82. We Are Not Together

**Serene**

The soothing sounds of birds caught the ears of servants going about their day. Several guards sat down with bags of blood, behind the palace where no one could see them. Their throats relaxed as the coolness of the dense liquid quenched their thirst.

An older maid wiped the sweat off her brow, listening keenly to her friends' conversations as they hung out clothes.

Serene stood at the door of the kitchen in a black shirt and blue overalls, biting her nails as if she were a squirrel and they were acorns. She could hear the activity going on on the inside, but she couldn't push herself to take the first step inside. Maybe she should just go back into her room-

A short petite maid peeked her head through the door.

"Are you going to come inside or do you just wanna stay there and show everyone how pretty you are?" Maricia, the head maid asked. Serene's cheeks heated up in embarrassment.

"I was only, um, taking in the interior!" She pretended to be looking at the ceiling but the two of them knew Maricia didn't buy it.

"Mhm, sure. So anyway, even if you're not coming to work today, get your butt in the kitchen."

Maricia's head disappeared, and Serene was too dumbfounded to refuse her. The main chef was busy prepping ingredients for dinner. Other than Maricia, Thorn and Sabrina were also helping to keep the floor and area tidy. She chose to occupy the stool next to the island in order to stay out of their way. Then, there was Alan.

"Hey, Alan." Serene smiled at the kitchen hand. He smiled back, but it didn't feel as fulfilling as it usually did. He took one of the boxes next to the fridge and carried it into another room. Her eyes followed him as he left.

She turned her head back around but when she did she couldn't help but feel the others were looking at her funny. Mrs. G chuckled as she separated carrot pieces from the other vegetables. Sabrina stole glances at her while dumping food waste into the compost bin. Thorn was nowhere as inconspicuous as the two women. She just full out grinned at her.

Serene simply smiled back.

Her senior maid sat beside her with a bowl of chicken salad in front of her. But her attention wasn't on the salad, her attention was solely on Serene.

"How long?" Maricia asked.

Serene's brows touched. "How long since what?"

"You know," she finally took a bite of her salad, waiting until she finished chewing before continuing the conversation. "When I heard that the prince found a new girlfriend I didn't think it would be you."

Serene gasped. "Where did you hear that? We are not together!"

"Oh stop," Sabrina placed her hand on her hips. "You don't need to deny it. We all saw him holding your hand and walking around the place like he couldn't wait to tell everyone the two of you were going at it."

"Darling, language." Mrs. G waved her finger.

"Yeah, Sabrina. Language." Thorn smiled. She leaned forward on the pristine white countertop. "How did you guys get together anyway? He didn't even mention wanting a girlfriend the last time we had sex."

"Thorn!"

"Sorry, Mrs. G!" Thorn giggled.

Maricia covered her face and shook her head.

Thorn only giggled more.

"Yeah, as I was saying, we're not together. What you saw was..." She rubbed her arm. "I didn't feel all that great yesterday, so he helped me by holding my hand."

To her surprise, they nodded as if they completely understood. "I can see that happening," Mrs. G said. She slid the last of the veggies into a glass bowl. "Oh honey, was something wrong? You can tell us, Mia, but only if you want to."

Serene took a deep breath. Now was the time. "He accompanied me to visit the king and queen. And the thing is... My name isn't Mia."

Alan came back for another set of boxes, but he stopped and stared at her in the middle of lifting them up.

"Huh?" Beside her, Maricia folded her arms. "What do you mean?"

"Mia is my mother's name. I used her name to apply here as a maid."

"And Mrs. King found out and fired you?" Sabrina flicked her ponytail over her shoulder.

"You might know my mother. Her name is Mia Depp."

Al dropped the boxes he was holding. The chef's tender eyes widened. "But, we all heard you were-"

"Dead. I know. I wasn't. I lived with my stepmother, and then worked some odd jobs after graduating high school before coming here."

"Why didn't you say anything?" The question came from Alan. "They would have been stoked to have you back." Serene looked at him.

"I was pretty confused after finding out about this place and the connection between my family and the Kings. This might sound bad, however, I didn't know if I could trust them. So I used a fake name, figuring that if they really had something to do with my parents' death I would find out somehow. After realizing they didn't, I told Leonard King first. Then he helped me tell his parents."

"Sweetie," Mrs. G covered her mouth. Her short legs carried her around the island and she wrapped her arms around Serene's head, pushing her into the other woman's bosom. "What gave you the impression that they would do such a thing?"

Providing an honest answer for that question would mean telling everyone she only went on assumptions and the suspicions of a little vampire girl with fangs before her time. It sounded illogical, yet she didn't want to lie. But when Serene opened her mouth, another voice interrupted them.

"Come on, let's not bother her," in strode Tara, her wavy blonde hair pulled into a ponytail high on the top of her head. As Mrs. G let her go, Tara hugged Serene from behind. "She'll talk when she's ready. Right, dear?"

The brunette patted her coworker's arm. "Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."

Tara nodded as if she completely understood the stress such an ordeal would weigh on the young girl's brain.

She slid a plastic bag off her elbow and onto the counter, taking out a strawberry drink and handing it to Serene. "Here, I bought these when I went into town yesterday. I figured you guys could have some." The others thanked her as they each received one of a different flavor.

"And you too, Alan." Al measured the smile on Tara's face as Tara waved a banana flavored drink in his. He took it gingerly, drank some, then held it in his hand. The boxes laid unattended next to his feet.

She drank out of a bottle with an orange wrapper. "Ah, refreshing! Drink up, everyone."

Serene unscrewed the bottle and her lips tilted upwards. After telling Tara how sweet it was, she finished the entire drink.

_____________

Having a conversation with them was easier than she thought. It was one thing to tell a lie, but one needed to gather all their courage to tell the truth.

The smell of citrus flooded her nostrils. Serene heard the giggles of giddy maids as she got to the foyer. There, brandishing a mop, was the prince himself clad in a white button-down shirt. His black shoes matched the color of his pants. Emily and another female servant were the ones watching. "It's been a while since we last had a butler," the female servant jested. Leo shook his head as if annoyed, but a small smile on his face betrayed him. "Yeah, yeah, don't you guys have some work to do?"

"No~" The girls giggled.

Serene couldn't help joining in. "I didn't know you knew how to clean?"

Leo snorted and said something back, but she couldn't hear it.

Serene fell to the floor, hands holding her stomach as if she were protecting it from danger.

The ache spread through her body, as cold as frost. Soon it developed into pain. The type of pain that froze her joints and removed her ability to breathe. It was the worst thing she had ever felt in her life.

Her knees couldn't hold her up even when they met the cold tiles. Before she could faint and hit her head, someone caught her and the familiar scent invaded her orbit. Serene buried her face into their flat chest. She tried to speak, tried to tell them what was happening to her, how much she was hurting. But her mind went blank, and her body limp.

Leonard called her name over and over again. Her head shook side to side with each movement he made. So panic stricken, he didn't know what to do or what had possibly caused her to lose consciousness. But what he did know was that she was losing heat. And fast.

If this kept up, she would develop hypothermia. If she doesn't warm up soon...

"Hurry and get Mom!" Leo yelled out, but his concerned eyes never left the girl in his arms. He hooked an arm below her legs and stood up. Her body still harbored some warmth.

Leo used his ability.

He could feel his molecules break down and before he knew it, they were in his room. The bathroom door was wide open so he didn't have to wrestle the door to get her inside. He slowly placed her in the bathtub, then turned the knob to release hot water. Leo tested the temperature and waited. With this, she should wake up. She would flutter her eyelashes and say she felt a whole lot better.

The prince placed the back of his hand against her pale forehead. Serene was not getting warmer. In fact, her skin was as cold as the tile he picked her off of. But why?

He scooped some water into his palms and splashed it on his face. It only made her condition worse. Even her breathing was cold.

"Come on, Serene. Wake up, dammit!" Leo muttered. Serene showed no signs of having heard him.

Exesperated, he landed on the carpet and ran his fingers through his hair. Why? Everything was going so well, so why did this happen? There was no indication as to what was wrong with her and nothing he did could make it better. If she was a vampire and him, her sire, he would have been able to aid her...

"Wait, I bit her... so, I'm her sire..."

Leo extended his fangs and bit into his arm. As blood drained down from his wound, he sucked up as much as his mouth could hold. Then he leaned over her body, forced her mouth apart, and kissed her. Successfully transferring blood from his mouth to hers.