Procedure

Procedure
Aribella's POV

“Peyton,” I gasped. “Why are you here?”

“Forget about that,” his eyes were wide, “Why are you here?”

“Form a line please,” a guard member arched a brow, “You don’t get special treatment simply because you pretended to be a royal for all of five minutes.”

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath, knowing damn well he could hear me. “I’ll explain later,” Peyton moved to his respective line, eyeing me with a frown.

To him, this must look inhumane. A woman placed within a sea of men. Peyton was always a kind, gentle soul. While he respected my work ethic at the farm, he never wanted me to have to work at all.

But this… going to war… It was entirely different from scooping horse shit and laying hay.

I kept feeling his eyes on me, but he remained rooted in his line.

Twenty minutes passed before it was our turn. I stepped up to Kaelar’s table, our eyes locking once again. A flurry of emotions passed between us in that moment. Relief, fear, concern, love to name a few.

“Aribella Voss,” my voice cracked as my emotions got the best of me.

Kaelar cleared his throat, “Number 666.”

I swallowed thickly, letting out a snort, “Very original.”

Kaelar’s eyes locked on mine, a hint of warning in the silent gaze, and I quickly sealed my lips, “Please escort Mrs. Voss to the branding station.”

“Branding….” My eyes grew wide as the man beside Kaelar stepped forward, motioning his arms towards the black curtain separating the space.

“Sit,” the man harshly pointed to a line of chairs with other members of the draft before stepping back out to return to Kaelar’s side.

“He was thorny,” the man beside me chuckled.

“Very,” my lips formed a thin line.

“I’m Archie,” the young man outstretched his hand, “And you must be the infamous Aribella Voss. It’s an honor to be in your presence.”

My head whipped to the side, “I’m sorry… what?”

He chuckled, “You helped in Charlem a few months back, so when we heard about the public punishment, the town showed up to protest, but we were forced into silence by the guard. You are a hero to everyone in Charlem, and I’m honored to be serving by your side.”

I shook his hand, “I’m no one special. I can assure you of that.”

“I can attest that many disagree with you on that,” he shrugged. “The King has ruled….” A few people around us quickly shushed Archie as someone stepped through the door across from us.

“Number 734,” the masked guard member called out, and Archie stood, “That’s me,” he turned to offer me a warm smile, “See you around.”

Suddenly, the room felt ten times smaller as the eyes of everyone in the room studied me. I felt like some rare specimen being picked apart.

Peyton stepped through the curtain, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar face. He took the seat that Archie had just left, leaning towards me, “Your father returned some time ago. I wrote you letters, but you never wrote back, so I assumed you’d grown busy.”

“I never received your letters, Pey,” I whispered, horrified. “Please tell me you didn’t write anything personal in them?”

He shook his head, “Never. Just updates on how the farm was doing as well as the new friendships I’d formed with the guard members they stationed with me.”

“How is he?” I whispered, feeling an ache in my chest at the mention of Aribella’s heartbroken father.

“He’s a shell of his former self, especially after hearing the news…..” Peyton fiddled his hands in his lap. “Are you… okay?”

“Number 666.”

Unease slithered down my spine as I stood, smoothing out the skirt of my dress. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on my back, likely for various reasons. I no longer took the time to hide my scars.

This world needed to know the wrath of their beloved King.

I was led to a small room, where a stack of folded clothing sat on what looked like a medical bed as well as various tools on a metal cart.

“Dresses are prohibited within the royal guard. You will be provided with new clothing, and required to change into your garments immediately,” he nodded towards the small stack of clothing. “After you change, your blood will be drawn, and your number will be placed upon your skin.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, moving towards the stack of clothing.

The man left through a separate door, and I quickly changed into the clothing provided.

It was ill-fitted and made for a man, which had me grinding my teeth, but I ignored my fury, forcing it into the box in my mind labeled with Johnston’s name.

Sitting at the edge of the table, I swung my legs, mulling over everything that had happened.

On the bright side, Kaelar is alive. He’s back in his position as commander, which means for now, Johnston was holding up his end of the bargain. Peyton was a familiar face, which brought me a sense of peace given the mixture of reactions to my presence.

A man with sharp eyes and thick-rimmed glasses stepped into the room, his eyes widening for a second when they landed on me, “Well I’ll be damned, the rumors are true.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I remained silent.

“I’m Dr. Inman,” he outstretched his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, number 666.”

I shook his hand, not bothering with a response. Something about this man seemed…. Dangerous, despite the warm smile on his face.

“I didn’t really peg you for the silent type after hearing the rumors,” he chuckled. “No worries. I’ll be drawing your blood and then we’ll fire up the machine and get that number on your wrist so you can be escorted to your bed.”

He hummed to himself while grabbing the necessary items for a blood draw, “Why do they need our blood?”

“Ah, so you do speak,” he didn’t turn around. “There are many reasons. We test for abnormalities as well as keeping a sample on hand in the event that the body is unrecognizable and we have to identify you through these means,” Dr. Inman held up a needle, “Do you handle blood draws well?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“Of course,” he chuckled again, “I’m always asking silly questions. One, two….” The needle slid beneath my skin, and crimson liquid spilled into the tube.

“Did you know you’re the only human to have ever successfully killed an upper ranked vampire and with a fireplace poker at that?” he grinned up at me, his blue eyes shimmering with something akin to admiration.

“I didn’t know that.”

And I wasn’t all that proud of the kill, but I kept that to myself.

“I’d be fascinated to learn how you pulled it off,” his eyes were boring into my skin, and it didn’t take long to feel uncomfortable. “If you don’t mind indulging a man.”

“I was just trying to protect a friend.”

“So you’re driven by a desire to protect,” he grabs another tube, swapping out the first, and then repeating three more times. “Who was this friend to you? Just a friend, or a lover?”

“He is like family,” I whispered.

“Hold this here,” he plucks the needle from my arm, roughly pressing gauze against the wound, and giving me his back. “Did it take a lot of strength?”

“Why are you asking me all of this?”

He shrugged, “It’s just amazing is all. Talks of you have been going on for months, but you’re an elusive one,” there was a light chuckle. “I even started calling you a black widow.”

Once again, I didn’t know what to say, but Dr. Inman continued filling the silence with his own words, “It was just a silly nickname, but it seemed fitting. You are beautiful and lethal, just like a black widow,” the whirling of a machine roaring to life had me holding my breath.

“This might hurt a bit,” he smiled again, and five minutes later, my wrist was decorated with a black 666. “Don’t know why I bothered doubting you,” he sat the device on the metal table. “A little brand is nothing after what you’ve been through.”

He rolled his chair between my legs, and suddenly, the room felt far too small, “I’m the assigned physician to the human members of the guard, so if you ever need anything, just come to me. I’ll make myself available anytime for you.”

His palm connected with the top of my thigh, and I froze at the contact.

Dr. Inman squeezed me once before standing up quickly and running the hand that was just on my thigh down his face, “Apologies. I got carried away there. Follow me,” he quickly moved to the other door, holding it open for me, “You’ll now be escorted to your sleeping quarters.”

The smile on his face still exuded warmth, and I realized that this man was dangerous, no matter how much he tried to hide behind a smile.

“Thank you,” I whispered, passing by him quickly.

“No,” he grinned. “Thank you.”