Black Blood

‘Is that why you are here? Did you flee and lose your position because of it?’ Novak asks with interest.

‘Yes, you can describe it that way.’ Again, Novak nods, as if what I am telling him is very logical. This information is of little use to him, although he may not realise it.

‘Do you mind?’ he continues with his questioning. Do I mind not being crown princess anymore? At first, yes. It’s not as if I was looking forward to it all my youth. But it was what I was trained for. It felt like the only thing I had was taken away from me. Later, Christiaan became my main concern and I resigned myself to it.

‘At the beginning, yes, but not any more,’ I reply. Novak shifts his seat a little and seems to think for a moment.

‘Myles is my twin brother. We are ten minutes apart. I sometimes thought when I was younger that it wasn’t fair that he got the position. When I got older and found out I didn’t fit in here I was glad he was faster.’ I look at Novak in surprise. Slowly I learn more and more about him.

‘Why don’t you fit in here?’ The further the conversation goes, the calmer I begin to get. It makes me forget the nightmare and become more comfortable with Novak’s presence. He sighs deeply.

‘I’m not one for a simple life. We live in a natural division of roles here. You just do what suits you best. I soon found out that nothing that this camp needs suits me. I am not a cook, a woodworker or a baker. I don’t like to chase people’s asses or impose things on them. As I got older, I started to resent that life more and more. The irritations ran high and I often had fights with my father. I’m more the one who wants to see the world, travel and discover cultures. I can’t be in one place for long’. I find it very interesting to know more about him. He is the opposite of what I know and am. I admire his self-knowledge and the choices he has made for himself. A small smile appears on my lips and I nod.

My eyes slide to the window. Whereas a moment ago I thought it was deep in the night, now the sun is slowly beginning to rise. I have no idea how long I slept, it feels like a few hours at most. At the appearance of the little morning light, my body starts to move and my stomach starts to make noise.

Novak’s eyes shoot to my stomach. I know from vampires that their hearing is fantastic. I know Novak can almost certainly hear my heartbeat and it scares me. He knows when I’m lying, when I’m relaxing and when I’m scared. He knows almost more about me than I do myself and I know the boy for a day. I can hardly comprehend that yesterday at this time I was still in that cursed castle. On the one hand it feels like I never left, on the other hand like I’ve been away for months.

‘What time is it,’ I ask cautiously. Novak hasn’t moved since he sat down on the bed. He has his knees pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around them, his head on his knees. He looks tired. At once a feeling of regret creeps up on me, I woke him up and kept him there. I should have let him go, controlled my nightmares or not even come here.

‘It is half past six when I look at the sun.’ I have no idea what time I woke up or how long we’ve been sitting here.

‘Sorry,’ I mumble guiltily. My eyes go to my broken nails. I’ve pulled them down to my skin from the tension.

‘Sorry for what?’ Surprised, I look at Novak. Isn’t he angry that I kept him awake by my stupid questions? Isn’t he angry that I made him tired? I keep picking at my nails as I gather the courage for an explanation.

‘For...for keeping you awake,’ I mumble. Novak pushes himself off the bed and stands next to it.

‘I really don’t care about that. I’m a vampire. Basically, I can go a month without sleep.’ I look at him in surprise. A friendly smile has drawn his lips. I am surprised at how friendly this boy is, or is this normal?

‘Come, let’s go and have breakfast.’ Novak holds out his hand to me. In doubt I take it and pull myself out of bed. I am dressed in nothing more than a white nightgown, which is slightly raised. Quickly I pull the fabric up to my knees and doubt whether I should put the dress back on. Novak seems to be a mind reader when he suggests.

‘You can borrow some of my clothes until Lilia is awake.’ The thought of wearing a man’s clothes is unthinkable to me. In the castle, it was a rule that women were only allowed to wear dresses. I can say with certainty that I have never worn trousers.

Despite my discomfort, I nod. The nightgown covers poorly and it is cold. Putting the dress back on isn’t appealing either. I don’t even know what date or season it is. Judging by the trees, we are at the beginning of spring, but I can’t say for sure. The longer I am here, the more I realise how estranged I am.

‘Come.’ Novak walks up to the door again and this time opens it. I take a step towards him and notice that my ankle still hurts when I walk. I can’t say that it has worsened or improved since yesterday, rather unchanged. I follow Novak down the corridor towards his bedroom.

He opens the door and walks into the dark room, turns on a lamp and walks over to the wardrobe. I look around the room, which is new to me. In this room, too, there is a lot of black and white. His bed is high and made up with white sheets, which are now lying in a pile at the foot of the bed. The wall behind the bed is black, the other walls light grey. On the walls there are a few photos and art. On the floor are several animal sheets that I link to deer and bears. There is also a fireplace and the basis of a normal bedroom. The room is tight but cosy, feels warm.

‘Here.’ I am so surprised at the space that I don’t realise that Novak is standing in front of me, holding clothes out to me. I quickly take it.

‘Thanks, your room is beautiful.’ I am a bit shy to say this compliment but I mean it.

‘Thank you. I don’t come here often. This was the first night I slept here in years.’ I look at him in surprise. His eyes glide over the room and a sigh leaves his mouth.

‘The room you slept in last night is yours for as long as you want to stay. I’ll go to the kitchen, meet me there when you’ve changed. It’s down the stairs and the third door on the left.’ I nod and smile. For as long as I want to stay? The word ‘will’ is what surprises me. I am not being held? I can go whenever I want? I am not used to that.

Novak leaves the room and leaves me alone. I hesitate for a moment whether I should go back to “my” room to change. I quickly decide to take off the nightgown here and put on the clothes Novak gave me. It’s far too big a pair of black sweatpants and a black shirt. I almost drown in the clothes.

My eye catches the mirror in the corner of the room. I walk over to it and look at myself in the oversized clothes. The trousers fall down almost over my bottom and the shirt reaches almost to my knees. I quickly tuck the shirt into the trousers and walk out of the room, with the nightdress in my hands.

I throw the nightdress on the bed of “my” room and walk towards the kitchen. The house is still silent, there is no one to be seen. Again, I am surprised by the size of the room. This is the first time I have seen the building in daylight and it gives me room to look at more details. There are paintings on the roof, there is a lot of art and the railing of the staircase is carved with a pattern. The building has much more atmosphere and cosiness than the castle did. You feel that it was made and decorated with a detailed eye.

I open the door to the kitchen and am amazed once again by the furnishings. Although the building has quite a few authentic details, much of it is modern. The kitchen is huge, the cupboards black and the worktop white with wood. In the middle of the kitchen there is a cooking island with a bar to sit at.

Novak stands behind the kitchen island, focused on what he is doing. It smells sweet with a mixture of the smell of the wood. I quietly close the door behind me and walk towards Novak. He notices me and gives me a small smile.

‘I don’t know if you like it, but I’m making pancakes with apple.’ He takes the pan off the fire and throws the pancake in the air, only to catch it again neatly. Pancakes were always an option at the gigantic breakfast buffet but never something I took. Not that I don’t like them but they took too long to eat.

‘Sounds good,’ I reply. I stand next to the kitchen island and watch Novak cook. He seems to know what he’s doing, they look good.

‘Would you like coffee or tea?’ Novak asks.

‘Coffee please.’ Novak nods and grabs a pitcher from the workbench behind him. He grabs a cup from the cupboard and pours the steaming coffee into the cup.

‘Sit down.’ It sounds like a command but is more of a suggestion. I take a seat behind the bar and take a sip of coffee. I look intrigued at Novak and his pancakes. He first fries the apple slices, pours the batter over them and elegantly flips them. As soon as one is ready, he puts it on a plate and sets the plate in front of me. He gives me some more cutlery and puts a pot of dark sugar next to me.

‘Thank you,’ I say sincerely. I pour a little sugar over the pancake, cut a piece off and take a bite. I look at Novak in amazement. This is the best pancake I have ever eaten. The cooking skills of the cooks in the castle don’t come close.

‘Is it good?’ I nod immediately. Before I know it, I’ve eaten half the pancake in the time it takes Novak to bake another, both because of the hunger and the taste.

‘It either smells like Novak’s cooking or Sara is trying to emulate Novak’s cooking.’ With my mouth still full, my eyes shoot to the door. A boy with brown hair and a grin on his face stands in the doorway.

‘Ooh, that explains a lot,’ the boy says as soon as he sees me.