guards had appeared around us, their weapons trained on me. What's with these people, they always point their weapons at me for the smallest mistake! Unlike the st time though, fear doesn’t grip me as easily. Maybe due to the gun I was holding.

  Cressida: All of you, return to your posts. We were simply experimenting with this girl's abilities.

  She turns her head to look at the dummy.

  Cressida: It seems your weapon failed to get through the armor–

  Wait really? I turn to the armoured dummy and squint hard. Nope can’t see a thing from this distance.

  Cressida: But perhaps it might not have to…

  She again gestures to a guard standing nearby. Again whispering something in their ear. A few minutes ter the guard comes back hauling a dummy wearing what looks like a leather armor and puts it beside the metal armoured one.

  Cressida: Try your weapon on this one

  I do as she orders. Raising my gun and taking aim at the brown leather on its chest before firing. I definitely regret not summoning ear protection as my ears were ringing. Well, at least the bullet worked this time. I could clearly see the hay peaking out from the clean hole made by the bullet.

  I put on the safety before walking towards the metal pte armor. Cressida examines the leather cd dummy while I examine the other one. I realize the bullet almost made it through the metal chest pte. If only it had a little more punch… Maybe an Armour Penetrating round will do the trick?

  Cressida: Well, well. This weapon of yours is quite impressive… it appears to be stronger than a crossbow

  Julia: Oh it's much stronger!

  I say bragging about my new gun. Cressida looks deep in thought

  Cressida: But does it fire more quickly than a crossbow?

  Julia: Let me show you my dy

  We get back to a safe distance and I empty the rest of the magazine on the metal dummy, firing in quick succession. Ok maybe I was showing off my skills just a bit to impress Cressida, but unfortunately for me, it seems that I managed to impress the wrong person as Aurel suddenly appears between me and Cressida. She scared the shit out of me for a second sneaking up like that

  Aurel: That was… phenomenal…

  Cressida: I…

  Cressida just stares at the smoking gun in my hand wordlessly. I think this is the first time I have seen her speechless.

  The tall muscur woman turns toward me. Her eyes burning with determination. I have a feeling they are impressed by something other than my shooting skills

  Aurel: How many more of these can you summon human?