Chapter 15: 15. To Give Blood
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She did not know the Vampire King but the way the vampires reacted to her was a little worrisome. She could guess that the Vampire King was not only controlling but a force to reckon with. She shivered at the fact that she was now bound to such a person.
"I'll do it," Vae suddenly announced, breaking through her thoughts.
Mauve did not know how to react, it was not like Vae had much say in the matter but still, she did not expect her maid to agree so easily considering her life was at risk here.
"No, Vae. It is too dangerous." But as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she was literally pushing the bleeding vampire to his death.
"I know but would you prefer he died after fighting to protect us from a Paler?" Vae asked, she looked very emotional.
Mauve sighed, whatever decision she was to make would lead one of them to their death. "How long before we get to your territory?" She asked.
"One more night but if we push it we can make it mid-day tomorrow." Danag did not look too happy about this but they all knew better than to risk another night.
Mauve did not give her permission when Vae got to her knees and put her hand to the bleeding vampire's mouth. The vampire clamped his teeth shut, refusing to take a drink even though it was pretty obvious that it was painful for him to stop himself.
"Bite down for Damn sake, else you will bleed to death." There were tears in the corner of Vae's eyes as she yelled. His fangs increased some more, startling Vae but the bleeding vampire still refused to bite down on her hand.
Mauve swallowed, she knew they were waiting for her order. It was funny how they thought nothing of her yet they would not take the maid's blood without her permission. She wondered if this had something to do with the Vampire King or more on the fact that Vae was her maid. If it was the latter it would mean, the vampires had more respect for her than her kind.
"Please drink," Mauve muttered through her teeth. "The faster we can continue this journey the better. I doubt we would be able to survive another Paler attack without casualties."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard a slight growl which was quickly followed by a yelp from Vae as the vampire bit into her arm. Vae immediately put her free hand to the ground as she sought balance. Finding the perfect position, she held.
Mauve could only watch in awe as Vae held strong feeding the vampire her blood. Mauve was not sure if she could do that, now that she was seeing it up close, there was no doubt in her mind that meddling with vampires was a nasty business.
Suddenly, she heard a weird sound, it sounded like sizzling. She looked downwards to find that the vampire was healing. Slowly and surely his wound was closing. It was not a sight to behold and Mauve was sure she would have nightmares about this for days to come.
The intestines closed up and rearranged before the tear gradually began to seal. Mauve's stomach churned, she was happy the danger was averted but mostly she was in awe of the maid's braveness.
Vae gasped and the vampire let go of her arm. She stumbled immediately, his grip on her arm had been part of her balance. However, before she could fall to the ground, Danag grabbed her just in time. He picked her up, holding her across his arms.
Mauve rushed towards them preparing to rip a part of her garment so she could tie it around Vae's arm. She got to them and grabbed her dress in an attempt to rip a part of it.
"What are you doing?" Danag asked.
Mauve raised her head, frowning. "I want to tie her bleeding arm." She muttered, annoyed.
"There is no need for that. Look, the bleeding has stopped but if you still feel the need to tie it up, please, use something else other than a piece of your clothing. It is bad enough that we put you in danger but if you show up in front of the Primus with ripped clothes, I am afraid the consequences would be grave." Danag's voice sounded low as he spoke and Mauve could tell this incident was a blow to him.
She looked at Vae's hand and true to his word Vae's open wounds were no longer bleeding. The blood around the two holes was clotted already. "Okay," Mauve replied and took her hand from her dress.
Vae groaned, rolling her head to the side. "Vae!" Mauve cried. "Don't move. How do you feel?"
Her maid smiled, showing a little of her teeth. Mauve could tell that even the smile had taken a lot of effort. Mauve gripped her hand and pressed. "You did well." She did not know why she said that but it was the only thing she could think of.
"He did not drink a lot but the journey has been tough. It explains why she has weakened this badly" Danag said with soft eyes.
"Will she be alright?" Mauve asked.
"Of course, with enough rest and food. She should be better in a day."
A loud cough drew Mauve's attention back to the vampire on the ground. The third guard was by his side, helping him to his feet. The first thing Mauve noticed was his gut was closed and there was no sign of his intestines. He was still covered with a lot of blood but it was good to know the blood was not coming out of him.
"Thank you, Vae." He started to say when he got to his feet, he stopped speaking for a couple of seconds to cough. "I am grateful.'" He bowed to Vae and then the princess as though it was an afterthought.
Vae smiled again, she tried to speak but gave up and just rested her head, against the head guard's chest. It was silent for a while until the third guard broke it. "We have to go. We have made a lot of noise this night, it would surely attract more Palers. We have to leave now or risk getting attacked again."
"Yes," Danag responded and turned to look at the fallen carriage. He was carrying Vae and it was pretty obvious she would not be able to stand on her own. The good news was the horses were still attached to the carriage but the carriage did not look to be in riding shape.
"The Paler is in no shape to attack again but we know how fast they can recover and how unkillable they are. If it recovers, we should expect a chase." The third guard said, his voice sounding as if he was unaffected by the incident. Mauve could have sworn there was a look of disgust on his face.
The second carriage was untouched but Mauve knew there was no space inside it for her to sit and for Vae to lie comfortably. The ride was already tough, there was no need to make it worse.