7 – Accelerated Plans

It turned out that Mia could cook.

We were in the manor’s kitchen, having chased the confused cook out of his domain.

Mia was flipping pancakes on the wood-fired stove while I leaned on a counter and had a staring contest with a chicken.

The pancakes were nothing fancy, though I was slightly surprised to see them. Not sure why exactly, it wasn’t like putting dough in a pan was a crazy concept. I just hadn’t expected them when considering medieval breakfast. Not that I’d ever really given that much thought in the first place.

The chicken sat in a small cage on a table. I’d requested the animal, ostensibly because I wanted to eat it. Well, it was true in a way.

This chicken staring at me was planned to be served for lunch. Of course, my actual plan was to test multiple of my vampire-related questions.

First, I could feel the bird’s heartbeat. It wasn’t particularly agitated currently, obviously used to interacting with people. Also, it was definitely not actually staring at me, but the handful of seeds I was holding.

Its blood smelled unassuming, but I could detect it. Mia’s blood was overpowering the scent though. Needless to say, the chicken smelled much less appetizing. Not bad, just… bland?

The actual questions I wanted to test though were twofold. Could I drink animal blood to feed myself and what happened if someone drank my blood.

Depending on the outcome, this kitchen might witness the first ever vampire chicken. I smiled at the silly thought. Now, how to go about it?

The solution to feeding the chicken my blood was simple. I just lightly cut my finger when Mia was sufficiently distracted and then let a few drops of blood mix with the seeds. The wound was gone within the second.

Oblivious to its potential ascension into a fowl creature of the night, the chicken happily pecked away at the offered food. I watched with bated breath.

Nothing happened for a while. I even tasked Mia with cutting some fruit to buy more time.

Then, there was a change. I couldn’t quite grasp what exactly changed, but I felt something.

After a little concentrated introspection, I noticed there was a sort of connection, for lack of a better word, between the chicken and me. Once I found it, it grew in my awareness. The process reminded me of an itch that only really began once noticed.

Experimentally, I pulled at the connection. The sensation was weird, but I was quickly distracted by the results.

Totally disregarding the remaining seeds, the chicken fixed its eyes on me. The feeling of the connection changed to be alert.

Belatedly I realized that what I was feeling might be the chicken’s mind. It was… weird. If this really was its mind, there wasn’t much going on behind those eyes. I’d heard chickens could sometimes survive a while with their heads cut off, but now I believed it.

What could I do with this new revelation, though? The chicken hadn’t visually changed at all. No fangs, no red eyes. My poultry dreams of creating history were dashed. Dammit, stop with the stupid bird puns! I shook my head to clear it.

Was this a master-servant bond or something? Sit, I commanded the chicken mentally.

No reaction. I tried again. Sit. This time I did my best to picture a sitting chicken together with the command.

It sat.

Hmm. Was this really some kind of master-servant bond? How would it work with a human? Or a more intelligent animal? Does simply ingesting some of my blood force someone to obey me?

The thought was chilling. If that was indeed how it worked, I had to be very careful how I used it. I didn’t consider myself a saint, but mind control was a very slippery slope. Especially if it was permanent. Is this permanent?

Looks like you get to live a little longer, miss chicken. Only till lunch though.

I had originally intended to try the chicken’s blood now, so the carcass could be properly cleaned and prepared for lunch, but I could wait a little. Maybe have chicken for dinner instead?

“You’ve been staring at this chicken for a few minutes now. Have you never seen one before?” Amusement was evident in Mia’s voice.

I jerked upright, almost falling over due to the unfamiliar strength.

“Whoa, careful. No need to be embarrassed, I’m sure the chicken hasn’t seen a noble before either. I’m done preparing your meal, my lord.” The amusement was growing.

I grumbled a little under my breath.

“I’ve changed my mind, I want to eat chicken for dinner instead of lunch. Also, I’ll be inviting Lars to dine with me, so please arrange for a second chicken. Same rules as this one, I want to be present for the butchering.”

Needed to test whether there was a difference in blood after all.

Mia nodded and carried a tray with the food into the dining room. Her smile was replaced by a mask of perfect professionalism once we stepped out of the kitchen.

Next to the table stood someone I didn’t want to see this early in the morning.

“Good morning, young master. It is good to see you up so early despite your injuries,” steward William greeted me. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. I suppressed a groan.

“Good morning. If you don’t mind, I want to eat breakfast without interference.” I waved him away. The motion might have resembled one used to shoo a pesky fly.

“Of course, young master. I’ll wait until you’re done then.” The man’s smile turned decidedly frostier. Unlike what I’d hoped, he just stood to the side instead of leaving the room.

I sat down with my breakfast in front of me. I’d watched the pancakes being made, so I knew they weren’t particularly sweet nor fluffy. Still, they smelled pretty good. Especially when combined with cut fruit and drizzled with liquid honey.

“Mila, cut my food!” I commanded.

“Of course, my lord. Also, my name is Mia.”

“Isn’t that what I said? Hey old man, that’s what I said, right?”

“You said Mila, young master.” William was not amused.

“Hmm. I’m sure I said whatever the correct name was.” I stabbed a piece of pancake loaded with fruit and honey with my fork. I held it out to Mia. “Here, try it to make extra sure there isn’t any poison. Can’t be too sure with that demon prowling around.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Mia was frozen in surprise for a moment, then hastily grabbed the food when the honey started dripping onto the table. I could see her professional mask crack as she chewed. A delighted smile appeared for a split-second before she got her face under control again. Luckily, the steward was positioned in a way that he couldn’t see it.

Like that I ate breakfast. Every once in a while I ‘ordered’ Mia to ‘test for poison’. I even offered a few bites to the grumpy old man, but he refused. It wasn’t quite like my original plan of just eating together with Mia, but it was good enough.

When just bits of honey were left on the plate, I let out a contented sigh. I considered licking the plate clean but realized it would be unlike the persona I was currently playing.

“You’re decent at cooking at least. As I promised, if you do a good job later, I’ll give you some time off. You’ll have to be back by night though.” I put on the most wretched smile I could manage. Kalin’s face conformed with uncomfortable ease.

The steward cleared his throat and I turned towards him.

“I completely forgot you were there. What did you want?”

“I received a reply from the demon hunters I contacted. They will arrive in two days. Please remember that you can’t have the tower burned down until they’ve had time to inspect it.”

“Fine, fine, stop nagging me old man. Is that all?”

“For now, yes, young master.”

“You really interrupted my breakfast just for that? Whatever. Organize a room for my personal attendant adjacent to mine. It’s inconvenient to have to wait for her to come over from the servant quarters when I need her.”