Dawn was quick to appear, bathing the manor in its wake. But no matter the shine, it couldn't erase the trace of darkness that wrapped the estate like a cloak.
Lucrezia woke up when Edhira and the girls came, preparing her for the morning. She was to join Lord Vaeron in the dining room in an hour so they did well in plucking her alive and dressing her up like a stiff doll.
Last night… heat warmed her face at the memory. As much as she tried to forget, it was almost impossible.
She kept still while Edhira and the other maids fussed around her, tugging at laces, brushing out her hair, and tightening stays with merciless efficiency. Their hands were brisk and practical, but his had not been.
Oh gods… and her eyes widened. How can she think of such?!
Lucrezia drew a slow breath as if that alone could steady her. However, it didn't. It never did. Heat crawled up her neck again, traitorous and impossible to smother. Lady Martha didn't speak of that kind of sensation, and sure didn't mention whatever he did last night was part of consummation. Then why was she feeling this way?
Their wedding had been consummated—hadn't it? Lady Martha had explained the process in vague and polite words. A woman was to undress before her husband in compatible silence, and she and Lord Vaeron certainly had… well… undressed. And he had touched her—properly touched her—so that counted, didn't it?
Yet Lady Martha had never mentioned heat curling low in her stomach like a trapped flame, or the dizzy flutter in her chest, or this… this unbearable awareness of every inch of her own skin.
Certainly, she had not spoken of feeding during the process.
W-What they did…
The thought alone made her pulse thrum at the base of her throat and she shut her eyes instinctively, ceasing it from functioning.
But she could still feel the weight of him hovering close enough that his breath had stirred the stray hairs near her ear. The way his fingers had moved over her in a deliberate and unhurried pace, as though he were learning her by touch alone. It wasn't gentle but claiming and possessive. She hadn't known a single hand could make her feel both undone and gathered all at once.
And his mouth—gods, his mouth.
The memory pulsed through her as warm as a hand sliding beneath her ribcage. The soft pull of his lips against her skin, and the sharp, sweet ache where his fangs had pressed sent a deep sensation. Earlier this morning, when she checked, she discovered the mark at the swell of her breast. Thankfully, she rejected Edhira's assistance in helping her bathe and decided to do it herself. After all, she wasn't used to people taking care of her baths.
The bite was painful, yes, but the contradiction of it, the danger and tenderness unraveled her far more thoroughly than anything else ever had. She remembered gripping his shoulder to anchor herself when the dizziness had washed over her in waves… a sensation so intimate it felt like he was drinking more than blood, something deeper, something she wasn't ready to name.
A shiver ghosted through her despite the morning warmth, and she flinched when a hand brushed against her skin.
Sensing the strange reaction from her mistress, "Milady?" Edhira paused mid-button, staring at her through her reflection. "Are you alright?"
Lucrezia almost jerked when a voice cut through the thick haze of her reverie, "I-I'm fine," Lucrezia managed, though her voice wavered enough to betray her.
The girls paused their work, glancing at one another over their shoulders. "Should we fetch cool water? Or summon His Reign?" One of them named Madelyn, asked in concern.
"No!" Lucrezia blurted almost too quickly and sharply, causing all three maids to be startled as they stopped, exchanging glances after.
Now, they looked truly troubled for their mistress. Why was she looking this way? Is she sick? Is anything wrong? Should they summon their master?
Realizing her mistake, "I'm sorry," she apologized, knowing fully well how much her tone must have startled them. Lucrezia lowered her gaze at once, and her fingers tightened around the edge of the skirt, but she couldn't help but feel… different.
"No, Milady," Edhira said softly as she stepped closer. "You mustn't apologize. It's our duty to tend to you…"
"But not to be snapped at," Lucrezia interrupted, cutting her off. The shame tightened her throat when she said, "You all have been nothing but kind to me. Forgive me,"
She was suddenly reminded of Madelyn, her handmaiden, someone who'd been more of a sister than a servant over the years of her confinement. Ever since she got here, things had been different in the sense that she wasn't regarded as the witch of Veximoor or the cursed child. She was only looked upon as the Lady of Dreadwyn, but all to the credit of her sister, Anastasia.
However, that didn't mean they treated her with indifference. She was their Lady and it was their duty to serve her, not form a friendly bond. But Lucrezia couldn't help but want that.
On the other hand, the maids still stood in shock at their mistress's apology. It came as a surprise to them, something they never even imagined or expected. Who would have thought the Second Princess Anastasia of House Bathory could apologize?
Even the dead would disagree, and they said nothing more.
She let them finish dressing her, stiff and silent as the doll they made her into, but internally, her heart still beat with the memory of his touch. She could still sense it, as if her skin were marked by invisible fingerprints.
Stop thinking about it, Lucrezia. Stop thinking about... him, she chanted internally.
But her body betrayed her, remembering every breath, every brush of his fingers, and every place his lips had lingered. Her knees pressed together instinctively, and she flinched again when a maid adjusted the hem of her dress, causing all three to notice this time.
"Forgive me, Milady…" The one fixing the hem of her dress whispered carefully to the flustered mistress who looked as red as a tomato. "…are you certain you aren't hurting somewhere?"
Her expression was a mask of concern for their young mistress. Why was she looking flustered and reacting very strangely? They had a feeling that she might be sick, and it worried them.
Lucrezia's mouth opened, but no coherent answer came. She could hardly admit that she was hurting in places that made no sense, that she felt tight and warm and fluttery and entirely unlike herself, and that nothing Lady Martha had taught her matched any of this.
Instead, in a trembling mortified rush, she heard herself ask, "Is it..." Her voice cracked and she tried again in a much quieter tone. "Is it normal to feel… strange? After your wedding night?"
The room went silent as they all froze. One blinked rapidly, another's lips parted as if she nearly gasped, and Edhira's hands stilled.
Lucrezia's stomach dropped, and at that moment, she wanted to take her words back, however, it was already too late. Their reaction said far too much and she wished the ground would open and swallow her whole.
Thankfully, Edhira recovered first, passing a final look at the other two. "That would be all. I'll attend to her Ladyship,"
They seemed to hesitate, but nodded before curtsying, and then slipped out, whispering to each other the moment the door closed behind them, and silence stretched the room at their departure.
Edhira stood behind her, watching her reflection with soft assessing concern, and not the ill look judgment she'd expected, and stepped closer.
"Milady," She called softly. "Please understand… these things should never leave the space between you and His Reign. As his wife, your concerns must stay bound to the two of you alone." She spoke softly and as educative as possible, so her innocent mistress could understand.
Lucrezia nodded shyly, her face instantly warming at her words.
Edhira sighed next. She was well aware of the complications of getting this close, as well as having an intimate conversation as this, but for the first time, she felt open towards the young naive mistress of hers. "If you don't mind, Milady, I can help you,"
At her words, Lucrezia's eyes met those warm brown ones in curiosity. Help? "H-How?" she muttered.
In a quiet tone, "Tell me what you're feeling," and she moved around the dressing chair, kneeling before her so they were at eye level.
Lucrezia's throat tightened, and she began to recall everything. From the moment of their skin contact, till the moment she fell unconscious after he… fed. "I don't understand any of it," She admitted, her fingers twisting together in her lap. "My body feels… odd or wrong, I can't tell. Perhaps not wrong but… different,"
Edhira didn't move, or try to rush her, and simply waited until she continued.
Lucrezia swallowed, trying to steady her breath against the memory of last night. His breath against her skin, his touch, his lips… and she shivered despite the morning's warmth.
"Lady Martha told me what to expect when…" she hesitated, and her cheeks burned. "When a man and a woman couple. She didn't say much, but was quiet and respectful, telling me to simply undress and lie still. I did so, but not the latter, but he..." Her eyes dropped to her hands which started to tremble oddly. "… he did things she never mentioned." She whispered the last part.
Edhira stared at the Lady in understanding but when the last sentence sank deeper, she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Did he hurt you, Milady?"
"No!" Lucrezia blurted before she could even stop herself. "Well, I-I mean…" He didn't hurt her, but the things he did were a bit painful. Not the kind of pain, but one derived from a whole new sensation that couldn't be described.
Edhira's hand rested upon her trembling ones, tightening it in a comforting way and Lucrezia forced herself to speak.
"My heart won't stop beating fast, and I keep feeling his warmth… here," She pressed a hand over her chest, just above where her bodice ended. "And somewhere lower,"
Understanding flickered in Edhira's eyes, making the moment feel comfortable for them. "Does it hurt? There?"
She was talking about her lower part, and Lucrezia immediately shook her head in declination. "N-No," She said. "D-Does it suppose to… hurt?"
Edhira opened her mouth to speak, but ended up closing it instead. Her mistress was naive indeed. "I thought he…" She shook her head. "He… touched places, but not somewhere below, correct?" She asked and Lucrezia nodded. Her reaction almost caused the young maid to laugh, but she blew a breath instead. "Milady, are you sure he consummated the wedding?"
Lucrezia's brow furrowed in confusion. "Y-Yes," she said. "Isn't that what undressing means? And… touching?"
Edhira forced herself to remain neutral, before shaking her head. "No, Milady. It's not. That's completely… different,"
Lucrezia frowned. "How so?"
Edhira opened her mouth to respond, but ended up stuttering. "I-It's…" It was even harder for her as much as it was for the young mistress. How was she to explain this part without making it seem... and she sighed. "It's a bit intimate, Milady. Just like a painting, where colors make a work of art. Consummation on the other hand, is deeper and broader,"
Oh… Lucrezia thought. Paintings. "Then why do I feel this way if we didn't..." She let the word remain unspoken, and silence filled in the gap.
"What you feel is not illness, Milady, and you're not wrong. You're simply responding to him. To how he… touched you," Edhira tried to explain in a soft yet sure voice.
Lucrezia's shoulders drew in in a barely perceptible manner. "But I didn't even know a body could respond like this,"
"Most young brides do not," Edhira admitted. "Especially those as sheltered as you were kept," There was no accusation in her tone, only gentle truth and a tinge of doubt. "What His Reign did last night, it awakened things in you. Sensations you have never known before."
Lucrezia flushed so deeply she felt feverish. "Awakened…? But why would he do that? Why would touching me—there—and kissing—and… biting…" Her voice dissolved at the memory becoming too vivid.
Edhira tried to keep her facade neutral at the word 'bite' and instead, squeezed her hands. "Because he desired you, milady."
Lucrezia stared at her as if the meaning were in another language. "Desired… me?"
"Yes."
"But why?" she whispered, staring at her genuinely puzzled.
Edhira let out a quiet breath that sounded almost like a laugh, though not unkind. "Oh, my lady. There is much you do not yet know about men… and far more you do not know about his kind,"
At the mention of 'his kind', Lucrezia felt a mission blend with the unexplainable sensations she was feeling.
"His kind?" She questioned. "What about them?"
Edhira opened her mouth to speak, but a knock came right after, interrupting them. Quickly rising to her feet, the young maid hurried behind, pretending to fix her hair.
Lucrezia felt disappointed that their conversation was cut short all of a sudden, but she regained herself at once. Sighing inaudibly, "Who's it?"
A deep yet monotone voice came from the other end, "A raven has arrived bearing a message for the Lady."
Lucrezia stiffened.