Chapter 01: The Beginning
This series takes place in an alternate universe, in which a small number of vampires, male or female, rule small duchies or empires, and protect their humans. Rival vampires, eager for land and blood, cause fights and occasional civil wars to break out. A strong vampire, however, will guard his people, bringing justice to those who attack. The highest justice in each territory is the Master Vampire, male or female. Prisoners of wars, wrong-doers, those intent on evil, who are found to be guilty, are given over to the Master Vampire for his or her own food, or given as honors to members of the Master Vampire's staff, lesser vampires.
The Master Vampire takes a slave to see to his personal needs, to follow him, care for him, assure his safety while he sleeps. In turn, he bestows his mark, which causes an unusually long life for his human, healing powers to a degree, youth, strength, and encourages a sexual stimulation that causes the mark and the role to be envied by many humans. There are several vampire Captains in a Master Vampire's entourage, even a few human ones. But there is ever only one Lieutenant for a Master Vampire.
There are many similarities between this universe, and ours, such as certain events or names of countries. Where some have won in the past, in this alternative universe, they have lost; or where those who were traitorous in the past, are now heroes here.
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He had found Thereza in a small village in Portugal after the French had swept through, demolishing the last of its bastions. The French had won, but three generations later, the Napoleonic reign had ended when countries broke apart, the reach of the monarchy stretched too thin, its grasp too weak. The result were hundreds of duchies across the former European Empire, with a few smaller kingdoms dotted here and there.
Antonio ruled the lands that once, long ago, held the northern parts of Spain and Portugal, and the lower section of France. It was good land again, now that the bloody wars had stopped, fertile and rich for wine growing. The Duchy de Onores was wealthy and peaceful, its cadre of peace-keepers kept limited by the strength of Antonio himself, a vampire made some four hundred years before. His people admired him, respected him, protected him.
His previous slave had gotten himself killed after chasing one too many wives. Several irate husbands had demanded restitution from the Duke Antonio, but in the end, it was an axe wielded by an angry merchant whose wife had been caught sleeping with the bastard, who killed the Duke's slave. A lucky blow. The slave's head had been severed completely from his body, one of the few ways to kill the human slaves, the Lieutenants, as they were usually known, of the great Ducal vampires.
So Antonio had gone searching and in a small village, smoldering from the firing of some French radicals who wanted to rebuild the old Empire, he had found his future human slave, his Lieutenant.
At first, he had meant to give the girl to one of his Captains, a vampire who oversaw the southern borders of the Duchy. She was young, he judged maybe a month or so past her majority, lean, with the promise of great beauty. She had somehow managed to stay alive in a village that was devoid of most of its inhabitants. She had brought together all of the villagers, guarded them, seen that they were fed, buried the dead, tended the wounded, and kept them organized and safe. Her intelligence was there, below the surface, waiting for someone to feed its hungry fires.
So she had intrigued him from the first.
On their ride back to the castle, she had intrigued him even more. At one point, when seeming shepherds had thrown back cloaks to reveal muskets and had shot at the vampire's horse, running at him with staves to kill him, Thereza had urged her horse forward, placing herself between her duke and the guns, drawing a short sword that Antonio had forgotten was even on the baggage of the horse. She had fought for him, without question, bravely, savagely, and he had known, then, that he had found his new Lieutenant.
He had waited until he had taught her all that would it would mean to be a Lieutenant. She would stay young, age so slowly over so many decades that in a hundred years, she would only seem to have grown older by a month or so in human terms. She would have strength greater than a human male, those lesser than a vampire. She would guard his place of sleeping by day, defend him at all times. See to his needs. He was most careful that she understood this last. If they traveled, as was necessary at times, and he had no prisoners to take with him as food, he might need to sip from her. He could, he told her, guarantee that she would not remember him doing so, or, if she preferred, he could lace it with pleasure. She chose pleasure.
She had been raped by the plunderers who had taken her village; all of the women had, even the old ones. Such things happened. But Antonio began to sense in her a sexual appetite that exhilarated him, enticed him, and seemed to flare when she was near to him. He offered her books, and learning, that he would bring whatever teachers she wished, so that she might learn and read and understand all that her eager mind desired, and it was this, and her interest in the sexual exploration with him, that compelled her to agree.
There were many in the world who still believed the old lies, that all vampires were evil, but those who lived beneath the protection of the Masters, who could farm their fields, raise their children without fear, build their schools and cathedrals, scorned such old wives' tales for the jealousy they were. Still, it was something to be aware of, Antonio reflected with Thereza, that she must know of these people, who would threaten her, threaten him, would wish to see them both dead. A small religious group clung firmly to the belief that a dead vampire was the best kind, and those who had willingly become their Lieutenants deserved no less. She listened thoughtfully, but still agreed, and Antonio was elated.
He had explained the rite to her and they stood now in the great hall of his castle, the evening young, the candles flickering in their sconces along the wall. The castle had a cheerfulness about it that spoke of the love its people had for its protector, its Master.
There were mirrors in the great hall, along each end, a few larger ones along the great wall. When there were balls, dancers could view themselves and, another old wives' tale dissipated, the vampires were not invisible in the reflections.
They stood now before one such mirror so she could watch, and see, and she quivered. Around them stood a handful of Antonio's must trusted, his elite; Captains, human and vampire, male and female, who would bear witness to the sacred rite; two lawyers, one a vampire, who would seal the documents and have copies made that would rest in the great cathedrals. In no world, apparently, were lawyers ever absent.
The shadows grew longer and the windowed doors were let open; breeze stirred the curtains and caused the flames to flicker gently. There was a golden hue to the room, and one of the men smiled gently at Thereza, assuring her.
Antonio came behind her and stood, placing his hands on her bare shoulders. She was naked for this rite, so that all would see and recall her, and so she could be properly marked. From now on, she would usually be naked or wearing very little in the presence of others, day or night. His blood and strength would keep her warm when other humans would freeze. Eventually, he would mark her with piercings, but he had promised her that they would give her stimulation and pleasure. She looked forward to them, therefore.
His thumb stroked her collarbone lightly, and she shivered a little, nervous. His hand patted her shoulder gently, reassuring. She smiled and lifted her chin. Her body was completely free of hair, except for that on her head or eyebrows and lashes. His hand gently brushed against her clit, the thumb pressing for a moment, then lifting up.
He was darkness behind her, with thick black hair that tumbled to brush the top of his shoulders. His suit was black, his shirt a crisp white. He was in formal tails. His cravat was tied simply yet elegantly. His eyes glistened in the candlelight. The eyes were black. His mouth was firm but with a slight quirk; he could smile easily and enjoyed wit and humor. He was tall and in the mirror, his head was fully visible over hers. He stood in his tight black pants, black shoes, and on his left hand was a signet ring with the garnet and diamond, which were his particular colors and stones. She would wear the same, later, to show that she was his Lieutenant. The Captains might wear some of the lesser stones, but only she would wear a signet ring, a smaller version, to match his. They would show her obedience in his name, dedication, and protection.
Antonio looked Thereza in the mirror and smiled at her. Her skin was golden, a pale hue that gleamed in the candlelight and spoke to him of health and life. Her lips were small, the lower lip a little fuller than the top, blushed with rose forever, from this night on. Her cheeks were high, her eyes held a very slight slant that caused her to look exotic. The eyes were green, as bright and sharp as emeralds, and her hair was golden, a richness that cascaded in soft curls and waves to the middle of her back, thick and filled with life, as was she. She was slender, her waist tiny, her breasts full with rose tipped nipples. He smiled again, and she saw him in the mirror and smiled back.
They witnessed as Antonio tilted her back towards him, her arms at her side, accepting him, giving herself up, and his left hand flashed its garnet lights as it moved across her belly, soothing her, while his right hand, with one finger, tilted her chin back, back a little more, until her neck was bared.
"This is Thereza," he said formally. "I proclaim her my Lieutenant," and with those words, he leaned forward and planted his teeth into her neck. She jerked slightly but, in this first bite, awe stole over her face, her eyes fluttered half-shut, and her arms reached back and held to his legs, pulling him closer to her. He sighed against her neck softly as he suckled her skin, pulling the blood between his teeth, the incisors having cut neatly into the flesh. He fed briefly, then slid his tongue across the two small holes, using the natural art of his saliva to seal the wounds. He kept his head bowed against her neck for a moment, savoring her. She was exquisite, and his. His slave, his Lieutenant.
He finally pulled up his head, smiled at all, and motioned at the lawyers. The documents were signed by the witnesses, by Thereza and Antonio, and he placed the smaller ring of garnet, bearing the de Onores emblem and bolstered by a diamond on each side, onto her finger, then held her hand up so that all might say. Polite clapping, drinks served to the humans, goblets of warm blood to the vampires, and a new Lieutenant was made.
And many years passed, and of the humans present that day, other than Thereza, only one still lived, old and feeble, while two generations had come and gone to serve their great Duke, their lord, and Thereza looked not a moment older.
