Captive of the Crimson Countess, Chapter 16: Broken Glass

Blair caught up with Nadia in the dining hall. The other women milled around, ignoring Nadia. When they realized that Blair had arrived to speak with Nadia, the women ignored Blair as well. 

Nadia looked at Blair and her brow furrowed. 

“Is that blood?” Nadia asked. She pointed at Blair’s neck.

Blair nodded, “You know my silver mail choker?” 

Nadia nodded. Blair dropped the shredded pile of silver links on the table in front of Nadia. Hester looked up from her table at the sound of jangling metal. Other girls turned to look as well. 

Nadia stared at the devastated choker. 

“Are you? She didn’t hurt you too badly did she?” Nadia stood and examined Blair’s neck. 

“Some cuts from the damaged mail. The poor choker did its job. She was too put off by the damage done by the silver to stay and menace me. I think she felt embarrassed.”

“Did you fight off the countess? In person?” Hester said, approaching.

“I didn’t so much fight her off, as catch her off guard. The worst I managed was embarrassing her.” 

The blonde with the nose ring spoke, “That’s dangerous. But you’re still in one piece.”

“She said she was going to feed. I’d make myself scarce until she picks her victim.” Blair said. 

Whispers ran through the crowd. “Did she ask you to pick one of us?” The girl with the nose ring asked.

Blair nodded. “I didn’t pick anyone. But yes, she asked.”

“Really?” Hester said, moving closer.

“I don't know most of you. I can remember Hester and Nadia by name, and that’s it. I don’t have any enemies here. There’s nobody I would wish to send to a hungry vampire.”

“That’s what everyone says,” Hester replied. “But when the countess dallies with a girl, rather than draining her dry, things happen.”

“Things happen?” Blair asked.

“Margarite went to the countess’ chambers the week before you arrived. The next day the countess fed on Eleanor. Eleanor and Margarite had been fighting the day before.” 

“Fighting about?” Blair asked.

“They’d been fighting over Hester,” the girl with the nose ring said. 

“Murder? To remove a romantic rival?” Blair said.

“It’s not an uncommon motive.” Nadia said.

Hester looked down at Nadia. “And when somebody harms Nadia, that person disappears.”

Blair looked at Nadia and considered. “Couldn’t that be the countess, protecting her favorite?”

“It could. But it isn’t.” Hester said.

Blair shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“Is her wounded gazelle act fooling you? I thought you’d see through such deceptions.”

Blair stared at Hester, her face unmoving. The silence stretched and Hester began to fidget. 

“Nadia,” Blair said after some time, “Is there any other part of the castle you hadn’t shown me? A library perhaps?”

Nadia pushed to her feet, “Of course, Blair. We’ll be on our way.”

Blair noted Hester’s clenched fists as Nadia and Blair turned away. 

= = =

“You’re challenging her position among the girls. You know that?” Nadia said once they were out of earshot. 

“Only by coincidence,” Blair said. “She’s standing in the way.”

“Even if it was only for show,” Nadia said, “I did appreciate you defending me.”

“Hester is lucky I have self control. Hester’s jawbone is lucky.”

“She made you that angry?”

“They’ve told me what you suffered through. The humiliations. And they consider it a mark against you. I want to lay into them with my saber.”

“I wouldn’t want you to do that, not even on my behalf.” Nadia said. But Blair noticed that Nadia slid closer and curled her arm around Blair’s own. 

“You’ve resisted the countess twice now.”

Blair nodded.

“Should I tell you what she attempted against me at that stage?”

“I would appreciate that.”

“The countess can hypnotize or mentally dominate other beings, animal and human.”

“It’s a common trait of old immortals.”

“She attempted to overpower me. She tried to break my mind inside that dream world that she conjures.”

“What did you do?’

“I had gone to bed holding broken bits of glass in my hands. When I became anxious from her attacks in my dreams, I instinctively clenched my hands. The pain took me out of the dream and away from her.” 

“Clever. I want to keep my hands able to use a saber and a pistol. So I can’t use that technique. I have a potion I could take. But I only have one.”

“I would still use it. Don’t give her a foothold. Once you have given in, it's easier to give in again. Each surrender makes resistance more difficult.”

“We have an hour before I plan to sleep.” Blair said. “If you know a place with some privacy, we could chat for that time.”

Nadia smiled, “There are many such places in Castle Crimson. And I would love to have you all to myself.”

= = =

Blair spent nearly the whole hour with Nadia. The princess read Blair epic Thulean poetry. Thuleans had recorded their history in poetry rather than prose. Nadia had the poems memorized in the original Thulean. And she recited a few verses to Blair. Thulean was a gorgeous lyrical language that rolled and flowed like a river through a forest. Then Nadia read the Agarthan translation so Blair could understand the story itself. 

Thulean royalty descended from a legendary trickster shaman named Vainamoinen. Nadia’s father was named for this legendary ancestor. As the hour grew late, a guard approached. Blair could hear the sound of the mail shirt jangling before she could see the guard. 

A guard strode around bookshelf. She wore the red plume that Captain Van Sloan had worn, but was a slimmer woman with a more angular face. 

Nadia stood, and curtsied. “Captain Hutter? What brings you here?”

“Her excellency has requested your presence.” The captain inclined her head towards the door out of the library. 

Blair rolled her eyes at the word: requested. 

Nadia nodded. She looked down at Blair. “I must go.”

Blair stood and took Nadia’s hand. She stood, unsure what to do next. So she remained, holding the princess’ hand and staring into the her eyes. Nadia smiled, then she tipped back up on tip toes and kissed Blair on the cheek. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Nadia smiled. 

Blair nodded. Nadia departed with Captain Hutter. Blair watched them go, apprehension in her gut. Had the countess decided to feed on Nadia despite her promise to the contrary? This felt like too long a delay. The countess must have fed already, and must want diversion now. Mustn’t she? Blair didn’t know, and she hated not knowing.

But, Blair knew of nothing she could do. And so she headed back to her own room.

= = = 

Blair quaffed her potion of mental fortitude. She should have brought more equipment. But that would have made sneaking out of Castle Wanderlust more difficult. She hadn’t been expecting to tangle with an ancient vampire. And by the time she knew what the countess was, she was deep in the mountains of northern Agartha. 

The countess had provided a sheer nightgown. Blair hadn’t worn it since the first dream. She had slept in her clothes. She glanced at the nightgown. No. That might influence how she dreamed. She had no desire to confront the countess in a see through bedsheet. She could wear her brigandine? She decided against it. She needed to be well rested by morning. Sleeping in armor would not do that. She sighed. There was no putting off going to bed. She slipped into the bed and lay down. She closed her eyes, and braced for the inevitable.

Blair and the countess walked down the same corridor where Blair and Nadia had kissed. 

“I am in a competition for your attention. Something I did not expect.” The countess said. 

“There’s no competition.”

“And yet look where we are.” The countess spread her arms.

Blair didn’t react. She knew where they stood. And they were in her dream. Blair felt something pressing in on her skull. Blair rubbed her head as she considered her next words.

“I’m not here to find romance,” she said.

“Ah. And why are you here?”

Damn. That had backfired. Blair ran through plausible options and chose an incomplete truth. 

“I’m here to shut down a slaving ring that is trafficking girls from my grandmother’s barony.”

“Of course, Lady Battle Ax would send her family. And you’ve already resisted me twice. She would be proud.” 

“You aren’t counting last night?”

Blair found herself struggling with tunnel vision. She felt dizzy, but righted herself as the countess responded. 

“I am not counting last night. Are you trying to improve your score? Such a competitive little thing. The disobedient girl in the cage holds the record. But I am inclined to call her score invalid. Which would leave Nadia in first place. Do you think you can last more than a month?”

Blair wasn’t sure how to answer, but settled on pragmatic and honest. “I plan to try.”

“And do you plan to kill me as well?”

“I doubt I can. So it’s more accurate to say that I plan to die by your hand.”

“You see. This is why I like you. So honest.”

The countess turned towards Blair. The taller woman pressed forward until Blair had stumbled back into the wall. Memories of her kiss with Nadia filled her mind. The countess smiled down at Blair. Blair wasn’t used to women looking down at her. She felt drunk. And as she stared at the countess, she realized that she felt aroused as well. Something boiled deep in her, throbbing within her hips. The countess hovered like a serpent before her. Blair felt a sort of giddy helplessness she wasn’t used to feeling. The countess was ready to do things to Blair, and Blair was ready to have things done to her. 

She shook her head. She had to resist. She felt her mind slipping, but something anchored her. What was keeping her from giving in? The potion. She had the potion helping her. Blair reached down inside herself and found reserves of resistance. Realizing she had been swooning, she stood up straight. The countess stepped back.

“My little hunter is full of surprises. You resist, but you want this. Deep down, you like being dominated.”

The countess stepped forward again. She grasped the front of Blair’s brigandine jacket. The immortal’s grip crushed and distorted the metal plates of the armor. The countess hoisted Blair up, so her feet dangled. And then the countess pushed Blair against the stone wall and pressed forward. Blair had never been manhandled like that before, and her resolve weakened.

The countess bit Blair’s lip. Blair gasped. The pain was exquisitely pleasurable. The pain felt good. Blair found herself swooning from the feeling. She felt drugged and drunk and ready to spread her legs to the countess. She struggled to hold on to the lifeline provided by the potion, but she could feel herself giving in. And the more she gave in, the more she wanted to give in. 

The countess’ face swam before Blair. Ruby red lips and amber eyes, and the perfect skin of an immortal. She was exquisite. A masterpiece. A dark and seductive masterpiece. The Countess pressed Blair against the wall and licked Blair's lips. Blair shuddered, her dangling feet flailed. 

“You could give in to me, now.” The countess cooed. “You want to give in. I can smell your lust. I can taste your desire in the air. I can hear it in your heartbeat.”

Blair felt far too hot. Her skin felt too sensitive. Even the breeze on her face made her shudder in delight. 

“Give in.”

She wanted to give in. She could feel the countess’ breath caressing her lips. 

And then an image of Nadia floated in front of her vision. And Blair felt a tremendous sense of guilt for even considering giving in. Her mind came back into focus. She still felt dazed. But she felt in control of her actions once more. 

“I’m sorry, your excellency. I must decline tonight. Perhaps another night.” 

The Countess eased Blair down. She released her grip on Blair’s armor. Then she clapped her hands.

"I look forward to our next time together." 

The countess smiled, Blair’s blood trickled down her chin. 

And Blair awoke with a start. She breathed in the frigid air in her room as though it would cleanse her. She shook her head to clear her mind. She felt her lip, blood slithered down her lip and across her finger. Had she bitten her lip? 

The countess almost had her that time. If not for Nadia. 

But that was a problem all on its own. Nadia still could be a pawn of the countess. And Blair felt certain she was falling in love with Nadia.