Naomi

I saw Celia and Hannah out from the steakhouse, and had Sandra drive me back to the hotel after having a bit more fun with Annie and Ellen. Everything had gone perfectly, more or less. But there were loose ends hanging, the kinds I usually cut off.

Celia was trustworthy! Neither Jade nor them had any interest in outing me, they had told me from the depths of trance. Hypnotized girls were too obedient to lie, that I was confident of, and Celia had been well and truly under my spell.

But I couldn’t just leave them like this! They were too cute, too delicious-smelling. None of my current thralls even had B negative blood like them! I craved it quite badly; I wanted to taste them now and taste them regularly.

But alas, I did want to take Hannah’s warnings of jealousy seriously. She was right that I had rarely been in this situation, and with Celia seeming trustworthy, I thought I ought to feel it out. Celia could soon be mine in any case, and perhaps Valerie’s as well. They would simply need to wait a few days for me to sort my feelings out.

Riding back to the hotel, I was in a sort of depressed state with little to say, so I rolled down the window and let the wind blow through my hair, enjoying the view into the dark forested hills of New England. Sandra was good! I still had her! She was mine… but I was having trouble mustering up the energy to speak about anything with her. She deserved my appreciation for being such an obedient thrall arriving at the restaurant right when I needed her. She had been driving around in the area in advance, not wanting to be late when I called her.

I did kiss Sandra and praise her, but I wanted more substantial conversation, to ask about that science fiction television program she had been following lately or something like that, and I couldn’t form the words. I had an upset stomach, the kind that I’d get after drinking the blood of a girl infected with a bloodborne illness, but I was quite sure that Hannah wasn’t diseased…

We arrived back at the hotel, and though I’d been thinking of doing so all night, I neglected to have a drink from Sandra, just opting for a kiss on the lips and a feeling up of her tits instead. Having been mine for many years, she was very easy to please and deeply submissive. She loved me so very much and I never got over it, but I supposed I was just feeling a bit dejected tonight. I had gotten my hopes up for nothing.

I headed inside as Sandra drove to her parking spot with me in her heart, and blew a kiss to Brenda at the reception desk before entering the stairwell. She smelled delicious, but the company of thralls was perhaps not what I needed at the moment. I needed to check in with Valerie, anyway.

Oh yes — I hadn’t let her know that I was going to be back tonight. I had honestly expected to end up accompanying Celia back to their home, or bringing both them and Hannah back to Hannah’s suite if that was impractical for one reason or another, but with Hannah and Celia having returned to Celia’s home without me, Valerie would most likely be in my own suite now, not knowing that I’d soon arrive. I wondered what I’d find her up to…

And it reminded me that she and I should see about returning Valerie to her own home soon, to Lauren. My fledgling was handling herself better now, holding herself back effectively against Cassie. It might still be risky, but I knew she desired to see Lauren more than anything in the world, and I did not enjoy keeping them apart. At this point, I’d likely be able to at least hold Valerie back if she lost control. I’d need to get them back together by my upcoming birthday at the latest.

I entered my suite to hear the sound of panting and moaning — yes, Valerie’s moaning. I turned the corner into the bedroom to find a delightful scene. Valerie was splayed out on the bed, her legs spread, her long blonde hair untied and lying across the pillows as it usually only was when she was sleeping, and atop her soft, pale body were both Cassie and Gail, both undressed, sucking on their Goddess’ tits in empty-minded ecstasy while Valerie fingered her own pussy. It was a position I had put myself in many times, and wonderful to be seen from afar. Valerie had clearly discovered the advantage of having multiple thralls.

“Well, well, Valerie,” I said, leaning against the door frame between the living room and bedroom with a big smile on my face. “I see you’re making good use of your girls.”

“M-Mistress!” she grunted through gritted fangs. “Stop. S-stop for now.”

She put a hand on each of her thralls’ heads, and they pulled their heads up, saying “yes, Goddess” in almost perfect unison. Oh, that was adorable — Valerie must have gotten them to do that to the best of her ability. To have her thralls act as one…

“Mistress, you’re back early,” she said with a hint of concern. “Did something happen with Hannah and Celia?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “Quite the opposite. Celia is not yet my thrall, and Hannah accompanied them home. She may be back later tonight or she may not, I’m unsure. Celia, I’ll get back around to in short order.”

“I see,” Valerie replied. She didn’t seem to know what to think of that.

“It’s fine, dear,” I clarified. “I chose not to take them. I just need time to sort through some feelings about the whole thing.”

“Alright, Mistress!” Valerie said. “I’m very sorry, I can get Cassie and Gail out of here if you’d like. They’re pretty tranced out right now. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes Goddess,” they droned out again. I enjoyed watching them struggle to keep pace with each other, Cassie lagging behind noticeably, less used to being owned. If Valerie kept this up with both of them, they’d become quite skilled at speaking as one in time.

“It’s hardly a problem, my fledgling,” I said. “Just as long as you’ll allow me to lick your pussy, of course. It seems like you could use a third. With the understanding that I’m doing this to ensure your own submission, of course.”

“Yes, Mistress!” she said excitedly.

I giggled to myself, and took off my jacket, blouse, skirt, bra, and panties, hanging them up in the closet. I didn’t want to soil them with Valerie’s pussy juices, or my own spit for that matter. Since my deathless body had few excretions, I didn’t need to wash my clothes as often as the average human, though I still likely would eventually in this case to keep this nice outfit of mine in tip-top condition.

I squatted on the bed between Valerie’s legs and scratched Gail’s back, causing her to moan as she was continually transfixed by her Goddess’ body.

“Just a moment before we start, Valerie,” I said. “Awake and alert, Gail. And kneel for your Mistress.”

Gail turned to face me, moving away from Valerie on the bed to sit on her knees. She looked up at me all glassy-eyed, struggling to bring herself back to full lucidity even despite the trigger I had given her. She was simply deep in subspace, and I couldn’t complain about that.

“Mistress,” she said, shaking her head and seeming more present. “How may I serve You?” She lowered her head in supplication, staring in the direction of my crotch.

“Always lovely how easily you fall for me, my dear,” I said, gripping her chin with my index finger and thumb and pulling it upward so that she was looking at my tits instead. “I want you to make out with Valerie for me and use your right hand to play with her left tit. This supersedes any orders she’s given you, darling, let me be clear.”

“I obey,” Gail murmured, returning right back to a light trance, just as I liked her. I grabbed her face and gave her a big kiss on the lips before allowing her to carry out the orders I had given her.

I patted the back of Cassie’s head as well, barely rousing her. So adorable. As I was Valerie’s Mistress, Cassie wouldn’t mind if I felt her up a bit too. She was mine by extension, even though I hadn’t drank her blood myself, because she knew that pleasing me would please her Goddess.

As Cassie continued what she had already been doing and Gail kissed Valerie on my behalf, I laid down with my head between my fledgling’s legs and stuck my tongue into her pussy, exploring her folds. Her pussy juices were nearly as delicious as her blood had once been. I missed it so much, and wished I could taste it again… sometimes, I considered that a large part of why I had never turned a human before Valerie was that I couldn’t drink the blood of a fledgling. It was a tragedy, but the look of joy and sexual release on Valerie’s face as I licked and Gail kissed and Cassie sucked was more than enough to make up for it.

As she moaned from orgasm, I pulled myself back, caressing Valerie’s thighs. She had been such a good girl… she was such a good girl, mine forever.

Well, at least until I let her go. It was not something that regularly crossed my mind, but fledglings could be released from servitude with relative ease by their begetters. It was often said among my kind that Lilith granted us the ability to command our fledglings to ensure that they would learn to control themselves before they would go out on their own, a sort of mentorship as they were reborn.

Some of my kind believed that Lilith intended fledgling status to be only temporary, that releasing fledglings was the natural course of things. I had never been one to prop up the natural course of things, but I did wonder if it would eventually be necessary to allow Valerie to go her own way. Years off, of course, perhaps decades. I didn’t want it… I didn’t want to lose her in very much the same way that I didn’t want to lose the companionship of thralls who eventually outgrew me in their old age. Valerie would never reach such an age, of course. Though I hated to adhere to the natural course of events, I had to consider if it would possibly eventually be proper to let her go.

It made me very still for a moment, right when Valerie was on the edge. But I came to my senses, wanting to do right by her, and brushed off the feeling, licking my fledgling to completion as she moaned and squirmed. For now, at least, I loved her just the way she was.

After we all got ourselves cleaned up, Gail and Cassie got curled up in my bed together, and Valerie and I retreated to the living room to let them have a good night’s rest. Everything was just as it should have been, with Valerie curled up in my arms on the couch, still caught in the afterglow of her thralls’ love. Even Celia would be mine very, very soon. But there was something that they had said that was still nagging at me…

“Valerie, dear…” I said, thinking carefully over the right words to use. “This may be a difficult question. But tell me, why was it that you came after me back in autumn? What motivated you to be a hunter of my kind… our kind? All this time I’ve had you as my thrall and I’ve never thought to ask… I try not to think about hunters, I suppose. Best dismissed rather than entertain their grisly desires, I’ve thought. But you are mine, dear, and I want to know.”

“I—I’m sorry, Mistress, it was so wrong! I didn’t understand anything,” Valerie stammered. “I didn’t know how perfect You were. How much love and respect You deserve. I could never—I could never, my Goddess!” She broke away from my arms and slid off of the couch onto the shag carpet beside it, where she prostrated herself, her hands pressed together in penance.

“That is alright, dear,” I said. “You’ve been a very good girl since then, you know, and you’ve more than atoned for those misdeeds in my eyes. I do not expect an apology. But I do want to know what was going through your pretty little head that would lead you to do such a thing. What mindset you must have had in that terribly suggestible human mind of yours…”

“R-right,” my fledgling said, pulling herself from the floor with a distinct lack of confidence. “I mean… I saw You as evil, Mistress. Symbolic of so many things that are wrong in the world. I thought You were exploiting Your thralls and giving them nothing in return. I was terrified of the power of enthrallment, losing myself or my loved ones. Terrified of losing my life when it was torn out of my veins. I was naive, but I thought You were just like Emily’s Goddess, who was going to kill her in a matter of weeks if I hadn’t intervened. I thought You were like that creepy guy who lived two apartments down from Lauren and I, who had a body count by the time I found out about him. You’re different, Mistress, so different, but I was so clouded by hatred that I couldn’t see the differences…”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you came after me just because I’m a vampire?”

There was a look of consternation upon Valerie’s face as she formulated a response.

“Well, no, not exactly, Mistress,” she said, shaking her head in denial. “I saw You as having a lot of traits that I perceived as common to vampires. Selfishness, extreme possessiveness, a lack of compassion for the people around You, that sort of thing. All of that was a mistaken impression about You, of course, but what it also is is something that is by no means exclusive to, uh, our kind. Humans are like that all the time too… it’s sad to me. I knew that at the time, but vampires were an easy target. Non-humans, outside the protection of the law, with weaknesses that could be exploited by someone who understood them well enough.

“I can’t just go and kill my dad, even though he walked out on my mom and I and left us in dire financial straits for most of my childhood. I can’t just go and kill the horrible politicians running this country, even though they want so desperately to strip my rights away and especially those of my partners and turn the government toward full-throated fascism. I wouldn’t have wanted to hurt a human, couldn’t bring myself to even consider it. But I could get away with hunting vampires, morally and legally. People approve of it. It made me feel like I could do something when I was incredibly depressed, even if it was an awful outlet. So, it’s complicated. It was an unhealthy impulse, I think, but I just wanted there to be less horrible people in the world, and I thought You were one, and I thought I could do something about it. That’s why I did it.”

“It was because of the sort of person I was believed to be…” I murmured, looking down at Valerie on the floor below me. So had Celia truly been right, then? Even if Valerie’s actions had in some sense been because I was a vampire, that was mostly a matter of convenience… it truly wasn’t what it all came down to. They clearly had the sort of intuition that was rarely seen among humans. But there was still perhaps more to it than that…

“Did you view our kind as lesser?” I asked. “As… less capable of compassion, for example? Less worthy of continued existence?”

Valerie sighed deeply, pressing her head against the floor and closing her eyes, moreso out of frustration rather than worship.

“I’d like to say no, Mistress. I don’t think I went in that way, at least,” she grumbled. “But when you get involved with vampire hunting communities, it’s easy to get lost in the sauce. People will do anything to convince themselves that killing vampires is OK, even though they’re ultimately trying to hunt down literal, actual people. It’s how Nicole and Caroline ended up treating You like a wild animal, I’m sure. You’d have to get yourself into that mindset to treat You the way that they did.

“There’s a culture of dehumanization there. Uh, depersonalization would maybe be a better term. And I can’t say that I didn’t fall for that at least a little bit before You fixed me. I mean, people say that vampires can’t ever control their urges. I bought into that, naively, maybe. That’s why I threw you that blood bag. But my actual concern was putting an end to the evil stuff I thought You were doing. It was never about wiping out vampires or anything. Even back then, I wished that there could be a better way, something that’d let vampires be part of society if they wanted to be. But I know now that there is no better way than enthrallment, Mistress. It’s already perfect.”

“Right,” I said, taking it all in. “Well, I’m glad I was able to help you come around, at least.”

“Me too, Mistress,” Valerie said, climbing back up onto the couch and snuggling against me, face to face. “I’ll be forever in Your debt for turning me toward doing true good in the world.”

I kissed her on the forehead and sighed, then spoke, “I suppose I’ve had a mistaken apprehension of this whole thing. I’ve always presumed that every hunter who comes after me must be doing so for mere hatred of my kind, and perhaps for my love for women. I have often been accused of being a corrupter along those lines, though it’s never seemed that way for me.”

“Well, I can say that that never entered into the equation for me, Mistress,” Valerie said. “It was never even the tiniest bit about Your queerness to me, I swear to You.”

“I suppose I knew that much,” I said, holding my fledgling as close as I could manage. “I do recognize that you’ve known the love of women since long before we met. You reminded me of this last week, when, er, when you had me pinned against the wall in the bathroom.” I squeezed her a tiny bit tighter, perhaps too much as her ribs neared a breaking point. It was still embarrassing to acknowledge that moment as real, and I needed some outlet for that.

“Yeah, thankfully I grew up here in New England, so I had a pretty supportive environment for the most part,” Valerie said. “I remember telling my best friend and crush Miranda that I liked both guys and girls when we were in middle school. And it wasn’t long after that that I told her I liked her. She felt the same way. And sometimes I still think about that magical moment when my lips touched hers and I felt something like love for the first time. It made me feel so warm back then. I guess it makes me feel tingly and cold now… oh, wow, I miss her.” A sense of dread entered her voice, that of lost love, the kind I felt when I thought of Violet and other thralls I had once had who were now long passed.

“What happened to her?” I asked.

“Well, our relationship ended up having all kinds of issues, the kinds you have when you’re a teenager, and then she ended up moving to Minnesota for college. I think she still lives there now, probably. Haven’t talked to her in years.”

Ah, good. That was within reach.

“Would you like to see her again? I’m sure you could sidestep many of those issues now, darling. If you still feel the same way as you did when you were a child, you could make her yours,” I said. What a lovely reunion that could be. I would love to observe it if I got the chance.

“Oh, Goddess, her blood would be so sweet, I think. Umm… uh, uh, maybe a little bit spicy, and like, savory?” Valerie said, squirming around. “Goddess, I want it. I could take it.”

She seemed to hold herself in place as she ceased squirming, squinting her eyes.

“But I need to focus on Laurie first,” she clarified. “I want her even more. I love her so much! I want her to look into my eyes and make her obey my commands, Mistress. I need my fangs in her. I need to hold her in my arms like I’ll never let her go. I owe it to her.”

“Yes, yes, dear, it will be very adorable to see,” I said, patting her head firmly. “Perhaps she can lick your pussy alongside Gail and Cassie, her mind as blank and pacified as theirs.”

She had just satisfied herself in the bedroom, but already her pussy was leaking all over the couch again and she was salivating onto my hand. I loved how excited she got over Lauren, and part of that was because I knew that Lauren was a girl worth getting excited over.

“Mmm… the taste of blood is soooo yummy, Mistress,” Valerie whined, licking her lips. “I think I’m getting used to being like You. Being a vampire.”

“Oh? Is that so?” I asked teasingly.

“Yes, Mistress,” Valerie said, snuggling up against me. “I’m getting more comfortable acting like You. Taking thralls, handling humans with care. But, uh, there’s still stuff that gets to me. I wish I could at least see what I look like now. I get scared that I’m unrecognizable, like my hair is messed up or something all the time, but I can’t look in the mirror. The night I took Cassie, I buttoned my shirt wrong and probably looked really stupid. It’s frustrating. A minor thing, I guess, but frustrating.”

“You’re hardly unrecognizable, dear,” I assured her. “Your hair has been perhaps a bit frizzier than usual, but it looks much as it once did. You could have Cassie or Gail brush it for you sometime. You know well that I often like to do the same.” I thought of all the times that Valerie had helped brush my hair and touched up my makeup. Thralls were good for that sort of thing.

“I could, yeah,” Valerie said. “It just feels a little sensitive. I’m so used to doing it myself. Maybe I’d let Laurie do it… I think it’d be a little easier to open up to her about that.”

“Very well, dear,” I said. “But you may rest assured in any case that you are far from unrecognizable. I still see that same submissive look in your eyes, even as they’ve turned crimson… hmhm, well, humans may not see them the same way any longer, but all the same… your body is much as it once was, simply with a paler complexion. A pair of fangs does not alter your figure.”

“Thank You, Mistress,” she said, not sounding all too satisfied. “I just wish I could see myself in the mirror to be sure, You know? Do You ever feel that way?”

“Occasionally. Portraits help,” I said, gesturing to the far wall of my suite, near the entryway. There was a portrait of me hanging on the wall there which had been painted by my former thrall Mona in 1991, one of many I had my thralls create for me over the course of my undeath, suffering from similar desire to what Valerie was experiencing now. Though styles differed, they mostly came out looking more or less the same, other than me having varied up my hairstyle once in a while. Through all those decades, I had remained at the age of 26, wavy red hair framing my face adorned with pale skin and captivating red eyes, and my slim figure never really changed. I still needed a new portrait once in a while just to assure myself that nothing had changed, to remind myself that I was still as beautiful as I liked to believe.

Seeing Mona’s painting again, depicting my bust in profile, topless, caused an idea to dawn on me. Though I lacked the ability to create a quality self-portrait, Valerie was not me. I had the opportunity to do something quite special for her.

“Shall I paint you, my darling?” I asked as Valerie squirmed out of my grasp and stood to look at the painting herself. She had looked at all the paintings I kept up before, some painted by me and some by others, typically my thralls. I enjoyed art on both ends of it, though I had not picked up a brush in about seven years, when I had been drawn to depict my Rachel standing on the eastern shoreline of the Narragansett Bay on a beautiful and particularly foggy night. That painting was hanging in my bedroom just above the headboard where Gail and Cassie were sleeping soundly.

Valerie whirled around to look at me, looking surprised. I had mentioned my lack of art inspiration as of late to her while showing her my paintings months ago. When the coronavirus swept in, I began to shelter in place along with my thralls, and I hadn’t traveled much since as a result. Even as restrictions were relaxed, I still was having trouble recovering my old mindset. Change was always slower for me than may have been convenient given the fast pace of the modern world.

“You would really do that for me?” Valerie said, squeezing her fists in excitement. I was feeling a bit tingly myself. I finally had the inspiration and drive I had been waiting for all this time.

“Of course, my darling. My fledgling deserves to be able to see herself. I know I need paintings like these to feel grounded sometimes.” I explained.

“Thank You, Mistress,” Valerie said, holding her own arm sheepishly. “Being able to look in the mirror still feels so natural to me. I have to unlearn that, I guess. I don’t have… I’m not like that any more.”

“I believe this will serve as a more than adequate replacement,” I replied, hoping that I was right. I stood up and headed over to the phone line on my computer desk.

“I will have to acquire some supplies, my dear,” I said. “I unfortunately have not painted since I made this hotel my own. Things such as tarps and canvas were not important enough to bring along from my previous residence.”

As I often felt forced to by exposure, I had left my former residence, an apartment building in the vicinity of Hartford, Connecticut, in something of a hurry. I brought along all of my prized possessions, of course — my thralls, my clothing, my paintings, my paintbrush and oil paints, certain articles of furniture, my old vinyl record collection — but objects of lesser importance had to be left behind or discarded when it was not convenient. Regrettably, I had not had any art inspiration since moving here. I was eager to show the thralls I had gained since coming here, most of them now due to coincidence of age, what I was capable of.

I picked up the receiver and dialed the front desk. Sandra picked up.

“Mistress?” she whispered. I could hear the murmur of a crowd in the distance. Guests must have been filtering into the lobby as the night progressed.

“It’s me, dear,” I said. “I’m planning to paint a portrait of Valerie tonight, and I’m going to need some supplies. Do you have a pen and paper?”

“Right here, Mistress,” Sandra whispered back. I heard the sound of her shuffling around. “That’s so exciting. I’m glad You’re having inspiration again. And that I can serve You in gathering the supplies. Though… I’m not sure art supply stores will be open until tomorrow…”

Pah. An irritating sort of store to restrict its opening to daylight hours for the most part, but it was hardly unique. Well, that was what thralls were for, but I regretted the delay… I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

“Very well. That’ll have to do, sweetie,” I conceded. “In any case, I’ll need an easel, a 16 × 20 inch canvas… er, make that a set. I’d like four or five for future use. Also a stool to sit on. Something nice, padded. And a tarp for the floor. I’ve preserved my own paint and paintbrushes, so those are not needed. I’ll keep things simple and use what I have.”

“Got it, Mistress. Anything else?” Sandra asked, seeming confident.

“That’s all, dear,” I said. “I’ll use my own living room as the studio. The paintings that are already up will serve as good inspiration.”

“Understood, Mistress,” Sandra replied. “I’ll go to the store the moment it opens tomorrow and have the supplies for You first thing tomorrow night. Is that acceptable?”

“Perfectly, sweetie. You’ve been a very good girl tonight. Don’t forget that,” I said, thinking back to the ride she had given me on top of this. I loved her for her loyalty.

“Hehehe, thank You, Mistress! Love You! Good night!”

“Good night, Sandra,” I said, setting down the receiver.

“Tomorrow night, Mistress?” Valerie asked, looking a little disappointed. She must’ve overheard the whole conversation. I couldn’t blame her for eavesdropping, given her sharp hearing.

“I’m afraid so. Shall we take a walk on the beach tonight and then perhaps watch some television? I need something to do with my hands.” I reached my hand out toward Valerie’s and she approached me to take it, looking at me with love and reverence. I took the opportunity and pulled her closer, wrapping my other arm around her back and swaying with her a bit.

“I’d love that, Mistress,” my fledgling said.

The rest of my night with Valerie was delightful, but lingering concern about the dinner with Celia and my eagerness to paint again dominated my thoughts. I received word from Hannah around the time that Valerie and I returned inside, around 1 AM or so — she was coming back to her suite, as she had left Celia to speak with their partner Jade about my nature, despite Hannah’s advisement against it. That was the sort of news that made me squirm. My desire for privacy seemed to mean nothing… but Celia’s argument for speaking to Jade earlier had made sense. They really trusted her… I just had serious reason to be concerned about that trust myself.

But I was able to keep my own concerns in line; I had been through much worse, and there was something deep inside myself that convinced me it would be worth it to take this risk. I snuggled into bed with Valerie, Gail, and Cassie as the sun rose, the bed barely large enough for the four of us, with thoughts of how I’d frame her face on the canvas in my mind.

I woke the following evening to find that the anxiety had not dissipated. I was eager to set up the canvas as soon as possible and get thoughts of being forced to evacuate my home for good out of my mind. I would lose so much if that happened… though I loved this hotel, I still often missed what I had had in Hartford, and so many other places before that. I wanted to remain here for decades more, if I could manage it.

Gail and Cassie were long gone. They had of course had their whole days pass by while we were sleeping, though Gail would still be awake, working the night shift at the front desk. Valerie was tumbled over, still asleep and perfectly still with her arms splayed out as they had been wrapped around her thralls. I was so relieved for my fledgling that she had come to the simple and sensible decision to make Cassie hers. I would’ve supported whatever she had chosen, but this choice, the one I would have made, had seemed to remove all of the stress that had been holding her for the first days of her undeath, and it all happened without her seriously endangering anyone. That was an ideal outcome.

Valerie had spoken to Lauren about the matter on the night that Cassie was in the hospital, but apparently, it hadn’t gone as well as it could’ve. My fledgling wanted to work on her relationship with her girlfriend at her own pace, though, and I dared not interfere.

I rolled over in bed and dialed the front desk once again. Tonight, I would bring my fledgling back to life in oil.

“Good evening, Mistress,” Gail said. “Did You sleep well?”

“Good evening, Gail,” I responded, running my other hand across my face to help wake up. Valerie was a pretty deep sleeper, and I had little worry of waking her. “I slept alright. There’s been quite a lot on my mind. I’m sure Sandra informed you about the painting supplies?”

“Oh, yes, Mistress!” she said. “It’s very exciting! All of the stuff is in the first floor storage room. Should I have it brought up to You?”

“As soon as possible, my darling,” I affirmed. “Make sure you get my paint, paintbrushes, and palette up here as well. They should be in a labeled box in the back left of the room, if my memory serves.” It usually did. My kind was quite well suited to long term memory retention.

“Yes, Mistress. Zoey will have it all up there within 15 minutes,” Gail said. “Is there any other way I can serve You?” Lilith, she must have been living in paradise, now having two Mistresses to await orders from.

“Not now, dear. You’ve been a very good girl,” I said.

“Thank You, Mistress. I’ll look forward to seeing the finished painting, then.” She giggled a little. “Normally I’d question if someone could ever capture Goddess’ perfection in an image. But if it’s You doing it, Mistress, I… I would never doubt that.”

I giggled back. “I’ll do my best, dear.”

“I’m glad,” Gail said. “Talk to You later, Mistress.”

“You as well.” I set down the phone.

Without prompting, Valerie began to stir. I took her hand in mine tenderly as she opened her eyes and sighed.

“Mmmmm… evening already?” Valerie asked, gathering the sheets up around herself. She could be a real blanket thief without really meaning to be, but all I needed to do was hold the sheets firm to keep some for myself, so I did. I wondered how Lauren would deal with it when they were back together, given Valerie’s greater strength…

“Yes, dear. Zoey will be up soon with painting supplies. I would like to begin as soon as it’s all set up.”

“Oh, that soon?” Valerie asked. “I’d better go take a shower and stuff! What would You like me to wear for this?” She shot up into a sitting position and got onto her feet, her soft tits, tummy and ass all a delight from my vantage point across the bed.

“Well, I was imagining naked, but this is for your sake, sweetie, and I was planning on just painting a bust anyway, head and shoulders,” I explained. “So I suppose whatever you would like.”

Valerie seemed excited by that. “Oh wow, Mistress, You’re going to draw me like one of your French girls?”

“French?” I asked, sitting up myself. “I haven’t had a thrall from France since Madeleine in the 1910s. Have I mentioned her to—”

Valerie was dashing over to hug me now, pulling me up from the bed. I felt very loved, but even more confused.

“I love You so much, Mistress,” she said. “And You have no idea how perfect that time frame is. That line’s from a movie, kind of a stupid movie but I guess I’m still surprised You haven’t seen it…”

“Who’s drawing the French girl?” I asked.

“Well, the girl’s not actually French, but, the artist, ooh, he’s like a roguish drifter played by Leona—”

“A man,” I said, satisfied with all I had heard. “Now you may intuit why I haven’t seen it.”

“Of course, Mistress,” she said, giggling. “Honestly, I thought that guy was super hot when I was a teenager. Feels a little shallow in retrospect, but they really made that whole movie work, I guess. The not-French-girl was pretty too.”

“I’m sure, darling,” I said, giving Valerie a nice long kiss on the lips. “I’ll paint you prettier than any man ever could.”

“Thank You, Mistress,” she said. “I’ll just go get a quick rinse, OK? And I’ll look good for the painting.” She pulled her arms away from me and began running off to the bathroom.

“Ah, Valerie, before you go,” I started. “Is this actor someone you’d be interested in pursuing? Similar to Miranda? You know I’d like nothing to do with men, but I’d like to support—”

Valerie burst out laughing and shook her head vigorously.

“Oh, Jesus, Lilith, Goddess, no,” she said, snickering. “Guy’s like 50 now and a huge celebrity and I never even knew him or met him once. Frankly, I don’t want to get near him with a ten foot pole, Mistress. There are a lot of gross rumors surrounding him.”

“Understood, dear,” I said, doing my best to understand her.

“Sorry, Mistress, it’s easy to forget that teenage celebrity crushes weren’t a thing at all when You were a kid,” Valerie said. “See You in a moment!”

She dashed off to turn on the water while I remained on the bed, not needing as much of a shower myself. My fledgling was simply being extra cautious about her appearance for the painting — neither of us particularly required cleaning, especially having already rinsed ourselves off after having some fun with Gail and Cassie last night. Our kind had few secretions to dirty ourselves with.

And I was left feeling out of touch. Even if it was something comfortably in Valerie’s past, it was difficult for me to understand how one could become so attached to such a public figure. The appeal of people, girls, was the intimacy of their presence, the touch of their skin, the warmth of their bodies, the texture of their hair, the smell of their blood. Even if you became attached to a character in television or film, how could you think you really knew that person? And yet so many of my thralls had seemed similarly afflicted…

Just as Valerie was blow-drying her long platinum blonde hair, there was a knock at the door. I had gotten myself dressed in a white tank top and black shorts, the kind of throwaway clothing that I didn’t care as much for among my wardrobe. Better to potentially get paint on if I were unfortunate enough to do so.

I answered the door. Zoey, a member of the hotel’s administrative staff with A positive blood, dark skin, and short black hair, was standing in the hallway with a luggage cart stacked neatly with painting supplies. She had been hired about four months ago, and though she was very delicious, we hadn’t gotten to know each other particularly well. Such was the case with many workers at the hotel. While Zoey was certainly my thrall, she was not really my girlfriend; she and I lacked the essential closeness that I shared with Valerie, Hannah, Gail, and several others.

I looked over the cart. Everything looked to be in order, just as I had requested.

“Good evening, darling,” I said. “Bring in the tarp first, won’t you? I’ll clear the furniture away.”

As we weren’t as close, Zoey’s interactions with me had been relatively limited, and she was blushing, seeming a little unsure how to respond properly.

“U-uh, yes, Mistress,” she said. “Right away.”

I pulled back into my living room and effortlessly lifted an armchair away, moving it into the corner between the couch and wall, then moved the coffee table next to the television set in the opposite corner in the same fashion. There was now more than enough space to have room for art.

“I’ve never been inside Your suite before, Mistress,” Zoey said. “It’s a little cold for me, but it seems really cozy.” She laid down the tarp on the floor and I helped her flatten it out from the other corner.

“Well, we’ll have to fix that,” I said, smiling and showing my fangs. She seemed to like that quite a lot.

“Oh! The stuff’s here!” Valerie said, dashing out of the bathroom. “Can I help?”

“Um, hi!” Zoey said, completely flustered by the entrance of my naked fledgling. “I’ve, um, seen you around a few times before you got turned into a vampire. I’m Zoey.”

“I’m Valerie. Mistress’ eternally loyal fledgling,” my fledgling said, reaching out her hand for Zoey’s.

While the two of them spoke, I was already getting the easel and stool off of the cart in one hand each and bringing them in.

“Get the canvas, paints, and paintbrushes, won’t you, my darlings?” I said, a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Yes, Mistress,” they both said in unison, much like Gail and Cassie had been the previous night. It was very adorable to see in action. But, er, Valerie hesitated…

“Probably not without clothes, though, right, Mistress?” Valerie said as she was stepping towards the door. Ah, that would be less than ideal.

“Oh yes. I shall go in your stead,” I responded, giggling.

We got everything set up: an easel, canvas and stool with my paints and paintbrushes by their side, a tarp on the floor, and Valerie sat upon my couch, just at the right angle for me to replicate her in oil. I bid Zoey farewell, positioned Valerie just as I wanted her, and tried my best to recall the muscle memory and technique that I had not utilized for the better part of a decade.

I had not painted another vampire in a very long time, and finding the right colors for Valerie’s pale skin tone and blood-red eyes was a bit more difficult than usual. The last time I had painted a vampire had in fact been almost two centuries ago now, one of my earlier paintings, and the subject had had significantly darker skin than Valerie’s, if inflected by deathly pallor in her own way. That painting was not in my possession… in fact, I was not sure where it would be now. Preserved, I hoped, but by whom I could not honestly guess. That made me sad, and rather nostalgic… the subject’s memory may now have existed only in my mind.

“Have I told you where and how I learned to paint, my darling?” I asked, looking over Valerie to ascertain the shape of her face, her round cheeks.

“I don’t think You have,” Valerie said, maintaining her neutral sitting pose excellently. Our kind found staying perfectly still a relatively easy task.

I outlined my fledgling’s face with careful brush strokes, staying silent and focused for a couple of moments before responding. Yes… the muscle memory was all still there.

“Well… in September of 1821, if I’m not mistaken, four years after my begetter met his miserable end, I decided that I needed to expand my horizons beyond this continent,” I recalled, looking over Valerie’s face for the subtle coloration of her lips. “Though I eventually returned, for that time, anywhere but here was preferred. I sought out a ship bound for Europe and boarded with only my Violet alongside me.

“I spent the next several years traveling through Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, learning various languages with varying degrees of proficiency, sampling the blood of local women… it was all a very enlightening experience.”

I was finishing the outline of Valerie’s face then, as she listened and kept still for my convenience.

“In the Ottoman Empire, I happened upon a woman named Olivia, while I was out looking for blood in the city of Diyarbakir,” I continued. “She was a vampire, one who enjoyed the blood of women exclusively, much like myself. We converged on the same woman in an alleyway by chance, and though tensions were high, we agreed to share her. I never did get the human woman’s name… I wouldn’t make that mistake today.

“At first, Olivia mistook me for a man. I was nervous to tell her the truth, but given that she had had the restraint to allow me to partake in the blood of that woman alongside her, I shared the details of my history. She reached toward me, and at first I thought she was going to strike me in the way my begetter would. But she only caressed my cheek instead, so gently… she told me that she thought Lilith would approve of who I was becoming. That I should live as myself and take control of my undeath in defiance of any human teachings on the matter.”

I had begun adding color to Valerie’s face, finding a very pale greyish-cream color to be best suited for depicting her pallor.

“I stayed in Diyarbakir far longer than I had bargained for as a result. I even allowed Olivia to have a taste of Violet, something I’d be reluctant to do with anyone but you now, Valerie. She allowed me to drink from her Meral as well. Her taste was so delicious… hers may have been the first AB positive I ever had the pleasure of drinking, in retrospect.

“I told her how I had been a carpenter’s apprentice as a human. At that time, I was expecting to pursue that craft when I returned to New England. Even though I was relieved to have escaped my begetter’s clutches, he had still provided me with a center that I no longer had… returning to my old craft had seemed natural. But Olivia asked me if that was what I truly wanted. And in hearing that, my horizons were opened beyond what I could’ve ever expected.

“I decided then and there, with her help, that I would not be that sort of artisan. It was probably the most freed I’d ever felt. And as I wondered aloud what I would ever do to replace that, she offered to teach me to paint. As mine is now, her home was adorned with many paintings of scenes from the four centuries of undeath she had experienced prior to our meeting, and I accepted the offer eagerly. I had never even considered such a thing before then. The creation of art had been reserved only for the rich and powerful, neither of which I had been in life. When I paint, I still think of Olivia…”

I quieted down again, taking several minutes to model out my fledgling’s eyes, not yet filling their irises in with the rich red that would be required. This took a great deal of finesse and patience.

“You’ve never mentioned her, Mistress,” Valerie said, breaking the silence while I mixed colors to get just the right shade of red. “It seems like she was really important to You.”

I sighed. “You would have if you had become mine just a year earlier than you did, Valerie. That was the 100-year anniversary of her death. I suppose, since then, she had not been in my thoughts as much as she is owed.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry, Mistress. I had no idea,” she said, looking down sadly.

“Bring your head back into position, darling,” I said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. She simply deserves all the remembrance I can give her.”
“Uh… OK, Mistress,” Valerie said, retaining a worried expression on her face.

“Please, sweetie, it’s…” I started. “Let me continue modeling your beautiful face. I can show you the preliminary design tonight if we continue. I’m using thinned paint for the outline right now… the details and background will take me a few days longer to perfect. And I can conclude my Olivia story, if you’d like? She deserves to be brought back to undeath in all of our memories.”

Valerie’s expression softened a bit as she said, “I’d like that, Mistress.”

“Good girl,” I said, beginning to shade her eyes on the canvas. “Well, anyway, Violet and I remained with Olivia for nearly half a decade. She shaped my early undeath… by the time I decided to return home, to see Boston Harbor once again, we were both in agreement that I was no longer a fledgling. My hair was a bit longer by then, my breasts showing signs of growth, my girlcock smaller and softer. It was comforting. I was more myself… more confident in attracting prey. I always felt awkward, self-conscious before I was truly myself. Perhaps similar to what you were feeling with Cassie, only amplified by my lack of embodiment.

“Olivia and I kept in correspondence, of course, and agreed that we would meet again one night. Ah, correspondence was terribly slow at that time. It could take months to receive a letter in reply, though that seemed only to make it sweeter. Both of us went through many changes. Even Violet, I was eventually forced to part ways with when she reached elder age, but Olivia and I continued to have each other.”

I finished off Valerie’s irises and began to define her eyelids. Ah, they were striking on the canvas, nearly enough to hypnotize even myself. They’d be even more so when I applied thicker paint.

“And eventually,” I continued, “in 1919, I believe, I received correspondence from her expressing interest in a visit. I was overjoyed, of course. I said yes yes, please come as soon as you’re able. I counted the nights until she might arrive. It had been almost a century, and when I opened the door to find her standing on my doorstep, unfamiliar thralls carrying her bags, I couldn’t help but throw myself at her, hugging her, kissing her, saying I never wanted to be apart for that long again.

“She had concerns at home, she told me, thralls to drink from, that she eventually needed to return for, but we talked and talked, and her hand in mine, she agreed to stay for at least as long as I had remained with her. Ah, I recall curling into bed with her on the first morning after she arrived, staying up all day trading all the stories that hadn’t made it into our letters. Stories of love, jealousy, blood and sex, struggles against hunters. I took her to all of my favorite places, introduced her to every thrall I had, showed her the paintings I had painted, more than enough to fill a gallery. We went into town together some nights to search for girls to make ours. She was so proud of how far I had come… what I had become, who I had become, more like myself. More confident. A better sense of dress. Deeply seductive. Fulfilling Lilith’s legacy, she told me.”

Though I thought I had come to terms with all this on the centennial anniversary, I found myself tearing up as I recounted the story again, just as I was getting started on the shape of Valerie’s cute nose. No, no… I couldn’t risk getting tears mixed up on my palette. I had to pull myself together for her sake…

“After she had already been on this continent for a couple of years, I took her to a vacation home that I then maintained in northern Maine, with only a few of our thralls accompanying us, for a weekend-long retreat. We ran out to a forest grove maybe half a mile from the cabin, lying there on the grass all by ourselves. I had never felt more relaxed. I told her I loved her, that I wanted to be together with her forever. With Olivia, I felt that I could discard all of the territorial feelings our kind is drawn toward. I’m sure you’ve felt them, my fledgling.”

“I have, Mistress,” my fledgling said. She appeared to be completely mystified… it was understandable. So much had occurred in my past that rarely came to light, even for my closest loved ones.

“And she… she r-returned the sentiment. We were s-so relaxed, so content with each o-other,” I said, losing control of my tears. My palette fell to the ground and I didn’t even care; luckily, there was a tarp. I would clean it up later. There was always something new to get out when it came to Olivia. Especially this part.

“We f-fell asleep there, Valerie, safe on the grass, safe in each others’ arms, so we thought. B-but, but Valerie, morning approached, and our thralls didn’t know where we had gone, not even that we had gone… they were safe in their beds themselves. The heat was what woke me, that b-blazing, oncoming heat of the imminent sunrise. I roused Olivia, shook her. She woke, and we took each others’ hands, running back for the cabin before that horrible heat overcame us. And it sounds ridiculous, fucking stupid, Valerie, but she tripped on a rock.” I growled, hissed, the way I only did when backed into a corner. It still made me seethe with rage that this was what had taken her from me.

“She tripped on a fucking rock, Valerie, and it ripped us apart. I was running so quickly that I didn’t even notice for a split second. I neglected her, Valerie. When I looked back, she insisted that I go on without her, that I, at least, as the younger vampire, survive. Picking her up would slow things down too much and kill us both. I listened. It was what Lilith would want, I told myself, along with Olivia herself. Persistence in the face of adversity. I had to make myself believe that it was the right decision. I still do.

“Of course, when I got back to the cabin, I begged my Ingrid and her Nur to go after her. To save her. I was lying on the floor severely burned, regretting every decision I had made to get there. But they only brought back a charred corpse… even the bones partially burned to ash. Grisly. Horrible. I had lost her.

“That moment taught me to have greater caution. And though I’ve met with many other vampires since then, some even recently, some I’d call friends, I have never been as close with any other as I have with her. Not till you, at least, my fledgling.” I leapt out of the chair and into her arms. There was no need to hold myself back, not then.

“Mistress… You’ve been through so much. I’m sorry it all had to happen that way,” Valerie said, running her fingers through my hair in the way she had during our little table-turning moment a bit over a week ago.

“That’s alright, dear,” I said, holding her tight. “I’ve already processed it to hell and back, I suppose. Wherever she is now, I believe that Olivia is being watched over by Lilith. That’s what I’d like to think, at least.”

“I won’t forget her, Mistress,” she said. “I promise.”

“That is all she can ask for, I believe,” I said. “She had a long and fulfilling undeath. And in her memory, I will be sure to have a longer one still.

“But the best way to preserve her memory, I believe, is to finish this painting.”

I stood and Valerie nodded, getting herself back into a painterly pose, while I picked the dropped palette back off of the floor. It, along with Valerie’s face on the canvas, would need some serious work. And it made me consider that I had never regarded my relationship with Olivia then in comparison to my relationship with Valerie now. It was rare for love to blossom between unaffiliated vampires as it had for Olivia and I, but much more common between begetter and thrall, as Valerie and I. I had turned her out of love, a story I had heard dozens of times even if it was one that I had always strayed from myself.

All memories were of something transient, I supposed, from those I treasured of Violet and Olivia to those Valerie missed of Miranda and her teenage celebrity crushes. I had to consider how my actions now would affect everyone else moving forward, the legacies and memories that would be created. A wrong move I took with Celia or a wrong move that Valerie took with Lauren could loom large over our futures. It was my responsibility as Valerie’s begetter, as Hannah’s Mistress, to prevent such outcomes.

And as for Valerie herself, we were both immortal, yes. But to be together forever, as Olivia and I had desired to be… what was forever? A long time, certainly. Would our relationship be the same a century from now as it was tonight? There was reason to have doubt, if I could not preserve what I had had with Olivia. I’d do everything I could to prolong her undeath, but would she even still be mine by then?

Given that, I would need to savor every moment I had with my fledgling. This painting would assure that for the both of us.