3 – Mirrors, Maids and Me

I awoke in the late evening. I could tell because the window in the room was open and I wasn’t currently being turned into charred vampire-jerky. Oh and because I could look outside and it was dark, but that was just a small detail.

The maid who had just opened said window, likely to air out the room, crossed eyes with me when she turned around. She froze as I examined her from where I was sat up in bed.

Dark brown hair tied into a short ponytail, average height and build. A plain dress with some evidence of patching. Pale blue eyes framed by a rather unremarkable face, aside from a small scar under her chin. The color reminded me of the daylight sky on a clear day.

I frowned at the thought. I would probably never be able to go outside during the day ever again. No. I would find a way to deal with it. Were parasols a thing in this world? Would they work for me?

Seeing my expression, the maid snapped out of her stupor and bowed. I pretended not to see the slight tremble of her hands.

“I’m glad that you’ve woken, my lord. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“You were the one who found me earlier, right? What is your name?” I did my best to imitate the tone I remembered Kalin using with servants and other commoners.

“Yes, that’s correct. My name is Mia, my lord.” She was still bowed, eyes fixed on the floor.

“How long have I been out for?”

“Just a few hours, lord. The sun has just set. The healer told me to air the room, now that the light isn’t a threat to your skin–” She faltered and clapped her hands over her mouth, paling. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…” Her bow deepened so much I could barely see her face. That she didn’t fall over was surprising.

To say I was confused would be an understatement. What about my skin? Why was that such a sensitive topic that this maid feared punishment just for mentioning it?

I raised my hands and looked at them. They were still basically pure white. In fact, my hands were paler than the bandages wrapped around my forearms. Could it be…?

“Bring me a mirror.”

With a panicked “Of course, immediately!” the girl practically raced from the room. She very nearly slammed the door on the way out, but stopped it just in time.

As I waited, I pinched a few strands of my hair and pulled them in front of my face so I could inspect them. It was about shoulder length, so this wasn’t too hard.

Also pure white. I was pretty sure my suspicions were correct now. But I would wait for that mirror to confirm it.

Only a few minutes later, Mia ran back into the room, a portable mirror about the diameter of her head held tightly in her arms. Unlike her earlier haste, the steps approaching my bedside were hesitant.

When I beheld myself in the mirror Mia held out towards me, I was certain my suspicion was correct.

Staring back at me was a face almost entirely devoid of color. Pale white skin, hair, even eyebrows and eyelashes. The only exceptions were the pale red lips and the eyes. Like the lips, my irises were red. The color of blood.

Kalin Steelheart was, by all appearances, an albino. How ironic that he became a vampire. Or should I say it was fitting, since aside from lacking black hair, this was basically the stereotypical vampire look already.

If it wasn’t for the sense of familiarity I got from his memories upon seeing the reflection, I would have thought this a result of the vampire transformation.

But a lot of things now clicked into place. The family shunning him, the ‘condition’ he hoped to be cured of by a magical ritual. His skin being a sensitive subject. Also, my memories were a little foggy, but the group that brought me to this room took extra care to avoid sunlight.

Also, not unexpectedly, the same memories that let me recognize the image in the mirror also revealed Kalin’s hatred of his own reflection. From what I could recall, there were no mirrors present in his personal quarters, nor anywhere he was likely to pass by when walking the manor.

Actually, wait a minute… why can I see myself in a mirror? What?

Commonly, a trait of fictional vampires was their lack of reflection. I hadn’t even considered that when asking for a mirror. The lack of this arguable weakness was of course convenient for me, but it also raised the question of what other things I ‘knew’ about vampires that might be false.

A quick check revealed I did also have a shadow. Good to know.

Only now did I realize the only source of light in the room was a single candle in a little metal holder left standing on a table near the entrance. But I could see just fine. Not all too surprising, to have night vision as a vampire, but I would need to be careful not to reveal just how well I could see.

That candle was awfully bright, now that I got a better look at it. Staring at it was hurting my eyes, so I tore my gaze away.

My eyes landed on Mia, who was anxiously trying not to stare at me. Especially more so when she noticed I’d turned to her.

This close, I could smell her. The warm blood rushing through her veins. Hear the life-giving beat of her heart. It smelled appetizing. Inviting.

After a moment I noticed I’d leaned forward. I cleared my throat.

“You may go. Send the doctor in with something for me to wear. And bring some water so I can get the rest of this blood out of my hair.”

With frantic nodding, Mia speed walked out of the room.

I’d been mostly cleaned of blood when the doctor treated me and got me out of my soaked clothes, but my hair still had small dried flecks in it. I could also smell those, now that I was paying attention. They didn’t smell nearly as appetizing as the fresh blood.

For lack of a better descriptor, they didn’t smell ‘alive’. Stale might also be fitting.

Only a few moments after Mia left, the doctor entered the room, carrying an oil lantern.

He was a short, wiry man, now that I got a proper look at him. He was wearing a robe with short sleeves that, if I didn’t know better, might have made me think he was a mage. Interestingly, the man wore small round glasses. They were made of only slightly milky glass held by a wire rim.

His head was mostly bald, though a few wisps of gray hair remained near the back. He also had a neatly trimmed goatee.

“Good evening, Lord Steelheart. It gladdens me to see you regain consciousness so soon.”

He gave me a shallow bow, one hand folded in front of his torso. Then he moved to my side. “If I may?” He reached for my hand. I let him carefully grab me. His left thumb had a thick scar, as though he’d almost lost half of it to a jagged cut that then didn’t heal cleanly.

After about half a minute of feeling my pulse from my wrist, he set about switching my bandages.

“Aside from your temperature being a little low, you seem to be recovering from your ordeal surprisingly well. If this trend continues, you should be able to walk around without issue by as early as tomorrow.”

The doctor inspected the cuts on my forearms before applying a strongly-scented salve from a small clay jar he took from a belt pouch. Then he bandaged my arms back up. Same procedure for my neck, though he was significantly more careful here.

“These cuts will take a while longer to heal of course, but they’ve scabbed over nicely. With proper care, an infection or inflammation is unlikely. Please keep the agitation of the wounds to a minimum over the next few days.”

His work done, the doctor – what’s his name again? – looked me over.

“Once you feel ready, both your steward and the guard captain wished to have a word with you about the situation. In the meantime, you requested clothes be brought.” So saying, he walked over to the door and let Mia back into the room. The girl was balancing a large copper water basin with a stack of cloth.

A second maid carried a wooden stand for the basin and quickly vacated the room again once she delivered it. I didn’t miss the short betrayed look Mia gave her fleeing colleague.

“Make sure to be careful with the sleeves. The shirt’s neckline also needs to be wide, so it doesn’t touch the bandages,” the doctor instructed Mia.

Oh, right, his name is Theo. Or was it Theodor? Theodore? Something like that anyway.

It showed some of Kalin’s character that he couldn’t properly remember the name of someone who had been at his side for nearly a decade now. And his personal doctor at that! Not knowing the names of every maid or guard was at least somewhat excusable for a noble, but Kalin had regular interactions with this man!

At some point during my introspection, said doctor had left the room. Just Mia remained with me. She was laying out clothes from the bundle on the table. Several different shirts and pants, from the looks of it.

When she was done and ran out of reasonable extra ways to delay by shuffling things around, she turned to me.

“Do you wish for me to help you dress and wash up, my lord?”

This question was actually harder to answer than I’d like.

I was perfectly capable of dressing myself and washing my own hair, though it would be the first time I’d use a basin like this. Mia also looked distinctly uncomfortable. I really wanted to spare her the trouble.

On the other hand though… I didn’t remember everything and what I did remember wasn’t necessarily in the right order nor particularly clear. But a general trend was incredibly obvious. Kalin wasn’t a good person.