Page 20 of Little Doll

It was 3 A.M. when I lay sprawled on the navy-blue fainting sofa, slumbering lightly, when this cousin I’d never heard of before… Carmilla… arrived.

I awoke with a start as Cleo shuffled in, holding onto the arm of an enchanting woman.

Simply sharing the same spaced with this woman was intoxicating. I could definitely tell she was family. She was a mirror of me. Except better in every way. She was the tallest woman I’ve ever seen with illustrious jet black hair flowing down almost to her knees. Her eyes glistened like black diamonds and when she looked at me, she could see everything about me.

I scrambled off the sofa and stood, giving the beautiful woman a curtsy. She extended her hand, which was encrusted with rings made of jewels of every size and color. I took her hand and, without even thinking about it, I lifted it to my lips andkissed it. When my lips brushed her cold skin, lightning shot through my entire being.

“I am Carmilla,” the woman said in a voice that sounded like dark music. “And you are Nova, I presume?” she asked.

I blushed and nodded, embarrassed to have thought of kissing the hand of a lady. But she giggled and lifted my hand to her lips next.

“I’ll just leave you to get acquainted,” Cleo said and then hurried out.

Carmilla took a seat on the fainting sofa and patted the cushion next to her. She fell onto it, giving the impression of being exhausted. With a second of hesitation first, I sat down next to her, the silks of both of our black gowns wishing together in quiet sighs.

“I hear you have discovered the dastardly curse of our family,” Carmilla began.

I bowed my head and nodded. It felt good to speak freely of it to someone I hadn’t formerly known. On the other hand, I was full to the brim with shame. And chronic confusion.

“Well, as I’m sure you’ve already been told, there is too much to impart to you for just one night. But I have an idea of what I can teach you tonight. Perhaps, the most important thing.”

I peered into her bewitching eyes. “What is it, Carmilla?” I asked.

She took my chin in her hand to pull my face closer to her. “Aren’t you hungry, Little Doll?”Carmilla whispered. “Your brother Fane invited me here to teach you how to eat.”

Once again, I found myself clip clopping down the road in a carriage, whisked away in the night by a beautiful dark-haired family member. Carmilla was delightful to be with. Despite her perpetual exhaustion, she exuded a peaceful demeanor as she spun her words with charm and wit. It made her both entertaining and comforting to be with.

“You have probably heard in the lore of vampires that they sustain themselves on blood. That is true. But you can eat other things too. However, food and drink will no longer have a taste to you, nor will they provide you any sustenance. Wine will no longer intoxicate you. Only one thing will both intoxicate and sustain you, and that is blood. The only reason to eat anything else is if you should feel the need to fit in with humans. To blend. To not stand out as a strange girl who never eats. Have you had blood since you awoke a vampire?”

I realized that I was famished. In fact, I had not had blood, nor so much as a sip of water, since I rose from the bed in the stone room as avampire. I had been owned by the sounds of blood rushing in the veins of the people around me, but I hadn’t thought of consuming it.

I had, however, thought about murdering everyone in my entire family at one moment or another, so maybe I was a little hungry.

“No, I haven’t.”

“And how long has it been?”

“This is my second night.”

Carmilla gasped. “That’s too long to starve a baby. What are they thinking? You’ll go on a murdering spree before long. I’ve arrived just in time.”

I nodded and giggled. I thought of snapping the neck of the driver and all the horses just then, and it sent a jolt of pleasure low into my belly.

“Well listen, this is a good time to give you your first lesson,” Carmilla said in a low, dark voice. She lowered her chin and looked at me from beneath half-closed eyelids and luxurious black lashes. She gave me a devilish smile and ran her tongue over her teeth. “Vampires can feed from other vampires.”

I took a sharp breath, and her long lithe fingers drew my eyes. She removed her black gloves and undid the buttons at the wrists of her ruffled sleeves.

“Would you like your first taste of blood to be mine?” she asked. Her voice had taken on an unearthly quality that made my head swim.Butterflies swirled in my stomach and fluttered down to tickle me between my thighs.

I could barely breathe.

“Yes, Carmilla,” I whispered.

She pulled the sleeves back and revealed her pale wrists. I could both hear and see the blood coursing through the pulsating blue veins there. I wanted what was in those veins so badly that it made me want to cry.

“First, the lesson,” Carmilla said. Her eyes had slipped down on me. First, they danced over my neck, and then I saw her become fixated on my wrists. “Vampire blood cannot sustain you if you are starving nearly to death. It doesn’t provide much nourishment, and depending on who the vampireis,it could even harm you. But it’s useful just to top you off, or to hold you over until you can really feed. It’s enough to prevent the insanity of blood lust. Also, it can be quite… Fun.” Her eyes slid back up and met mine again.

“Fun?” I asked.

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