RITE OF BLOOD AND BONDS
ONE
The corridor between my bed chamber and the family dining room has become familiar over the past two weeks, and it doesn't hold quite the same dread as it used to. Which isn't to say there isn't some. I'm still nervous about spending time around my so-called family.
Pip bounces along beside me, clearly not having the same kind of reservations as I do. I suppose to her, she's just arrived in a world where she always has a comfortable place to sleep and plenty to eat. It's probably paradise compared to the leaky house we left behind.
It would be for me too if it weren't for the strange change in circumstances that mean I now have to drink blood every day. Though if I'm honest with myself, that is far from the most difficult part of my new life.
For a brief second, I consider not going into the dining room, but I know that's not wise. I might still be new to living at Castle Sanulieon, but I know better than to cross the people I've come to find myself living with.
I make my way to the seat that somehow ended up assigned to me. One of the servants appears beside me and sets down a bowl for Pip.
"Sit down," I say to my dog.
She looks up with large begging eyes, but doesn't move towards the bowl of food. Despite only two weeks of training on her new rules, she's getting fairly good at doing what she's told.
"Okay."
She rushes to the bowl, eating as if she's never had a meal before. She's probably remembering all the days where we didn't have enough food. Or maybe it's just that she's hungry.
"I don't know why you bring her to the dining room," Bastian says from his spot at the head of the table.
"You wouldn't," I respond, turning my attention to my own food. I pick up a golden goblet full of blood and take a sip, the sweet taste making me want more. I never expected to find myself casually drinking blood at breakfast while wearing a dress that costs more than I used to earn in an entire year, but here I am.
"Beatrice..."
I look at my brother. "Bastian."
"Why are you being like this? It's been a fortnight..."
"And is that the required amount of time to forgive you for selling me to Lord Fallmartin with the promise that I'll marry whoever he chooses for me?"
His knife clatters against his plate as he sets it down. "I didn't sell you out."
"But you did lie to me," I say through gritted teeth. "You promised me that my betrothal wasn't part of the deal you made."
His silence tells me everything I need to know about his guilt in that matter. He knew that was one of the stipulations of him saving me. It's not even about the marriage, though I can't say that's great and I'm hoping Lord Fallmartin has forgotten about it, though I know that isn't likely. But at least I can understand why our father is acting that way.
Bastian is another matter. He lied to me when I asked him, and I know it couldn't have been a fun thing to have to tell me, but that was no reason to lie.
The door opens and Eliza steps inside, sitting down in her seat beside me. "Morning," she says brightly, not in the slightest bit aware of the tension between me and my brother.
Pip trots over to her now she's finished with the food, sitting down beside me and looking up with wide eyes as if she's desperate for more food.
"You're not hungry," I tell her.
Eliza chuckles. "She's never going to listen to you." She slips a piece of bacon off her plate and holds it out to the dog.
"Especially not if you're going to keep feeding her at the table," I say to my cousin.
Bastian scowls. "She shouldn't be here during mealtimes anyway."
"She's not doing any harm, are you, Pip?" Eliza asks her.
My dog is too interested in her new snack to actually respond.
Eliza sighs. "I wish Mr Purrs would come with me to breakfast. He just sits on my dresser and ignores me. He's probably still looking for a patch of sun. It's been over a hundred years, you'd think he'd learn."
