Be Careful When You Bite Me

Chapter Two

It took a while for me to correctly register everything they had so easily said into my brain.

My eyes widened and I snapped," That's only if you fail to erase my memory?"

"Yes," the Queen responded," but if it fails, we have to go with the other option."

"Well, when can you try?" I asked.

"Tomorrow night, the full moon will be out, then we will have our maximum strength."

I thought the full moon crap was for werewolves.

"I can't stay until tomorrow!" I snapped," my family, they don't know that I'm okay-."

"I'm afraid you have no other choice," said the Queen.

"But what about my parents!" I asked.

"We will arrange for someone to get you a phone call," she said," but as for now, Damon will escort you to your room, we ask that you remain inside, the castle is no place for a human."

Damon began to drag me away again when the King's stern voice froze us both," Damon, have you forgotten something?"

"Please inform me father," said Damon.

"Your punishment," said the king.

"My apologies father, it slipped my mind," Damon said.

"You will keep watch of the dungeon for a week."

I opened my mouth as if to protest on Damon's behalf, it was Seth, therefore he should take the punishment, but I saw Damon's eyes widen in happiness for a slight second, before nodding," Yes father."

Had I imagined the glint in his eyes? I must have had. Why would a prince possibly be happy about becoming Dungeon Keeper for the week?

I let my head hang as if it was getting heavy with my thoughts and let him drag me to my room. We must have been walking for over ten minutes, passing hallways with entrances that led to even more hallways, statues, and sculptures that seemed priceless when finally we slowed down at yet another corridor.

"Here it is," said Damon, stopping in front of two brown wooden doors.

"Here's what," I asked, caught up in my thoughts.

"I had thought trouble was the only thing you can produce but now I know it's making my life difficult as well," he sighed and opened the doors," This is your room."

He pushed past me and went to close the windows. The room was similar to the one I was in before, with black curtains and matching plush carpets covering the ground. In the middle was a grey king-size bed stationed between two cedar wooden dressers.

"Never leave the windows open," he said," Never."

I nodded with no urge to find out why.

I sat on the bed," I-I don't have clothes."

"In the closet there you should find something suitable," his eyes turned a dark, angry shade, and he spat out, " you have caused me more trouble than you are worth so tomorrow when we erase your memory, you will participate like a good little human with no more backtalk."

I crossed my arms to hide the shivers and tried to swallow back my fear," There's a chance it won't work."

"It will," he sounded as if he was convincing himself as opposed to me, "Otherwise there will be one less human to worry about wherever you came fro-"

"Holly."

I could tell he was getting angrier when he said," What?"

I knew it was my cue to stop but I couldn't. I was frustrated and confused and angry and hungry but I couldn't help it.I wanted to talk to him. Even if we are fighting, I didn't wanna be alone in this strange place far away from home, and to my knowledge, he is the only one here that wouldn't kill me.

"My name," I replied," It's Holly."

I saw what looked like confusion cross his face and wondered if he didn't think we had names in the human world.

"I don't like being called human, just call me by my name," I continued.

"I'll call you what I please," Damon's eyes darkened in rage and he took a step closer to me. I tried not to shift my nervous gaze away from his.

Don't be scared, my mother had once told me, predators can smell fear.

Suddenly, Seth came barging in. His smirk was wiped off his face when he saw Damon's.

He pushed past Seth and exited the room, huffing angrily.

Seth turned towards me," Don't make him angry human, he might just kill you next time, I probably won't be around," with that, he turned around and exited the room.

I sighed out loud.

It's not human, it's Holly.

To expect sleep that night was simply absurd. With about a thousand thoughts racing through my head, rest was the last thing that I was thinking about. My brain was overwhelmed with questions.

Number one being what the hell is going on. Just a few hours ago, the world was normal. There was no such thing as vampires and witches and I was just a girl with a regular life and parents and friends who have no idea where I am now. I wondered when I would be allowed to call them or if they even had cell phones in this modern-day dungeon. I wondered about Damon and why he was so angry and hateful all the time and then wondered if it was only with me. I remembered the way he looked at the picture of Isabelle and wondered what had happened between them. I worried about tomorrow and what would happen if they couldn't erase my memory and wondered if it does work, how much of my memory would be gone. I thought about school and my friends. This year was my last and I will be graduating in just a few months. Maybe if I explained that to the King and Queen they would understand.

What about if they cannot erase my memory, and are unable to find a witch to do so, what then!

I certainly did NOT want to be stuck in this castle, not even for another minute.

I knew I was restless so I stood up and walked over to the window. I struggled with the hinges but managed to crack it open a little bit. I remembered Damon's warning to keep it closed but decided to ignore it. Outside was dark but you can see the sun was beginning to come up. It looked like the castle was hidden deep inside the woods because all I could see for miles were trees. I looked down to see that I was so high up that the ground was nowhere to be seen. I shut the window and walked over to the door and to my surprise, they were not locked. I peeked out into the halls but all I saw was black. The deafening silence was almost too loud and I decided that I would rather go back to bed than to risk walking down those halls.

A couple of hours later, and not a minute of sleep later, I was startled by someone opening the door.

A maid barged into my room and placed a tray of something on my dresser. I opened my mouth to ask her anything but she hurried out almost as if purposely. Confused, I stood up and walked over to the dresser removing the stainless steel tops from the tray to reveal a sandwich, some water, and fruit. I felt my stomach ache as if to remind me that I haven't eaten in over twenty-four hours. I sipped on some water that was almost painful to digest and nibbled on the sandwich. A couple of minutes later I decided to explore the many doors out in the halls in hopes of finding a shower.

Finally, I found a door that looked like it could be a bathroom.I opened it and gasped when I realized that it was a bedroom and there were people inside. Panic built up in me and I began cursing in my mind. I shut the door immediately and hurried down the hall, worried that they had seen me. Suddenly, the door nearest to me barged open and arms reached out and pulled me into a dark room. I let out a scream that was quickly stifled by the other person. Frightened, I struggled to shove the person off of me and searched for the light switch.

A frustrated sigh came from my attacker and suddenly, the room was filled with light.

"Damon!"I felt relieved even though I knew better," What are you doing!?"

"Just be quiet for a second!" he snapped, placing his palm over my lips. I couldn't help but be aware of the short distance between us. We were standing almost chest to chest, his white tee pressed softly against my black sweater. His hair was messier today as if he had been brushing it back more frequently.

When I stayed silent, he continued.

"Why did you leave your room?" he snapped. I scrunched my face up and waited for him to move his hand. When he did, I replied with," Because I had to use the bathroom."

"I told you not to leave, why do you make life difficult?"

"Are you kidding me!" I snapped," First I can't leave this place and now I can't even pee?"

"What did you see?" he demanded.

I turned away," I don't know what you're talking about."

He growled under his breath," Don't mess with me, human."

"Why don't you go see for yourself instead of lingering here like some sad and lonely-" Damon cut my rattling off with a snarl that quickly reminded me who I was speaking with," Watch it, or else the next time you are out of your room will be at your funeral."

My eyes widened in horror and I tried to turn around towards the exit but his firm grip held me in place.

"What," I spoke through gritted teeth.

"When you opened the door, what did you see?"

"It sounds like you already know-."

"Holly!"

I'm not sure why hearing my own name made me flinch. Maybe it was the way he said it that sounded foreign or maybe part of me was surprised that he remembered.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me close," If you don't tell me now, I'll do a lot worse than kill you."

I was almost trapped by his gaze and couldn't look away. It was like trying to break a spell to do anything other than stare back at him in awe. My words were forming at the tip of my tongue but what came out was merely a breathless whisper," What more can you do to me. We stared at each other for what felt like a couple of minutes. He finally retrieved his hands off my body and took a few steps back. He ran his fingers through his hair in distress and stared down at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said, throwing me off guard completely.

"They were in the middle of...it," I decided to finally answer his question.

"It?" he asked," Must you speak in riddles?"

I sighed.

Is he really going to make me explain?

The image of Seth and Isabelle in a compromising embrace returned to my head and I shook it off.

"It Damon," I pressed not wanting to say the word," Sex-"

He shut his eyes and clenched his fists.

"Get out," he said.

"What?" I muttered, wondering if he was alright.

"Get out!" he snapped all of the sudden, his eyes wide and angry. I didn't hesitate to reach for the exit. Before I left I could have sworn I saw a glint of something shiny sliding down his face.

......A tear? Can vampires cry?

It took me about half an hour after the incident with Damon to find a bathroom. Although it wasn't much, taking a shower and cleaning up cheered me up the slightest until I remembered what tonight will be. My mind drifted back to Damon.

What is going on between him and Isabella? Who was she to him and who is she to Seth? Could it be possible that I had imagined that tear?

I couldn't imagine someone as cold and angry as Damon be so shattered over a girl but then again, it wasn't just any girl. It was the dangerously beautiful, fiery, and jaw-dropping Isabelle who, no doubt, can make a vampire as cold and mean as Damon shed tears. I sighed. Part of me wished that I could be like her. I quickly shrugged the thought as soon as it came to my head.

I entered my room to find a note wrapped in brown cloth on my newly made bed. It took me about five minutes to figure out that there's a string at the bottom of the letter that I have to pull but by that time, I had already tore the cloth open.

Beautiful cursive writing on a piece of thick paper that read;

Dear Holly,

The ritual will begin tonight as soon as the moon is up.

We will send up a servant to retrieve you when it's time.

For now, we have arranged for you to make a single phone call.

The King and Queen

I tossed the letter and fidgeted with the sheets until I found a cell phone. I gasped out loud and held it to my chest feeling as if I had just found gold. I pressed the buttons to reveal the home screen and punched in the number to the landline at my home I brought the phone up to my ears and felt my heart thud in anxiousness and excitement. It wasn't until I heard my mother greet me that I realized I had not come up with a story.

"Hello..Hello, anybody there?"

"Mom, it's me," My voice was shaky and nervous.

"Holly!" you could hear both the worry and the relief in her voice," honey, where are you! We were so worried when you didn't call us yesterday."

"I'm so sorry Mom, my phone died, I'm using a friend's but I'm alright-"

"Where are you and when are you coming home?"

"Soon," I was suddenly lost for words," I'm not sure, maybe a couple of days, I'm at a motel in this small town-"

"Holly this is ridiculous, I understand that breakups are painful but come home! Come clear your thoughts here where you can be with your family."

How do I tell her that my boyfriend cheating on me has suddenly become the last thing that I was worried about?

"I know mom, and I will," I reassured her," but here it's peaceful, and I don't start school again for a couple of days, I think I'll stay out here until I'm ready okay?"

"Holly-"

I didn't let her finish. I felt fresh tears pooling in my eyes and slowly trickle down my face," Mom, I-I gotta go, just tell everyone I'm alright okay? I'll see you soon."

"Holly-"

I hung up before she could finish her sentence. I wiped the tears from my face and placed the cellphone on the dresser. It felt like a huge weight lifted off my shoulder to be able to reassure my mother, not that I felt I did a great job at doing so.

Hey mom, I'm alright, stuck at a castle with some vampires who wanna erase my memory before they let me go, I'll see you soon.

I sighed once again.

I stood up and decided to raid the closet to keep my mind off my parents.

Surprisingly, there weren't any corsets and ball gowns. I was able to find a clean pair of black leggings and a baggy white t-shirt. I wondered if they belonged to Isabella and if Damon would feel some way if I put them on. A mirror hung by the closet and I wondered, do vampires have reflections or was that a myth.

I examined my reflection and couldn't help but compare myself to the women that I have seen so far. My light brown hair lay pitch straight stopping mid back. My green eyes looked tired, confused and sad. I brought my hands up to trail my fingers across the bite scar on my neck.

How the hell am I going to explain this?

I let my mind wander some more before deciding, this isn't working.My stomach growled, signaling that it was hungry so I stood and exited my room.Careful not to run into anybody,it wasn't long until I realized that I had no idea where I was going.I kept going until I saw a maid. I opened my mouth to ask her but, like the other one, she just sped up and walked away.I sighed and walked some more. I noticed that the castle was silent.

Too silent.

Shouldn't there be an echo of some poor helpless screaming humans like in the movies? Except this isn't some horror movie. This is horrific reality and it alone is providing me with more terror than any movie I had ever watched. A couple of minutes later another maid walked by. She sped when she got near me but I wasn't going to let another maid slip. I jumped in front of her, blocking her path. She stepped to the side and I followed.

"May I help you?" she calmly asked.

"Yes, can you tell me if I had grown spider legs? Because every darn maid I try to speak to runs away from me," I snapped.

"Your sarcasm is uncalled for" she snapped back.

"So was your rudeness," I said. I couldn't help but notice a similar scar on her neck.

Her face turned red," was there anything you wanted?"

"Where can I get some food," I felt my stomach growl again as if on cue.

"You can try the kitchen, first floor," and with that, she stepped to the side and walked away.

Why was everyone here so angry? I walked further down, my stomach growling even louder.

How do I get to the first floor if I have no idea what floor I am on now?

Three figures appeared from the shadows and I was able to distinguish two as guards. Between them, they dragged a person down the hall. He was dressed oddly, in something that resembled a funny costume. Startled and slightly scared, I stepped aside as if to blend in with the curtains and let them pass by, but not before catching the look of fear on the middle aged man's face. Questions immediately ran through my mind.

Where were they taking him? Why did he look so scared? Why was he wearing that?

I felt helpless even though part of me wanted to help the poor man.

Without a second thought,I ran after the guards, wondering that hallway they went into.

Left or right?

I ran around in the halls desperate to catch a glimpse of them but I couldn't see them anywhere! I ran back to the other hallway and took a right turn instead. I saw them, all the way at the end of the corridor. I ran after them but they turned. There was no sign of them anymore but I kept searching. Part of me nagged what I would do if I did find them but I chose to ignore it. Something about the expression on the man's face kept me going. I was scared for what they were going to do to him. My chest was starting to hurt and I couldn't help but stop for a couple of minutes.Images of them beheading the innocent man clouded my thoughts. Just as I was catching my breath and regaining the energy to keep running, I turned to come in contact with something hard.

Or someone. I looked up to see angry golden eyes staring down at me.

"What are you doing out of your room again!" Damon spoke grimly.

"The guards," I struggled to speak, still not having caught my breath,"I think they're going to kill that man."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking annoyed.

"I saw the guards dragging this man somewhere," I snapped," what are they going to do with him-"

He rolled his eyes," he's a villager, a native, he's ours."

My eyes widened with disbelief,"what ''I whispered.

He nodded," He is not for you to worry about."

All of the sudden, the anger that boiled inside of me unleashed and I began to shout,"You're monsters, you're all monsters!" I felt my hands clench into fists that slammed against his chest as I sobbed and screamed," You're going to kill that man for no reason! You're horrible monsters that deserve to die!"

I felt his hands wrap around mines and he pushed me away in an attempt to block the hits," Stop."

I could see through blurry eyes that he was angry but I was over it. I didn't know what to make of my fear and all I could do was cry.

"No one is coming to rescue you so stop."

In the distance past Damon I saw the two guards walking further down the hall.

"Wait!" I called out but they wouldn't stop.

I tried to make my way past Damon to head towards them but he grabbed my arm and yelled" Go back to your room! Now!"

"I can't! I have to help him!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face.

"You're too late! He's probably already dead!" snapped Damon.

Something twisted inside me when I heard those words because I knew he was right. That man was gone and there was nothing I could do or could have done to change that. "Go back to your room," his tone was more gentle now.

Silently, I obeyed.

Fear engulfed me as I walked back to my room. How long before I'm next?

Lets face it, if they can't find a way to erase my memory, that will be me.

Images of the innocent man flooded my head. What did Damon mean by native villager? I wondered if the man had a family or someone who is wondering where he is. I needed some answers but where could I possibly get them?

I finally reached my room and laid in bed. I noticed on the dresser there was a new tray with some more water and food but I had lost my appetite. I turned to my side and let myself cry some more and before I knew it, I had cried myself to sleep

I woke up a few hours later feeling hot and sweaty.

Lazily, I stood up and cracked open a window. The view of the woods was beautiful in daylight. I glanced at the clock that read 6:46pm.uddenly, a maid burst in as if it was her own room.

"Get up!" she ordered," we have things to do and little time!"

She looked me up and down before rushing me out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom,"In!"

I obeyed and entered the bathroom wondering what she meant by things to do and little time. There was a pack of toothbrushes and some soap on the sink. I brushed my teeth then washed my face in the shower. .After wiping down with a red towel, I exited the bathroom. The maid stood there, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Come on come on!" she rushed me back down the hall.

Her short figure shoved me inside the bedroom and opened the closet.

"What are we doing?" I finally asked.

Instead of answering, she ran out of the room leaving me confused. A couple of minutes, she reappeared with a bag full of stuff.

"Sit child," she smiled.

I obeyed when I realized that that was the first genuine smile I had seen since I had arrived at this place. She went to work on my hair and face and I couldn't help but notice she had the same scar on her neck as the previous maid did. When she noticed me staring, she smiled down at her, her brown eyes soft and gentle.

"You're the first human we have seen here that isn't from the village," she spoke softly," You're a foreigner to the Cold Ones, caused quite a mess."

"The bite on your neck, is it-" I fumbled with my words as I searched my brain for a polite way to ask," Did they do that to you?"

The smile on her face lessened and she focused on plucking my eyebrows," I come from a breed that was meant to serve the Cold Ones. They don't feed on me anymore."

"What do you mean by breed?"

Instead of answering my question, she handed me a mirror.I almost gasped at my reflection.

My brown hair was styled into thick curls that nested down my shoulders. The black eyeliner on my lids made my green eyes shine.My skin sparkled slightly and my lips were a glossy red.

I turned to the maid," Why did you do this?"

She smiled slightly,"Do you like it?"

"Yes of course, but why?"

"You get to go home tonight. Tomorrow, you'll have no memory of this and you can go back to being a human. That's never happened here before," I saw a glint in her eyes that turned into a tear," People like us, we don't just walk out of here, unscarred."

"I'm Holly," I replied, having no idea what to say to her or how to help her," and you are?"

"Im Meredith."

"Nice to meet you, Meredith," I took her hands in mine and smiled up at her.

"The ritual is tonight. The last one was over a decade ago."

"Did it... work?" I asked.

"I'm not sure but I hope it will tonight."

She strutted past me and headed toward her bag," Now, wear this," she said, pulling out a white skin tight silk dress.

The dress was sleeveless and looked more like lingerie. All in all, it was beautiful.

I grabbed it from her hands,"This looks too small.

"It's traditional," she simply replied.

She handed me the matching heels and when I was done slipping everything on, I was taken back by my reflexion in the mirror. I looked beautiful. Seductive but elegant.

I look like I can compete with Isabelle.

"What time is it?" I asked Meredith.

"The ritual starts in half an hour," she said," I have to leave now."

I nodded,"Okay, will I be seeing you tonight?"

"Yes you'll see me tonight," with that, she smiled and exited the room and I was left alone with nothing but my reflection to stare at.

About twenty minutes later, I decided I had to go now. After exiting my room, I realized that I had no idea where to go. It was about ten minutes later that I remembered the note from the King and Queen instructing me to wait for a servant to bring me down when it was time.

Dammit I forgot.

I roamed around the castle until I heard shouting.

"You are always disobeying me!"

I turned and saw the same metal doors from yesterday, when I had met the King and Queen. I put my ear on the door to listen.

"When will you finally listen!" I recognized the voice immediately as King.

"I'm sorry father, I really am," a voice that sounded like Damon responded.

"If you continue to show compassion for the humans then you will never make it as King!"

King? Did that mean that Damon was meant to take over the throne?

I remembered briefly meeting his older brother yesterday.

I thought the eldest takes the crown.

Damon stayed silent.

"That jester that you rescued will go back into the village and let the others know that he was spared," said the Queen," It doesn't look good when the castle they are meant to worship and fear begins to spare lives."

"I apologize," said Damon," I will accept whatever punishment you have for me."

Damon saved the man? I thought that he didn't care? I thought the man had already died?

I felt relieved to hear that the man made it out alive but more confused as to why Damon would react so harshly yet spare the man's life.

"Don't forget that the villagers are ours," said the King," Humans outside our territory may not belong to us but the natives are ours. We breed them to keep our kind alive!"

Questions ran through my head and I felt more confused than ever.

Is that what Meredith meant when she said she was bred to serve the Cold Ones? Did they breed humans to use as their own?