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Lainie busied herself with dusting the mansion again. It didn't really need dusting but she needed to keep her hands moving. As long as she was working she wouldn't have to think about it.
It being the kiss given to her by Miss Ilia, the other maid and now her superior. The kiss had come in the heat of battle, and Lainies heart had been ripped out. Maybe she just thought it was the fastest way to give me blood. Lainie remembered the tenderness of Miss Ilia's lips, the hand skimming across her clavicle. Then she shuddered and tried to force the thoughts away.
Heat welled up in Lainie’s chest and poured out into her body as a light dew of sweat began to cover her. Lainie leaned into the wall as black dots danced at the corners of her vision. Hunger overtook every other thought, she salivated with desire. It was a desire she was becoming all too familiar with: the hunger for blood.
Lainie hadn't had a single drop since the battle, finding herself too flustered around Miss Ilia to bring it up. Lady Anis said that the drinking of blood replenished her magic, so maybe if she didn't drink any her magic would just go away after a while. She hoped it went away soon. Lately she kept catching herself staring at the other girls’ necks, or wrists, or ankles… any exposed skin seemed to call out to Lainie.
With the dusting finished Lainie retreated to her room. It was smaller than many of the other rooms in the mansion but still a bit larger than she was used to. Each step she took echoed back at her, as if the room was taunting Lainie with its horrid emptiness. Peeling off her sweaty clothes she drew water for a bath; another of Lady Anis's inventions, this metal tub filled itself with hot water.
A small whimper escaped Lainie's lips as she lowered herself into the steaming water. After mixing in some soap Lainie set to washing herself – she still wasn't quite used to bathing just for the pleasure of it. After all, just months ago getting this much hot water into the bath would have been a multi-hour affair.
A knock on the door pulled Lainie out of her thoughts, as soft footsteps entered the room.
"Lainie dear, are you in here?" Miss Ilia's sweet dulcet voice called out.
Lainie felt a tug in the core of her body. This was bad, just her voice awakened the hunger! Miss Ilia and the others had been so kind to her, taking her in despite what happened, and Lainie could do nothing to repay them. All she could do was yearn, hunger, and be drawn to their blood. Lainie's face grew hot and flushed, and she buried herself in the bubbles.
"Ah, there you are Lainie."
Lainie froze, her face submerged into the bubbles. What could she do now? She couldn't hide in the bath forever.
"A-are you," Miss Ilia's voice cracked, "are you mad at me? I know what I did was too much, I'm sorry."
Stunned by the loss of Miss Ilia’s normally calm confidence, Lainie looked up at her, unsure what to say. Miss Ilia's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her face straining as if it was all she could do to hold onto them. Both of her arms were wrapped around her trembling chest and each breath came as a short gasp.
"Tell me, please. I just need a few moments of your time, after that I'll leave you be. You've done nothing wrong after all, all the fault lies on me. I am sorry for betraying your trust; I am sorry for failing you and allowing you to be hurt." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "So if there is anything you want to do to me, any retribution to get even, I will bear it."
"No," before she realized she was doing it Lainie spoke, "I'm not mad at you Miss Ilia. After all,you got hurt because of me."
"That's not true."
"It is! If I hadn't been here when I was attacked then you would have been fine. I put you in danger, just you being here is dangerous." Lainie looked up at Miss Ilia, her eyes welling with tears. "After all I'm a vampire, no human is safe with me around."
"And is that why you've been avoiding me? You don't have to worry about my safety, I chose to be here and I chose to protect you. My safety is my own responsibility."
"Well also, um," She couldn't just bring up the kiss, "um, yes, that's it."
Relief washed across Miss Ilia's face. "Good. You don't need to worry about me dear, I should be the one worrying about you. You really aren't mad at me?"
"No, I don't think I could bring myself to be upset with you, Miss Ilia."
Miss Ilia smiled. It was a wonderful sight, like watching a shooting star leap out of the blackness of night, or a sweet alyssum bloom.
"Now then. Onto the second matter I wanted to talk to you about." Miss Ilia reached out and cupped Lainie's face in her hand, "You’ve looked so pale recently. You haven't been drinking blood."
The hand's warmth pulled at Lainie, immediately she became aware of everything around her. The wrist was so close she could smell Miss Ilia, her wonderful floral scent mixed with the intoxicating scent of blood. Lainie's breath came heavier and faster, her muscles tensed, her pupils dilated. She could feel each vein in Miss Ilia's wrist pulsing. Someone else walked on the floor above them. She could hear Miss Ilia's breath and the beating of her heart. The hand pressed against her cheek, its supple smoothness, the gentle sandpaper of each fingertip. The air tasted like Miss Ilia as well. It was overwhelming.
She knelt down behind Lainie placing her mouth so close each whisper tickled Lainie’s ear with the warmth of her breath. "I can tell how badly you want this, dear. Why are you holding back? Would you rather it was someone else?"
"No," Lainie did her best to maintain her composure.
"You can't just starve yourself darling." Miss Ilia tilted Lainie’s head back, their eyes less than a foot apart, "If you don't take care of yourself then I'll just have to order you to." Tilting her head to the side she lowered the side of her neck over Lainie's mouth.
"Drink, Lainie."
With the warmth of Miss Ilia's blood so close to her Lainie lost both composure and control. Leaning forward, her teeth extended on their own and bit into the intoxicating warmth. Miss Ilia's blood was salty and sweet, Lainie drank and lost herself in bliss.
Time ceased to pass. The hunger that haunted her for the past two weeks vanished bit by bit. She felt perfect, she felt whole .
With the hunger gone Lainie slowly came back to herself. Suddenly she became very aware of how naked she was. Bent backwards in the way she was, her breasts thrust out above the water and bubbles. Pulling away she sunk back into the tub, cheeks flushed and heart racing.
"Ah-h, Miss Ilia. I'm sorry for exposing you to my indecency."
"What? Your nakedness? Why would that bother me? Besides, don’t you remember what happened after the fight with the prince?"
The fight with the prince? After a certain point her memories of the encounter were rather fuzzy.
"I suppose you wouldn't. Well dear, your clothes were an absolute mess with all the blood, it's not like I could just put you to bed like that. So this isn't the first time I've seen you naked in a tub."
Lainie sank deeper into the tub. If she took off my bloodied clothes and bathed me that means she's seen... Miss Ilia's seen down... The entirety of Lainie's face flushed bright red and she covered her face.
"Is it really that embarrassing? I undress and bathe Anis fairly regularly, she has a habit of working herself into unconsciousness when she's excited."
"But-t, um, you haven't kissed Lady Anis, so it's different."
"Hmm, well I suppose it is. Is that what has you so embarrassed? I apologize for acting so rashly, it was a tense situation and I allowed my emotions to overcome my judgment. Please don't think too much of it, you don't need to worry about me doing anything you don't want me to do. We can resume our previous arrangement if you wish, I promise not to do anything rash."
As much as it terrified her Lainie wanted to tell Miss Ilia how she felt. But how could she find the words? Miss Ilia was a confident woman who had no doubt enjoyed many kisses and thought nothing of giving them to other women. How could she tell someone like that, someone she looked up to, that thoughts of their kiss never left her mind? When Lainie slept Miss Ilia was waiting in her dreams, and when she awoke she often lay splayed out across the soiled bed still enwrapped with the sweet memory of their supple touch.
"The problem is I enjoyed it." Lainie said before she could stop herself.
She flushed realizing what she said. The words hung in the air like brewing storm clouds ready to sully the day. Now everything would be ruined, she would need to find a new place to stay. Maybe she could move back in with her adoptive family. It always happened, she always ruined the lives of those around her. But still, it was good that she said it, after Miss Ilia had been so kind to her she couldn't go betraying her trust and hiding things from her.
"What's the problem with that?"
Shocked, Lainie turned to look back up at Miss Ilia. She smiled down at Lainie and tenderly ran her hand across Lainie's cheek.
"What's wrong with enjoying another person? I enjoy you: your cute smile, your pretty voice, your lovely eyes. I enjoy so many things about you, so don't go thinking there's something wrong with you for enjoying me. Just hearing that makes me happy so it can’t be wrong, can it?"
Lainie closed and opened her mouth several times, desperately searching for the right thing to say. Could this really be alright?
"Lainie dear, don't worry if you don't know what to say. I just sprung a lot on you. There are some things, ones I've had lots of time to decide for myself, that take time to figure out. You don't always have to know what you want, there's no rush. Let’s just enjoy each other for now, let's enjoy the time we spend together. Does that sound alright?"
Still in shock of the situation, Lainie found herself unable to speak. All she could manage was a meager nod.
"Wonderful." Miss Ilia pulled over a small stool and sat behind her. "Would it be alright if I washed your hair?"
"Yes," she answered before thinking.
Somehow the bath kept heating up, Lainie had no idea how Lady Anis managed such things. The hot water was impressive enough on its own but for it to reheat itself at intervals, now that was truly impressive. As Miss Ilia's hands combed through her hair Lainie melted into the bath. A towel found its way in-between Lainie's head and the metal bath acting as a makeshift pillow, Lainie lay back fully relaxed. Every ounce of stress seeped out of her, the entire world slipped away. The only things left were Miss Ilia's hands, wherever they went Lainie's body melted away into bliss. Surrounded by warmth Lainie closed her eyes and smiled.