Mary could not move a single muscle as the beautiful vampire stretched out her hand and lovingly caressed her cheek.
Perhaps 'lovingly' was the wrong choice of word because there was not a hint of lust or desire in the vampire's eyes as she gazed at her.
Those deep crimson eyes shone eerily with a hypnotic light that made it hard to look away.
Mary found herself drowning in the vampire's gaze and felt her head slowly go blank.
The underground room was extremely silent. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing.
Mary felt cold chills run down her spine as the vampire continued to stroke her cheek and her hand began to roam over her face.
She lightly touched her nose, her forehead and even the tip of her ears.
Have you ever stared into the face of death?
Felt the shadow of the reaper loom over your body?
The young woman shivered as she recognised exactly what this beautiful vampire's true nature was.
She was a predator.
And humans were her prey.
"You may now say yes Mistress Camilla," the vampire softly whispered as she leaned ever so closer until her lips were mere inches away from Mary's own.
"Yes... yes... mistress..." the words involuntarily flowed out of Mary's mouth as if she was under some sort of spell.
"And what is your name?" Camilla asked sternly as she stared directly into the human's eyes.
"Mistress... my name is Mary Brooks..." Mary replied hesitantly as the information automatically came out of her mouth.
Something dark and twisted surfaced beneath the vampire's calm eyes and the corners of her lips slowly curved upwards.
"Good. You will be loyal to me and only me," Camilla spoke in a firm tone as her fingernails traced the sides of the human's face.
What she needed to do now was quite simple... she needed to break this human's will and turn her into an obedient doll.
Camilla smiled darkly as she prepared to slash a horrific scar across the young woman's face but stopped when her nails lightly touched her skin.
No.
It would be a waste because this human looked better undamaged.
There were other ways to break her...
Mary did not know how close she was to being permanently scarred since all she could focus on was the steady beating of her heart in her chest.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Did she have any choice but to obey this vampire's commands?
There was no way she would be able to escape this underground room or even the castle.
And clearly this vampire was far more powerful than the other high-class vampires who roamed the castle.
Was she on the level of the princes?
"Um... how can I be a bodyguard when I... I can't fight ordinary vampires... I just don't understand... how..." Mary's words were cut off as the vampire raised a finger to her lips.
"Refer to me as mistress. Do. Not. Make. Me. Repeat. Myself," Camilla sternly warned as she lowered her hand and roughly spanked the rude human on her rear end.
Mary's cheeks flushed as she felt nothing but humiliation as the vampire slapped her ass and then looked at her as if she was an ignorant child.
"Mistress..." Mary spoke with gritted teeth.
"How can I be a bodyguard when I am just an ordinary human girl?"
Camilla giggled and her hoarse chuckles echoed through the room. She looked at the young woman who was clearly lost and confused and a strange urge rose up in her heart.
"Perhaps that is true now, but I promise you..." Camilla's voice trailed off to a low whisper.
"I don't accept any dogs unless they are useful."
Mary wanted to open her mouth and protest that she was no one's 'dog' but the overwhelming pressure radiating off the beautiful vampire's body made it hard to speak.
Camilla snapped her fingers and Mary found herself able to move once more. She slumped down to the ground and the vampire stood over her.
She lowered her hand over the wound on Mary's shoulder and muttered a few incomprehensible words in a language that the young woman had never heard before.
The long wound on her arm gradually began to close up and heal until it was like the injury had never been there in the first place.
Only the bloodstains on her shirt remained as a memory of the blade that had sliced through the flesh on her arm.
Camilla walked towards the exit and looked back to beckon Mary to walk over using one of her fingers.
A conflicted look flashed across the young woman's face, but it was soon replaced by one of determination.
All she could do now was survive and wait for the opportunity.
As long as she remained useful to this dangerous vampire then she would mostly likely be able to live.
And if she remained alive... then she would always have a chance to escape in the future.
Mary got up from the ground and slowly walked behind the gorgeous vampire who opened the door.
The stairs beyond the room were shrouded in complete darkness so Mary was forced to follow the vampire using only her sense of hearing.
She stumbled quite a few times on the stairs, but the vampire did not bother to help her even a single time.
Ten long minutes slowly passed and eventually the stairs were lit up by a blazing torch that appeared in the distance.
Mary let out a sigh of relief as she pushed her body through the pain of bruised knees and hands from falling down a few times.
The pair eventually reached a heavy wooden door which Camilla opened with a single flick of her wrist.
Mary recognised the underground prison level because she had stayed down here in this filthy place for weeks.
Two vampiric guards walked over and pointed their sharpened spears at the two women walking through the prison.
"Trespassers! What are you doing... Arghhh!" one of the guards screamed in pain as a spear made entirely of blood pierced his body.
The other guard did not have any time to react before a crimson sword neatly sliced off his head with one smooth swing.
Mary froze in shock as she watched the beautiful vampire woman snap her fingers and the weapons melted away into a crimson pool.
The blood flowed back into her body, and she walked past the two corpses as if nothing had just happened.
"Never forget that a good dog will always remember their master's face," Camilla whispered casually as if she had not just murdered two people.
She did not wait for Mary's response and continued to move forward while taking occasional glances at the inside of the cells.
There were a few dead humans inside the prison cells and their bodies were now nothing more than shrivelled up husks.
Mary followed closely behind the vampire and her mind could not help but go back to what she had just seen.
The ability to manipulate blood?
Fuck. This was not good.
Suddenly her plan to eventually escape was looking more and more unlikely with every passing minute.