Ailsa

A key. A little key. Who knew that such a tiny thing could be the cause for so much pain, and could be the source of making everything right and whole again.

I spent the whole day searching the castle. Every place my father goes, I go. I snuck into his room like a slippery snake. I got in and out without a trace, slithering around the room and checking every corner and drawer.

There was nothing. And I wasn't surprised at all.

I knew it would be difficult, if not impossible.

But Fraser asked me to set him free, and so I have to try. I would do anything for him. Anything.

A vampire. He's a vampire.

Although I spend a lot of time sneaking and snooping for the key to setting Fraser free, I also spend some time with Gentry.

I eat breakfast with her and talk freely. Some part of me, a big part, feels awful for not believing her.

Vampires. Vampires are real. I never expected something so far fetched, something so sinister could be real.

And that it would be Fraser.

I had once thought him sweet, and maybe a small part of me still did, but now his venom, his fierceness.... It makes sense.

The natural fear that sparked in me the moment he unleashed his fury, it's all for a reason. Fraser isn't a human. He's something altogether else.

There's not much that I know about vampires, just the rumors that have spread around the castle like a wildfire catching on old, dry dead trees.

Now that I know that they're real, that vampires are actually living breathing beings that feel pain and have needs, I need to know more.

The curiosity is still eating away at me.

After my detective skills have been reduced to dust, I go for a walk to clear my head. The scent of the outdoors refreshes my mind and calms my spirit.

There's plenty of people bustling about, but no one pays attention to me. I may be the laird's daughter, but I am certainly not important in the eyes of my fellow clan members.

I smile to myself, feeling lucky that I am so small and insignificant to them. It just makes my life that much easier.

As people come and go, I slink off the back of the castle to where the cook prepares the meals. I know she is usually making something tasty at this hour.

My stomach growls, gurgling I'm distress.

When I come around the corner, that hunger evaporates into thin air.

A hog is held up by its feet, strung up upside down. It's fake skin and tusks are a sight to behold, and I'm stunned for a moment.

I stand still for a moment before someone walks into my line of view. The cook. A short, slim woman with big, greedy eyes.

My mouth hangs open at the large knife in her hand. It's long and sharp, gleaming in the sunlight.

"Can I help you, lass?" She asks, gesturing to me with a knife even as I cover my mouth with my palm to keep from openly gagging.

I shake my head quickly.

"No, just curious what's being prepared for supper." I respond, and she nods, her lips turning down like the jowls of a dog.

"Well if that's all, I need to bleed him now so we can skin him before sun down." She moves towards the pig, and I raise my eyebrows as she begins making incisions.

My tongue feels heavy and dry while I watch. If it were normal circumstances, I would run to avoid watching this play out.

The dripping, gurgling mess of red spilling out and into a tub underneath. I groan, wanting to cut my losses and split before I have to stand another minute of this disgusting process.

But I think better of it for a moment. A moment of clarity that prevents me from doing what I desperately want to do.

What I want to do is duck and shield my eyes. My heart interferes, insisting there's something more worthwhile here.

Fraser.

I may not have a key to save him just yet, but I can provide a meal for him.

Clearly, I don't know anything about vampires yet besides their thirst and need for blood. Fraser looked a little worse for wear after he drank that blood last night. Come to find out my father is poisoning him with tainted blood.

It's all to keep him weak and cooperative. It makes me sick.

And I don't know if vampires can only drink human blood, but I have to take a risk if it means helping the man I already care for.

Not to mention that I've already failed him as far as feeding him goes.

I cringe, and it's not because of the copper threaded tang that invades my senses.

I brought him bread and cheese and bits of meat. It took a lot of work to sneak that food away without being found out. Gentry almost had me once, but I had somehow managed to dodge it.

I wish I had realized that it was all for naught. All that hard work and he didn't even need it.

When he admitted as much to me he had the nerve to look sheepish about the whole thing. He felt bad that he didn't put a stop to my kindness.

I smile to myself, even as the hog bleeds out, followed by disgusting organs and innate spilling from its belly. I smile a secret smile because I know that Fraser likes me. Maybe not as much as I care for him, but a part of him wanted me visiting him as much as I was able. That's why he let me continue bringing him food, even if he couldn't eat it.

And he couldn't eat the food, he told me that much. Vampires are very much a blood only type of species apparently. I can't imagine having such a diet.

The cook grunts with stressful effort as she begins carving the meat from the bones of the helpless hog that has already moved on to a better place. I pray that the creature isn't looking down on us from heaven, seeing what is being done to the body he left behind.

"Can I help you, lassie?" The bark of the cooks voice almost has me jumping out of my own skin without a knife even piercing me.

"No, no that's alright." I murmur, insisting with both my hands up. "But I may be able to help you."

Her eyebrows raise, and she puts her hands on her hips. She doesn't look convinced and she definitely does not look amused.

I gulp. Clearly the cook is not in the mood for my antics.

"I just mean that I want to give you aid, please. I want to be helpful around here. My only purpose cannot just be to marry the closest laird to forge a bond." I say solemnly, playing up the role of distraught daughter to shroud any suspicion.

I know it's worked when I see empathy shimmering in her eyes. Good. Something other than doubt. I can work with that.

"Please. Allow me to clean up the blood. I can help, just tell me what to do with the blood."

"Well, it needs to be disposed of lass. We have all the blood pudding we need for supper. So go dump it in the woods. It needs to be far enough away that it won't lead wolves to our flocks. You kin?"

I nod jerkily, fitting the part of a gleeful child simply wanting to please in any way I can. That's how I can sneak the blood away without anyone being suspicious of me carrying large bowl of blood through the halls. It's the perfect cover. Who would question the lairds daughter simply trying to help the best she can?

Bracing myself, I kneel down and lift the basin as best I can. It sloshes from side to side, spilling over the rims and dripping onto the grass below.

I haul the heavy metal bowl away, letting the cook continue on with her job as she shakes her head. I'm sure she'll forget about my intrusion the moment I'm out of sight.

I've always been forgettable, and now I'm all the more grateful for it.

I go through the side of the keep, holding the blood away from me to keep the smell from reaching my nostrils.

I garner a few curious glances before they ignore me once more, and I grin to myself at my devious plan. I'm the perfect person for this mission.

Invisible Ailsa. That's a good name for me.

Exiting on the west side of the castle, I head for the energy treeline. It's the most accessible place from my room to be able to retrieve the blood once the sun has set. It'll be a few more hours and I can come back and grab my prize, bringing it to Fraser as a sign of my dedication and recourcfulnrdd.

Surely he'll be impressed.

I realize once I'm far away from the castle, hidden beneath the brush that maybe I am trying in some way to win back his affections.

I stare at my reflection in the almost black liquid, a thoughtful frown on my pale face.

He made it clear that he cares for me last night, but I don't know anymore. The way he spoke to me those weeks ago, it was hurtful.

My whole life I've been trying to prove my worth to people who wouldn't give me the time of day. And now, well now, I have someone who actually seems to enjoy my company and somewhat cares for me.... Besides Gentry, but she is practically my mother so it doesn't count.

It's so scary to think that I could lose his affections. I almost did when he discovered my identity, and I'm frightened something like that will happen again.

I need to help Fraser. I need to show him that I'm more than a helpless girl with weak lungs and an evil father.

I need to free him. I don't know how long it will take, but I'll make it happen, I need to.

In the meantime, I'll simply provide him with nourishment. I smile to myself. That I can do.

Looking over my shoulder cautiously, I nod once to myself when the coast is clear before covering the bowl of blood with some nearby shrub branches.

Nourish him I will.