After meeting the lady of the house, he was sent to the bathroom to have a shower. He certainly needed one; he felt gross after walking all that way in the humidity. Of course, it wasn't until after he stepped in the shower that he realized that he didn't bring a change of clothes. He was just about to panic when he heard the door open.
"Who's there?" He asked, unable to see who it was past the curtain.
"I'm just here to drop off a set of clean clothes for you." He heard them announce, before setting something on the counter and closing the door. The voice sounded different from the woman who greeted him at the door, so it must've been another 'servant'. It sounded like a man's voice this time, but he didn't want to assume.
As the warm water ran down his body, he began thinking about what he'd gotten himself into. Not only did a vampire reside in this mansion, but she had a whole operation going on with people working for her and everything. Something about the word 'servant' didn't sit right with him, and he had to wonder if they were being treated properly by their boss. Just something he would have to figure out during his stay.
After turning the water off and drying off with a towel, he stepped out of the bath and noticed the clothes that had been left for him. The outfit looked very old fashioned; it was a black long sleeve shirt with a white frilly collar and similar frills at the end of the sleeves. It was paired with simple black pants and buckled shoes. It looked like something straight out of a Renaissance painting but given the fancy black dress that Lilith was wearing, combined with the older style of the house, perhaps it was to be expected.
He fitted himself into the outfit and in the mirror. The black and white suited him rather nicely, in fact, he rather liked how he looked. It was different from his usual style, but he didn't mind getting adventurous from time to time. At the very least, it made him look much less out of place.
He left the steamy bathroom and was greeted by what he assumed to be the person who dropped off his clothes. He had long black hair that reached down to his shoulders and was wearing a suit which looked similar to the woman he saw at the front door.
"Ah, I see you've gotten all cleaned up." He bowed. "Madam Maravalle will be seeing you in the dining room. Right this way."
"Okay." He felt like he wasn't being formal enough somehow, but no one seemed to mind. "Uh, thanks for the clothes."
"No problem. I'm just doing my job." He said as he led Alex down the hallway. "Oh, and you can call me Wayne by the way. The woman who greeted you at the door was Caroline. I don't think she ever gave you her name."
"She didn't. But uh...just out of curiosity, what's it like working here? I mean, the use of the word 'servant' seems just a little strange to me."
"Oh, that's just part of the whole 'noble vampire house' thing. We're employees in all but name. And don't worry about us, the pay here is good and we all get our own rooms for free. Oh, and the Maravalle's have a really good dental plan!"
"Damn, my current job doesn't have a dental."
"Well perhaps this will be a step-up for you!" Wayne glanced back at him with a smile and wink.
"Perhaps..." he found himself fiddling with the frills on his sleeves. Though he'd been offered reassurance, his anxiety always seemed to get the best of him. "I'm just not sure, you know?"
"No, I get it. I was initially wary of this myself, but as time passed I got accustomed to it. Don't let yourself worry about it too much, regardless of what you choose things should turn out just fine."
Just then, they entered the dining room. He'd been so distracted by the conversation that he didn't even notice how far they'd walked. Before him was a round wooden table decorated with candles. Lilith was already sitting at the table, waiting for her new guest.
"My, you clean up rather nicely." She observed. "I love the outfit as well, I think it suits you."
Alex bowed politely. "Thank you, madam. Though it wasn't my choice of clothing."
"It must've been Wayne, then." She looked to the servant in question. "Excellent choice as usual."
He bowed. "Thank you." Raising his head back up, he put a hand on Alex's shoulder and whispered, "good luck" before leaving.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He thought, before taking a seat at the table. As he sat across from her, he heard it starting to rain outside.
"Oh goodness, would you listen to that?" She said, looking out the window into the dark night. "It's begun to rain. The road will probably be flooded until morning." She looked back to him. "I suppose you'd be staying the night here regardless."
Something about her voice made him think she was planning something. He still wasn't sure whether he could actually trust her, but perhaps it was already too late to be wondering that.
"What's with that expression?" She asked, apparently noticing his uncertainty.
"Nothing, it's just...I'm gonna be honest, I'm wondering if this is a good idea. I mean, I just met you today, and I know you're a vampire, yet here I am staying the night in your home. I don't know if I should be grateful or if I should fear for my life."
"I don't think you understand how vampires operate." She said. "If I wanted your blood, I would have sucked it up much sooner. I would not go through the trouble of lending you my shower and clothing you, nor would I offer you food and a bed."
"I guess you have a point..."
"I can understand being just a bit wary of all of this. But rest assured, you have nothing to fear from me. Oh, and please, call me Lilith. I don't want you to be overly formal and address me only by my last name."
The chef came out with two plates and served it to the master and her guest. The smell hit Alex's nose and he looked down to see it was a plate of eggs and back bacon with buttered toast. Eating "breakfast" food for dinner wasn't unheard of, but he wasn't expecting it at a place like this. Then he recalled that Lilith was probably nocturnal, so this would have been breakfast for her. In that sense, the eggs and bacon made sense.
It wasn't until he started digging into the plate that he realized how hungry he actually was. The walk had taken a lot out of him, but he'd been so distracted by everything that was happening, that his growling stomach went unnoticed. Lilith seemed to eat at a relatively slow rate by comparison, though he wasn't sure why she was eating at all if she relied on blood for sustenance.
As this thought crossed his mind, the cook came out again and served her a wine glass filled with a deep red liquid. It looked different from any red wine he'd seen, so he assumed it was blood.
As she took a sip of it, she noticed him staring at the glass. "Oh, you noticed?"
"Uh, yeah." He swallowed his eggs. "Is that, y'know..."
"Yes, it's blood. But don't worry, the blood I drink is mainly from livestock."
"Oh!" He felt a wave of relief wash over him. "So y'all just drink the blood of cows or something?"
"Generally, yes. Even beyond the ethical issues, relying on human blood has caused problems for us in the past so the Maravalles have taken to drinking animal blood. Some say human blood tastes better, but I believe that's just a small price to pay."
