River Princess

 

Chapter 7

A Sweet Lolita

 

He had to admit he liked this little cupcake of a girl.

 

She had the body of a beauty in a Renaissance painting, except with slightly more of an hourglass than expected. That body was hidden under a lovely pale blue lolita dress she had her friend Lydia sew together. Prudence and Mihai were sitting in a little cafe that evening. They weren't drinking coffee, as previously suggested. They were eating gourmet donuts and drinking milkshakes. A good number of people stared at Prudence, and Prudence blushed sometimes, but she liked her dress and so she didn't seem to feel any shame. Sometimes, when Mihai felt someone had a particularly nasty look on their face, he would stare back, and mouth the word, “What?” Sometimes he said the word out loud.

 

“So … what exactly do you do all day?” she asked him.

 

Mihai shrugged and told her, “I've been doing what my father has been doing, investing in things and … well he sold off things, he also collects rent from some people. We're very lucky. We've had very rich grandfathers. We don't really worry about money.”

 

He didn't exactly lie, but he was pretty sure most of the reason why he and his father had such fantastic financial luck was because of that woman and her advice and connections. He should be grateful, but he still didn't like her too much.

 

He liked Prudence very much. She was just the cutest little button.

 

“So, how long will you be in America?” She was stabbing the contents of her cup with her straw, not quite looking into his eyes, but smiling that pink smile he had to admit was cute. Her round glasses shifted a bit, and she nudged them. So cute.

 

“At least a few months,” he told her, “possibly more. We've seen some very pretty sights here.”

 

“Peaceful Pines has a lot of pines,” Prudence said. She was taken aback by his little snort, but he smiled at her and patted her hand.

 

“I know college can be difficult, so why don't you call me when you need help with homework?”

 

Her cheeks flushed so nicely, and she nervously tittered behind her hand. She had a cute lace cuff on her wrist. He liked lace cuffs ... and metal cuffs.

 

***

 

“You won't take me out to dinner?” that woman said with disbelief.

 

Vlad really was getting tired of her. “What a fantastic idea, taking a married woman out in public and courting her.” Hmm … well if Lydia was a married woman … he might try that … maybe.

 

They were in his bed, naked, and she wasn't under the spell that good sex often put a woman under. She was a bit too livid to be happy and blissful. Her face was pressed by emotion into an unpleasant visage.

 

“You won't even take me out? Been fucking you all this time and you won't take me out?!” Her voice rose. Vlad had dealt with many women like this. Women were often demanding creatures, and he understood why.

 

He rested his arm on his bent knee, using his other hand to turn on a television. He really loved big television sets. There was a big television in almost every room in this mansion.

 

“When did I tell you I would do that?” he asked her with a very uninterested tone.

 

“Damn it, what am I to you?!” She threw a pillow across the room, and Vlad really didn't like it. Only two people were allowed to throw things in his home, the queen and himself. Well … if Lydia really wanted too … perhaps …

 

He got off the bed, went to the pillow, and bend down to pick it up. Then he calmly walked back to the bed. After he put the pillow back in it's place, that woman snapped out something, but he wasn't really paying attention to her. He was wondering if this bedroom was too masculine. He might want to change it, make it nicer for a woman to lounge in. There wasn't a single flower in the room … there should be flowers … and there should be a vanity table decorated with crystals.

 

The woman shrieked something at him, and that was when he stared at her. “Do not scream,” he advised coolly, looking right at her eyes.

 

She hushed, her face relaxing, becoming serene. She didn't fight when he grabbed her shoulders.

 

He knew a bright red color was flooding into his irises. He felt his fangs grow out, like a toothache only not quite as bad. He touched her jaw with his fingertips and tilted her head to one side. She merely sighed, staring out into nothing, just as he wanted.

 

He sunk his teeth into her throat. It would have been appropriate if she screamed this time, but she did not. She merely whined like a little animal. A cartoon came on TV, but he really didn't care what it was about.

 

Her blood was warm and lovely, just as he thought it would be. He took just enough gulps, and then he did something the queen had taught him how to do. She had done this for all of her “babies” once mortals started to suspect them more often. He moved his mouth away, bit his finger enough to get a little blood, and wiped his own blood on the puncture wounds on the woman's flesh. The wounds healed within a few seconds, and so did the bite on his finger.

 

The woman passed out into his arms.

 

When the woman awoke in a hospital, she was told she passed out, and she was handed a handwritten note.

 

 

I do not care if your husband discovers what we've done.

I do not regret anything with you.

I do want you to know that I do not want to see you anymore.

Please eat well. I do want you to regain your health.

Goodbye.

 

***