Chapter 3 - A Proper Lady

The young vampire was sitting at her desk. She was scratching away with the feather ink pen into the notebook she kept hidden. She was sketching out the first hallway on the second floor, and where each door was. Notes and labels of what each room was, where contained in simple squares next to the doors, which were simply drawn as rectangles with a circle in the middle. The girl let out a tired sigh and put the ink pen away. She stuffed her book into its hiding spot and leaned back in her chair, stretching. The bruises she received yesterday when Valerie forced her into 'the room' had healed overnight. Her back ached, however, and her neck was stiff.

Emily stood up and walked over to her bed. She slowly laid down onto it and rested her head into the pillow. A part of her wanted to take Ehu's ring out of its hiding spot and hug the-wisp. Ehu was her pet in a sense. He was a small blue fireball with black eyes. He was a wisp, and lived inside a ring, that Emily's father gave to her just before he perished. Ehu was Emily's last surviving family member. When Valerie confiscated all her stuff, she was able to hide just a few things. Ehu's ring being the first. As of right now, Emily had the ring of her wisp, hidden in the wall, behind her dresser. She made a small hole and covered it with a sheet of paper, before moving the dresser back into place. The young vampire wouldn't dare take that risk, however. If she lost Ehu, she didn't know what she would do with herself.

A knock soon came from Emily's door. The girl sat up in bed and groaned. Before climbing out of bed, she looked down at herself. She was wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with wool pants. Hopeful Valerie would be okay with this outfit. Emily opened her door by a crack and looked through it.

"Please, open the door properly, Emily," Valerie said from the other side. Emily sighed and opened the door slowly, looking up at her. The mistress looked down at Emily and frowned.

"Emily. I think it's time we talk about the outfits you wear."

"What do you mean?" Emily quickly looked back at herself, double-checking if she made a mistake or not.

"You should be wearing proper clothing. Like what I am wearing."

Emily looked up at Valerie, starting at her shoes. They were completely covered by the long black dress that the mistress wore. She had long sleeves, and black gloves on with silver pointed tips on each finger where her nails would normally be. Emily shrugged her shoulders slightly, and Valerie sighed.

"That outfit you're wearing is possible, but it's not good." You need an outfit a proper lady can wear. A proper vampire."

Emily flashed back to what outfits she remembered the other vampires wore on Alnwick. She shivered a bit.

"But don't those outfits... reveal... a lot?"

"Well, yes, but those are not what I'm talking about, dear." Valerie held her hand out for Emily to take. The young vampire took Valerie's hand again, and like last time, the mistress laced her fingers around Emily's and started to lead her down the empty hall.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked quietly.

"To go get you something?"

"Something?" Emily asked, a small smile forming on her face. A part of her felt warm that Valerie was going to gift her something. What did she do to deserve a gift from Valerie? Emily wasn't sure.

"Yes. Cloths." Valerie walked into the mess hall, and seated the girl, "But first, you need breakfast."

Emily gave an eager nod. She sat down at the table and looked around. She tried to remember what Valerie had told her in the past. She watched as two new servants walked out of the kitchen with two silver platters. Emily could smell cooked meat, as well as bacon, and other such ingredients being prepared. She tilted her head in a bit of confusion. When the servants placed the silver platters in front of Emily and Valerie the girl's eyes widened. Her breakfast consisted of a large cooked piece of red meat. Steam was coming off it, and Emily took in the smell. On its side was a few strips of cooked bacon, and eggs on the other. Emily smiled and went to grab one of the bacon pieces but froze. She glanced over to Valerie and saw how she was eating it. The mistress broke up the bacon strips with a knife into small pieces and scooped them up another fork before taking a bite. Emily moved her hand over to her silverware and mimicked Valerie's movements.

She cut one of the bacon strips in half and scooped it up with her fork. When she took a bite into it, a large smile formed on her face. As of recent times, it was one of the best things she has had to eat. Emily then went and took a bite out of the large chunk of cooked meat on her platter. She cut out small bits out at a time and chewed slowly, enjoying the taste. It didn't take long for the girl to finish her breakfast. She smiled and leaned back in her chair, letting out a relaxed sigh. However, she began to question why Valerie was doing this. Giving her a meal like this, especially since she misbehaved yesterday. She contemplated a reason for the mistress doing this, whether it was to set her up for something later, or her simply acting out of goodwill.

Emily continued eating. When she looked up and towards the kitchen door, she once again saw the same servant watching her.

Soon after, Valerie finished eating, and dabbed her mouth carefully with the napkin provided, before standing up.

"Now, the. Let's see about getting you something else to wear. Come." Valerie straighten her back and started to march out of the dining hall. Emily quickly got up from her seat and followed the mistress from behind. She had a small smile on her face. Valerie led Emily down more corridors, before finally reaching a room on the opposite side of the estate from her room. Slowly, the mistress pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was dimly lit, with nothing more than a couple of candles to light it up. They were merely there for the servants to have some visibility in the room when cleaning it. For the two vampires, however, they could see perfectly. The walls of the room were lined with countless dressers. Each one looked to be crafted from black painted wood, and each one was about six feet tall, and almost four feet wide.

The mistress opened one, allowing Emily to see what was inside. Dresses. Lots of them. They all seemed to share the same color pallet of dark grey's and blacks, but there where a couple that had more color to them. Some had red on them, blue, yellow, and some didn't even have black on them at all. Valerie began searching through each dresser, carefully looking back at Emily and to what was in the dresser. It was a lengthy process of the mistress pulling out different dresses, and outfits, before handing them to Emily. By the time they had searched through half the dressers, Valerie had accumulated a total of 14 different outfits for Emily to try on.

"Alright, go start trying them on. I know a lot of them will be too big for you, but I can have someone make you an exact copy in your size." Valerie mumbled, opening another dresser and looking into it. Emily wondered to herself how the mistress got her hands on all these clothes, and why they were here, rather than her room, but she didn't question it further. The girl looked around and eventually saw a divider positioned in the corner of the room. She shuffled over to it and plopped the dressed onto the floor behind the divider. They ranged from blacks to greys. There was no single outfit in the pile with bright colors aside from the occasional red. Emily reached back and undid the string holding the bottom of her shirt together. After quickly stripping and changing, she stepped out from the divider and looked to Valerie. There was a mirror beside Emily that she glanced into briefly. Ever since she was a kid, she had heard stories as a vampire, but always dismissed them as fake, and nothing more the fairy tales. She remembered one fact that vampires couldn't see their own reflections in mirrors, but after spending quite a lot of time as one, she knew that not to be true.

The outfit she wore was all black. The lower part of it consisted of a dress that went down to about her ankles. It was a little puffy, with lighter colored images of vines and elegant shapes across it. The front of the dress had a series of strings crossing each other into Xs up from the bottom of her stomach up to the top of the dress, which only came about halfway up her chest, and under her arms. There was a small slit in the back of the outfit for her wings to fit. Connected to the top of the dress was a set of fabric that ran up, and around the girl's neck, with thin, see-through black designs.

Valerie turned around to look at Emily and tilted her head.

"That one seems to fit rather well." She pointed out, stepping closer to the girl to examine her, "This dress can do. Go try on another."

Emily happily nodded and walked back behind the divider. She changed into another outfit and stepped out. This time, the design was a bit more simple. The outfit consisted of a skirt that only went down to about halfway to her knees. It didn't come with leggings, so sitting would prove to be difficult. The design along the skirt was a bit harder to make out, but it consisted of several carefully stitched patterns of shapes along the bottom of the skirt. Two black straps went over both the girl's shoulders, and while it was technically a sleeveless dress, there were two bits of fabric connected to the armpit. When Emily's arms slid into them, they serve as sleeves, only a bit more laced, making her arms still visible, but at the same time covered up.

"Ah, no." Valerie explained, "I don't think that one looks nice on you." The mistress stepped behind the divider and searched through the pile of outfits before finding one buried under all the others.

"Try this one." She said, giving Emily the dress. The girl nodded and changed behind the divider after Valerie left it, and stepped out a couple of minutes later. The outfit the mistress chose for her was a bit uncomfortable. Emily had to put on a pitch-black corset, with silver buttons down the middle of it. It tightened around her waist and forced it to look slightly thinner, making her hips and breasts look slightly bigger, which was not a detail the girl liked at all. A dress peaked out from the lower half of the corset and went down to just above her ankles There were two parts to it. The first being the dress itself, and the second being a second layer that only went about hallways down the dress, and opened up like a curtain down the middle. Above the corset where two circular fabric pieces that covered the girl's chest, while another piece of lace fabric was layered over it. It ran over both the girl's shoulders, and into the sleeves, that went down to her elbows, and shared the same design. Thin, black, laced gloves ran from her elbow around her hand, with two cloths strips around both her wrists. The dress altogether didn't look too bad on Emily, but she wasn't a fan of it. She didn't like how it made her body look, nor was it comfortable to wear at all. Under the dress where stiff black leggings, that made her legs feel like they were being crushed.

"Do I have to wear this one?" Emily asked with a frown. She was nervous about asking the question, seeing as though Valerie chose this outfit specifically.

"Yes. This is what a proper lady should wear." Valerie nodded. "Go on, try a couple more, I want to see them all." She said promptly, pulling up a nearby chair and sitting down in front of the divider. Emily stepped back behind the divider and changed again. When she stepped out, Valerie stared and examined her. Another dress, though this one was more simple. The dress itself was laced, with black leggings underneath. The upper part of the outfit was a long sleeve, black shirt, with a black hood that came up and over Emily's head. The sleeves were laced as well, a common theme among most of the outfits Valerie picked out.

"This one can work too." The mistress nodded, "Go on and try something you could wear in a fight?"

"A fight?" Emily asked, confused.

"Yes, Emily, A fight."

The young vampire nodded and looked through the pile of clothing for something. After a moment or two of digging, she found something that looked like it could be worn as armor. Emily quickly changed, and put it on, then stepped out for Valerie to see. She wore a set of black leather armor. The outlines of it were colored silver, and the upper piece of the armor looked jagged. The leggings under the knee and leg pads where black as well, and Emily had on a pair of boots that went up and over her knees. Both of them had a silver diamond on the front that stretched from the heel to the top. The shirt she wore under the chest piece was black and had sleeves that went to about a little past her elbow. Silver-colored gloves were over her hands, which prevented her from letting her vampiric nails grow out. There was a cape behind her, which served as a way to hide her wings from the public eye.

"The outfit could use some work." Valerie said, standing up and looking closer, "It's a bit small, so we may need to get you armor that's a bit bigger."

"I- It is tight." Emily groaned.

"Yes, because it's too small. Go try on the others."

Emily spent most of the day, walking back and forth between the mirror and the divider, each time in a new outfit. Most of them were black, and most of them were grey. Occasionally the clothing would have some red on it, but aside from that color, the theme stuck to gothic. She wore lace tops, laced sleeves, laced leggings, lace dress. She wore black leather armor, and big poofy tops, with dresses that went down to her ankles, sometimes past it. It was a tiring process of going back and forth, changing, then back and forth again. The mistress gave her input on each outfit and it was almost a split between yes or no. Most of the outfits Emily really liked were the ones Valerie disliked and vise Versa. After a slow four hours of Emily trying on almost every outfit in the room, Valerie had her change back into her normal attire. A butler, wearing a nice black suit, was standing beside Valerie. He was there to take Emily's measurements for some of the outfits. Emily was either too small or too big for some of the outfits, but Valerie wanted her to wear them, so they would have to be tailored. The butler, which Emily had actually seen around the estate from time to time, had her stretch her arms and legs out. He did what he needed to do, and explained that he could have all the outfits tailored by the end of the week. Valerie, feeling satisfied, nodded, and dismissed him. On the way out, he passed the large table of collective clothing he would give to tailor. Almost twenty different outfits.

"Now. Before you go, Emily, I have one more thing for you."

The young vampire turned to the mistress. Emily couldn't help but smile and continue to question what exactly she did to deserve Valerie giving her all these gifts.

"What is it?"

Valerie reached into her pocket and slowly pulled out a long necklace. The thin string was made from diamonds, with a large red gem in the necklace center. It was contained in a silver case, that spiraled around the gem, making it look like a basket in a way. Emily gently took the necklace and looked at it. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry she had ever seen. Buying this would normally have cost her half of the gold she possessed in her storage portal.

"W- what is this?" Emily asked.

"This necklace is like the one I gave you before, only it looks nicer. I'd like you to keep that on you at all times." Valerie replied.

"At all times?"

"Yes, Emily. I don't want you to ever take it off. Wear it while you sleep, while you change, while you bath, eat, practice. Never. Take. It. Off."

Emily stared at Valerie for a moment before shrugging and nodding. The young vampire turned to the mirror and slowly slid the necklace on over her head.

"I- It's nice. Thank you." Emily couldn't help but smile wider.

"You're welcome." Valerie gently ran her hand through Emily's hair, before patting it, "Now run along, for now, alright? Don't get into trouble, and don't leave this floor."

Emily gave Valerie a nod, and turned to leave the room, but stopped. She froze for a moment and looked back to the mistress. The young vampire didn't want to push her luck, but it was worth asking.

"Um... C- Can I see my dragons?" Emily asked hesitantly, and in a nervous tone. Valerie simply stared at her, the expression on her face not changing at all. She lifted her hand and waved Emily out of the room. The girl sighed and nodded. She walked out of the room and back to her room. A part of her was disappointed, but another part of her already knew that that's what Valerie would do. Emily walked back to her room and stepped inside, closing the door behind her and locking it. She let out a long, and drawn out sigh before turning around and stopping. Emily looked out at her room, and how bairn it was. Nothing more than a few pieces of furniture, and a bed in the center of the room. There wasn't a lot for Emily to do to occupy herself with. She could write more in the notebook, but she hadn't explored the top floor since yesterday, and Emily want too eager to get caught again. The girl could perhaps practice her abilities as a vampire. Valerie did assign her a few things to learn before the end of the week, but Emily wasn't in the mood to practice. Over the last month, Valerie had already taught her how to turn into smoke and drift through the air, as well as control things with her mind. Specifically objects. Every time she could perform the task, her hands glowed red, as did whatever object she was attempting to move. She had also improved in her strength and speed, as well as starting to communicate with other animals. Wolves, rabbits, dogs, Emily could hear their thoughts and communicate with them. There where a lot of powers Emily didn't even know a vampire could do. There was one ability that she wouldn't be able to do for some time and that's turning people. Only adult vampires could turn people according to Valerie, so if Emily was to bite down into a living person, it would merely be a bite.

The young vampire sighed and looked out her window. The snowstorm had stopped overnight, and a good couple inches of snow had fallen. Emily knew that she was allowed outside, as long as she stayed within the walls of the estate. Perhaps she could find something to do out there. The young vampire walked to her dresser and bundled up in warmer clothes before leaving her room. She wore a coat, made from the fur of a grey wolf, and leggings that were made from the same material. Her boots where enough to keep her feet warm, and she had gloves to keep her hands warm. Her wings had a small slot, like in all the girl's clothes, to stick out of, allowing her to stretch them and move them as she pleased. Slowly, Emily made her way down the hall and towards the front entrance to the estate. She could feel herself sweating as she walked down the long corridors, before finally reaching the door and stepping outside.

The air was cold, and the snow was lightly falling. Emily took a moment to take a deep breath and look up at the light snowfall. It wasn't until she heard the sound of growling that she looked down. All through the front yard of the estate was an army of ghouls. They stumbled around slowly, bumping into each other and groaning with loud, and deep growly voices. Some carried weapons while others did not. Their clothes were torn, revealing there yellowish decaying flesh beneath. They were Valerie's first line of defense for the estate. While these ghouls didn't look like much, they were capable fighters in great numbers. Easily able to overpower a single person.

Emily shuttered and stepped forward. One of the ghouls stopped and looked at her. Slowly, it groaned and shuffled over to the girl. Emily froze a bit and watched as it shuffled over to her. When it got to arms reach it stopped and stared at her. It's dead white eyes fixated on her own. It let out a long groan and turned away to shuffle back to its original spot. They knew who Emily was, and where under Valerie's control. The ghouls wouldn't attack Emily or the other servants, which was a relief. The front yard, aside from having the undead army in it, was big. A single stone path led from the entrance of the gate a good two hundred feet away. On both sides of the pathway, where small bush's outlining a flower garden. Each garden had nothing but icy, crystal-like flowers. They sparkled in the sunlight. Along the path where several rows of dead trees, each one bare and outstretched. Emily shuffled her way past some of the ghouls and through the snow. It went up to about halfway to her knee, so she needed to really trudge through it. The young vampire bent over and plucked one of the flowers from the garden. The stem looked to be like any other normal stem, but the flower itself looked like a crystal. Felt like one too, and the girl questioned how a weak stem was able to hold up such magnificent flowers, but in a way, she knew the answer. Magic.

Emily plucked a few and put them into her pocket before shuffling past a few more ghouls. She watched as they bumped into each other and dropped their weapons into the snow with soft thumps. The young vampire made her way over to the side of the estate's wall and sighed. She had fond memories of wintertime. Back on the farm, when the winter season came, she would play outdoors with the other kids in the village. They built forts made from the snow and would have small battles with them. To the adults it looked like a bunch of kids on two teams, throwing chunks of snow at each other, but to the kids, it looked like a war zone. Each kid hid behind there own fort and would peak up every so often to throw a ball of snow at the other fort, trying to hit the others. Emily remembered laughing and giggling as she played, how often she could get beaten by the other team. Never on the winning side. Memories of her family came back and she frowned a bit. Laying down in the snow beside her father and rolling around it. Getting her clothes damp with water. Every day she went outside, Emily would walk back into her house and drag snow around the house. Her mother always had a cup of hot tea for her child to drink to help her warm-up.

Emily felt the snow against her wings as she laid down in it, remembering the times when life was simpler. When she didn't need to travel or hunt down relics to stop some evil force. Times when her family was still alive. Times when she could play with her mother and father. Emily sat up in the snow, and shook her wings, getting some of the snow out of them. Already, the weight of them being wet was a slight drag. Emily just sat there in the color snow, thinking about what her old allies were doing. She despised them. Alina most of all. She took her in, took care of her, gave her a new family, then just stabbed her. Every time she thought of that memory, her mind would get a bit fuzzy. Emily could never remember the whole picture, but even then, Valerie had told her several times that Alina and her old allies were dangerous. Being here, high in the mountains and far from the others was the best thing for her. Right?

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