Blood slaves of mediocre vampires, also known as Converts, hailed from mediocre families with mediocre backgrounds.
Blood slaves of high-ranking vampires, also known as Purebloods, on the other hand, hailed from noble families.
Virgin daughters of archdukes, young princesses who were part of the immediate royal family but held no right of succession.
Compared to them, I was nothing.
I was of the lowest caste.
But just as I thought that the other blood slaves would be my new tormentors, I realized that I worried too much.
Within the grand Blackwood Manor, we all belonged to the lowest caste.
We were stripped of our identities the moment we entered the manor, and were reduced to meer slaves with the additional burden of providing our masters with nourishment.
The only benefit I saw was the lavish spread of food that stood before us every day.
For me, that was luxury.
For others, that was just prelude to misery.
Most blood slaves were assigned to their masters within a day of their entrance.
A blood ritual was then carried out, after which the slave should be bonded to her master throughout her life, until death do them part.
But I was not the same.
I was the reject.
The blood slave the Blackwood family took in just to prove to others that the Purebloods always got what they wanted, one way or another.
Vampires were prideful beings.
They did not like to be slighted, and they quickly succumbed to their rising temper. What followed was quite predictable --- a bloodbath.
With no fixed arrangement as to which master to serve for life, my life at the Blackwood Manor was surprisingly comfortable.
I was given good food, and I only had to share the jobs of other serfs.
In this sense, Madam Beaufort proved to be extremely efficient. She would not let anyone sit idly by. Our bottoms had not even rested on stools for five minutes before she called upon us to attend to various tasks.
Cooking.
Cleaning.
Laundry.
What I hated the most was going into one of the vampire's quarters to clean up.
Just like today.
I slowly pushed the double door open, bracing myself for what I might find inside.
It was the bed chamber of Geoffrey Blackwood, a brother of Elijah Blackwood. Multiple blood slaves were attached to him, and he liked to call upon several of them at once.
I had seen bodies being mutilated with my own eyes, thanks to Elijah Blackwood. Scene of carnage, with a river of blood and severed limbs lying around, were carved at the back of my skull.
But I had yet to see this.
There were seven young women in the forechamber.
Most of them naked, the rest half naked with just strips of clothes that did nothing to hide their shame.
Bitemarks were seen on various parts of their bodies.
Breasts, thighs, arms, and legs.
But the bleeding had stopped, and they were all, thankfully, still alive.
I hauled the half-conscious women to the couches and cleaned them perfunctorily.
Once they were conscious, they went back to their chambers one by one and I could finally clean the big bedroom.
But just as I was about to open the door, I heard voices from within the bedroom.
My hand froze in the air.
Someone was in there!
I held my breath, preparing to retreat.
But then the door was flung open in an instant, almost hitting me by a hairsbreadth, and I saw what's inside. Or better said, who's inside.
There was Geoffrey Blackwood.
Naked as when God created him.
And he was pushing in and out of a woman beneath him vigorously.
The poor creature's legs, white against the vampire's tanned body, twitched violently in the air.
I stood there, frozen like a statue, unable to avert my gaze at all.
At last, after what felt like eternity, Geoffrey Blackwood drilled into the woman one last time and came.
I closed my eyes, but I could still hear the sounds that escaped them at the heights of pleasure.
Animalistic grunts woven together with unbridled cries of ecstasy.
"Good job, my dear," Geoffrey Blackwood whispered before he gave the woman beneath him a kiss.
A popping sound was heard, followed by the rustling of bedsheets.
My heart pounded hard against my ribcage when the vampire walked past me.
"Clean up properly," he said before he left.
I waited until the bedroom door fell shut before I opened my eyes and looked at the daunting job ahead of me.
The woman on the bed, too, opened her eyes and looked at me through a curtain of haze.
She was a real beauty, with long golden hair framing a perfect oval face and eyes shining like emeralds.
"I haven't seen you around here," she said with a hoarse voice. "What's your name?"
To be fair, I had not seen her around either. Or better said, this was the first time I had to pick her off the floor, clean her up, and send her to bed.
"My name is Charmaine."
The woman widened her eyes at me.
"Charmaine Calthorpe...?"
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Author's note :
Purebloods = vampires who were born from two vampires.
Converts = vampires who were turned into vampires by other vampires.
Purebloods held the ability to exert mind control over Converts, just as Converts over humans.