Chapter 10


    Now I’m a bit curious to try the old vampiredies’ drink… Although I have a feeling I might be a


    century or two too young for that. I nce around the room, but pretty much everyone’s been


    introduced, except for the couple, but I’m guessing those two are Juliet and John, the couple Cata


    mentioned earlier. They are the only ones acting like one anyway… I also hear a man’s voice chatting


    with Richard somewhere else on this floor, but they are whispering, and moreover, they are speaking in


    anguage I don’t recognize.


    “Is this everyoneing?” I ask Felicia.


    “Probably not… I’m guessing a couple more will show up. We were just the fastest to arrive. I normally


    live in Irnd, so does Reba, we flew here together. Anna flew from Germany, and Cecily from


    France. We’re waiting for a couple more, I think.”


    “Sounds like everyone’s pretty scattered around Europe…”


    “Well, you feel the need for some independence after seeing the same faces for decades. We only


    gather once a year or for asions like this.”


    “That makes sense…”


    Although I had no family with whom I ever got to experience that. I can’t say I’ve seen any of them as


    regrly as once a year since I was born… Thest chance I got to see my Father was at a fancy


    party, perhaps two years ago. We exchanged a couple of words and posed for the cameras, and that


    was it. I have a half brother, but half our blood is all we have inmon. I feel as rted to them as I


    do now with the people in this room… Okay, perhaps an inch closer to Bart, Cata and Richard. But then


    again, I’ve just spent more time with them than I have with my actual family in thest five, perhaps ten


    years.


    “So can I ask what you usually… do?” I ask, curious.Daily Latest update .noveljar


    “Oh, I’m an artist. I really like the twenty-first century for that, makes it pretty easy to work from home


    and yet interact with a lot of people. I’ll send you the link to my Etsy shop sometime if you want! Of


    course, you get a family discount. Everyone in this room found themselves an activity to keep


    themselves busy with that doesn’t really require physical presence during the day… John and Juliet run


    a guest house, Anna writes books and is a patron of arts. Lancelot is into the tourism business, and


    Benedict owns a few restaurants in Italy, Spain and France. Reba isn’t crazy about working but she


    does own a few salons and shops.”


    “What about ude?” I whisper, still well-aware I’m getting some intense creepy stare action from his


    corner.


    “Oh… No idea.”


    Felicia and I exchange a nce, and we chuckle, amused. Guess not all vampires can be cool and


    busy running businesses…


    “Only those who still live here don’t have an activity of their own,” Felicia shrugs. “We could probably


    live off Richard’s money forever anyway… It’s more of a personal need, after a few years. Not like he


    minds either way. How are you getting along so far? With Catherina and the others?”


    “Agnes kicked me out of her room after I bothered her, Bart and I had our first sibling fight, and… Cata


    is sweet.”


    “Fair enough,” she chuckles. “We wouldn’t be a family without the drama. Give it a few years, everyone


    in this room will either love you, hate you or be indifferent. And I promise Agnes is adorable, if you can


    just…”


    “Catch her without a book in her hands?”


    “That happens once in a decade,” Felicia winks at me.


    I chuckle. Well, if I could just stay at home and do nothing but my favorite hobby for the rest of my


    days, I probably wouldn’tin much either… It’s just that I don’t have anything I can call much of a


    hobby. In fact, I can’t remember thest time I got to choose to do something in my free time…


    “Felicia?” Cata suddenly steps in. “Can youe and help me in the kitchen, dear?”


    “Sure.”


    “I-”


    “Hera,” she interrupts me. “Can you and Bart go and get me some fresh rosemary from the Garden,


    please?”


    I frown. Bart and I to get some rosemary? Seriously, Cata? Unfortunately for me, of course he heard,


    and he’s already rolling his eyes while still heading for a door I haven’t gone through yet, the one


    leading to the garden, most likely. I turn around toin to Cata, but she and Felicia are already


    gone. Great…Daily Latest update .noveljar


    A bit annoyed, I walk to the door to join him, aware that a lot of silent gazes follow me across the room.


    We step into the garden, and I look around. It’s a simple square, but Cata obviously took ownership of


    most of it, as eighty percent is a flourishing vegetable and herb garden. The only two seats are


    strategically positioned under a gazebo in one corner of the garden, with a coffee table. I’m guessing


    another reading spot for Agnes… As I keep looking though, I realize there’s actually someone seated


    there. In fact, even though my eyes are good with the darkness, it takes me a few seconds to see a


    dark silhouette with the dark furniture.


    “My god, Beatrix!” Bart exims, visibly spooked too.


    She opens her eyes, making me realize she had them closed all along. A shiver immediately runs


    down my spine, and I know she’s old. Not Richard-old, but still older than most of the others… perhaps


    all of them. She slowly stands up. She’s wearing an entirely ck outfit, and I have to say, she also has


    the most beautiful, darkest skin I have ever seen. Her hair is alsopletely ck, andced in


    complex braids and dreadlocks along her limbs. She slowly walks up to us, staring at me the whole


    time, but just when I’m about to introduce myself, I realize she isn’t stopping. I step out of the way,


    feeling almost pushed, and she quietly walks back inside. She hasn’t said a word. I turn to Bart for


    answers, but he just shrugs.


    “That’s Beatrix for you. Don’t worry, she just… Doesn’t talk much. In fact, I don’t think she utters more


    than a couple of words a year. It’s not about you, she doesn’t talk to the others either, except for


    Richard.”


    “…I got the chills, like with Richard.”


    “Yep, she’s one of the old ones… You have good instincts. She’s the third oldest of the family, and the


    oldest of the women.”


    “If Richard’s the oldest, who’s second?”


    “ude.”


    I raise an eyebrow. ude the Creep is older than that Lady? I didn’t feel anything from him at all… Is


    he bad at the Domination thing? Or is it just that he’s as harmless as Lancelot said? Funny… So I can’t


    really trust my instinct to identify all the old ones…


    While I’m still staring at the door Beatrix left through, Bart sighs and walks up to one of the pots


    containing the herbs. I hesitate.


    “…Are you still mad at me?”


    “Yes.”


    I grimace. I should have expected so… At least he answered, and didn’t simply tell me to fuck off.


    “I don’t like you being mad at me,” I mutter.


    “Oh, don’t y cute with me, I’m too old to fall for that,” he grimaces. “…Okay, fine, I do understand you


    had some circumstances. Some of which are weird, by the way. Plus, I trust Richard. I’m kind of


    curious why he went all the way to New Amsterdam for a suicidal chick, it can’t be that simple. I have a


    feeling there’s more to it than that.”


    Same here… Although I haven’t had any sess in getting him to tell me anything. I feel like a child


    trying to get the adults to exin adult stuff to her. Bart sighs, and turns around, showing me what’s


    probably the rosemary.


    “So?” I ask, tilting my head, still acting cute. Daily Latest update .noveljar


    “…This is why I’d rather have a little brother,” he groans, and walks away. “Little sisters are always a


    pain in the ass…”


    Iugh, but I follow him inside, pretty sure that means he’s fine with me again. As I walk in, I notice


    Richard’s back in one corner of the room, and Beatrix is now standing right next to him, very close,


    almost like she’s his shadow. He’s talking to another man though, one I haven’t seen yet. This vampire


    can’t be too old, as I don’t feel any of the dominance like with Beatrix, and he seems to be avoiding


    looking at her. He has small, round sses on the edge of his nose, with odd red shades. He’s bald


    and he has just one ck earring, an inverted cross. The rest of his outfit is a simple ck shirt, a red


    tie, and leather pants, a popr choice in the Heartgraves family… I’d ce him in histe forties


    because of the silver goatee, but he barely seems to have any wrinkles, and his facial muscles aren’t


    moving much as he talks either.


    “Bart,” I grab his sleeve. “Who is that talking with Richard?”


    He nces, and scoffs.


    “Swithin Hugo Heartgraves. The family’s financial advisor, and the worst crook you’ll ever meet. That


    guy is a whale amongst sharks, a massive monster of the financial world. Ask him for advice, but never,


    ever make a deal with him. If he likes you, he can make you rich, but otherwise, he’ll empty your


    pockets and leave huge holes in their ce. Even if you’re family… Lancelot still owes him a few


    million, they can’t stand each other. Well, that was Lance’s fault for opening his big mouth as usual…


    Anyway, Swithin’s in charge of a good number of Richard’s properties and assets, and he’s the reason


    we are ten times richer than we should be.”


    So, one to get on my side if I can. Not like I have anything he could extort from me anyway, I’ve got a


    couple of decades before I leave the nest, I think. As if he’d felt my stare, he suddenly stares in my


    direction, gauging me from behind his red shades. I smile awkwardly, aware that he’s probably heard


    most of our conversation… I nce around the room. Cata and Felicia just came back carrying more


    food, and Bart walks up to Cata to hand her the rosemary, which I’m pretty sure was just a pretext to


    get the two of us talking. The olderdies Reba and Anna are getting louder than before, and that


    bottle is not empty. Big Boots Cecily is on her phone, visibly bored with everybody else. Lancelot and


    Benedict are now chatting with John, while Juliet is still standing next to him, but our eyes meet. She


    gives me a faint, polite smile, and quickly walks over to stand next to me. She’s really pretty too, with


    golden blonde hair and blue eyes, reminding me of my former self a bit. Except that her skin is paler,


    and she’s really thin, looking almost sickly for a vampire. All the others have thin but well-defined, lean


    builds, while Juliet just looks thin and frail. John isn’t the most muscr amongst the men nor the


    tallest, so she didn’t stand out as much next to him and his dark skin before. Yet now that I see her


    from up close, I realize Juliet’s definitely the palest in the room, herplexion almost gray, like a doll.


    Her ck dress also seems oversized, and that ck choker covering her neck is a bit odd.


    “Hi,” she mutters. “So, I’m not the youngest anymore.”


    I nod.


    “Looks like it. To be honest, I’m surprised to meet this many people at once… Was it like this for you as


    well?”


    She shakes her head, looking almost a bit sad.


    “Sadly, no. Things were way different back then… It was hard for the family to gather like this. You’re a


    bit of a special case too.”


    “A Special Case?”


    “Well, you’re the first one Richard has transformed in over a hundred years. It’s been so long since we


    had someone new in the family!”


    …In a hundred years? Richard hasn’t transformed anyone since a century ago? I look around the


    room. There’s about ten people here, and Bart was turned in 1666, Cata a century after that… Judging


    from the different reactions to each of them, they can’t all have a century between them. I turn back to


    Juliet, a bit confused.


    “Really?”


    “Yes,” she nods. “I was turned in 1918, and since then, Richard has never transformed someone, not


    until you.”


    “So everyone else has been transformed… before that?”


    “Yes. John was transformed in 1839, and there were a couple more after him.”Daily Latest update


    .noveljarDaily Latest update .noveljar


    Wow, no wonder I’m the “Baby”… Shit, that means literally everyone is at the very least a century old


    here. But why? Why did he stop creating new vampires, and why did he change his mind with me? The


    more I hear, the more questions appear and the more confused I am. At least, the Heartgraves aren’t


    all as secretive about this. What’s more surprising is, no one in the room really reacts to what Juliet just


    told me, when I’m well aware every single one of them potentially heard it. I guess you learn to filter


    what you want to hear or not…


    Suddenly, just as I’m thinking about that, several conversations all end at the same time; It’s not just us.


    They all look at each other, or nce at the door connecting to the corridor. I see Reba smirk,


    amused, and when I turn my head, Juliet had slid right back behind John. One secondte, I hear


    heeled footsteps, and somebody stops at the front door. After a second of hesitation, Bart’s the one to


    move to go open the door.


    A tall woman walks in, and unlike the others, she’s in red from head to toe. She’s a redhead with a


    short haircut, with red lips, in a red suit, and with a gorgeous pair of red heels. Unlike me, she’s a real


    redhead: she has freckles and perfectly matching green eyes. I kind of already like her, she’s a walking


    statement. She stops on the doorstep, and nces around, assessing the people present, herrge


    golden hoops following her head movement until she stops on John and Juliet, and sighs.


    “…Grace,” he greets her with a bitter expression.


    From the smirk on Reba and Anne’s faces and everybody else’s awkward expression, I’m guessing


    there’s some unspoken drama here. She ignores him, and instead, turns back to Richard.


    “Hello.”


    “Wee home,” says Swithin, giving her a nod.Daily Latest update .noveljar


    “Grace!” Exims Catherina, moving around the room to go and give her a quick hug.


    Several others then all greet her, although Cata was the only one to actually move, and Bart is back


    next to me, arms crossed. She gives me a faint nod too.


    “So that’s the Baby,” She says. “Wee to the family, Hun.”


    “Thanks.”


    “…It’s good that you came, Grace,” says John, visibly trying out his luck again.


    From the way Juliet is visibly even more intimidated next to him and the re Grace gives him, I’d say


    that trio is the one with the history…


    “Oh, don’t tter yourself, John,” she retorts, suddenly walking over to the TV. “I didn’te to see


    your face, I came for Hera, and because Richard asked me to.”


    She turns it on, and then steps back, visibly trying to cast something on. Several of the vampires,


    except for the couple, move to the seatings or closer to it.


    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    “You do know how bloody annoying the Americans are when we ask them for a favor?” She asks


    Richard.


    “I’ll make sure to send it back to them sometime,” he smiles.Daily Latest update .noveljar


    Grace smiles back, showing off her fangs, and turns her head back to the TV. Bart gives me a little


    elbow bump.


    “Rejoice Baby Vamp, it’s movie night.”


    Movie night? The video Grace is trying to project doesn’t look like a movie… More like some amateur


    recording one could find on any social Media. I frown, confused.


    “…What are we watching?” I ask, as it seems everyone but me already knows.


    Richard steps forward, his blue eyes riveted on the TV.


    “…Your funeral, Darling.”