Whose Room is This?

*Ainslee*

“Whose room is this, Zeke?” I ask again, waiting for the burly vampire to respond to me.

He lets out a loud sigh and strolls into the room. Reluctantly, I follow, afraid this is some sort of a ploy. Why has it not occurred to me at all since I left home that these vampires might use feeders for more than just their blood? Or maybe they get their jollies from sucking our blood and don’t need to do other things to us.

“Look around, Ainslee.” He spreads his long arms out in the middle of the room near the four-poster bed and doesn’t come close to touching anything because the room is so large.

I step inside and look things over. The bedspread is a light green color, and it looks so soft, I long to touch it. The bed is huge—big enough for my whole family to sleep in without anyone kicking anyone else. I’m not sure what that would feel like. It’s been so long since I slept in a bed alone, I don’t remember it.

There’s a large armoire in the same rich cherry wood, as well as a dresser and vanity. Across the room, I see a private bathroom, and it looks like the house has running water, a luxury we did have at my old house, but it was difficult to maintain. There’s a shower and a toilet in there, I can see.

Across the room near a large window, with drapes that match the bedspread, there are two comfy looking chairs and an ottoman, as well as a bookshelf. A fireplace takes up a large section of the wall near the bathroom door, it’s heat warming the entire room, and a rug covers the wooden floor, tying it altogether and making it seem cozy, as well as inviting.

I’ve done as he asked and had a look around. Upon closer inspection, I can’t say that I think this is his room. It’s too feminine. I can’t imagine Rafe staying in here either. So I’m wondering if it is one of the princesses rooms. Am I to serve one of them? Maybe as a maid? Or a personal feeder?

“It’s lovely,” I say with a shrug. “Whoever lives here must be quite important.”

“She is,” he says with a nod, dropping his arms. “It’s about time you began to recognize that.”

My forehead puckers as I assume he means he thinks that I don’t have any respect for anyone, including the princesses. I say nothing as he crosses in front of me and approaches the armoire, tugging it open. Inside, I see lots of beautiful gowns, some even fancy enough for balls. There are other items of clothing as well. Sweaters. Skirts. Slacks.

“Princess Sophia chose all of these,” he explains, pulling a few of the skirt bottoms out for me to look at. “I hope you like them.”

“She has lovely taste,” I say. So this is Princess Sophia’s room. I look around some more, wondering where she’s at.

“Dinner is served at eight every evening. Sometimes, you’ll be summoned. Other nights, you’ll eat in your room. It’s a large castle, so someone will be buy to get you when you’re presence is expected. Tonight, a maid will come in and help you dress around seven, so if you want to get some rest and take a bath or shower, feel free to.” He is stepping back over toward the door, but he still hasn’t answered my question.

“Why would I nap in Princess Sophia’s room when there are so many other rooms in the castle?” I ask him.

He stops with his back to me about halfway out the door. His head drops back, and a sigh comes out of his mouth. Slowly, Zeke turns to face me. “This isn’t Sophia’s room, Ainslee. It’s yours.”

“Wh-what?” It takes me a moment to formulate the question, and by then, Zeke is gone, the door closed behind him.

It does me no good to stare at a closed door, so I take a few steps backward and sit on the very edge of the bed. I shouldn’t let my filthy clothes touch the beautiful fabric, which is just as soft and plush as I’d imagined it would be, but I can’t help it. I’m exhausted, and nothing that is happening makes any sense to me.

“My room?” Despite being all alone, I ask the question. No, that can’t be right. Why would I need a room like this? Surely, all of the feeders don’t have rooms this nice. I want to check in with Annamarie, but I’m afraid I’ll offend her if she’s in a dungeon cell somewhere.

This must have been Zeke’s idea. He must have decided that I needed something to cheer me up for a night or something like that. Or perhaps he did this without Rafe knowing about it, and as soon as the prince returns home, he’ll correct the mistake.

Sighing, I decide I may as well make the most of it. I am exhausted, and I smell terrible. Locking the door, just in case some strange person wanders in, I go to the armoire and select a comfortable pair of slacks and a sweater. Then, I go to the dresser where I’m pleased to find clean, new underthings. I can’t remember the last time I got a new pair of panties. I only have two, and I’m wearing one while the other is drying from the wash, most days.

In the bathroom, I’m ecstatic when the water coming out of the tap is hot. I have no idea how they manage that, but this is a castle, so they have their ways. We have running water that has to be heated on the stove and then dumped into the tub in the bathroom if we want it anything other than cold. This bathtub is big enough for two people, maybe three, and there are all kinds of soaps and other fancy items sitting on a shelf nearby.

I turn the tub on but then decide to rinse off in the shower first, though I expect it will be cold like our shower. It is not. Hot water greets me from the moment I turn the tap on. I climb beneath it and begin to feel my toes for the first time in ages.

When I’m clean, I get out and rush to the bathtub, glad to be immersed beneath the warm water. I sprinkle in some of the bath salts that smell like lavender and soak for a long time before I decide to start scrubbing. It takes forever for me to get the grime I’ve accumulated over the last few days completely off my body, though a lot of it rinsed off in the shower. Then, I wash my hair with some shampoo that smells like vanilla and read the instructions on the bottle for conditioner, something I’ve never used before. It feels so nice in my hair, I leave it in even longer than suggested.

I almost fall asleep relaxing in the warm, fragrant water, so I rinse my hair and pull myself out. The towels are so soft, I feel like I’m drying off with a cloud. I get dressed and keep a towel wrapped around my hair to walk out to the vanity where I find a brush.

I look like a different person. In these clothes, clean and shiny, my hair wet from the shower, I hardly recognize myself. I brush it out and wind it up into a bun then go sit by the fire for a few moments so my hair can dry before I feel my eyes starting to close again. Pulling myself up, I walk the few steps to the bed and lie down on the softest mattress imaginable, tucking that velvety blanket around me.

I don’t know why I’m here, and I don’t know how long it will last, but at the moment, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. So I’m going to enjoy it. I close my eyes, and all my troubles fade away as I melt into a dream where this is my castle, and my husband is a handsome, horrible man.