An opportunity to make the request did not arise until the following morning.

"No." Rebekka remained firm, no matter how much she begged the vampiress to take her to her friend.

"The rules are there for a reason! Settling in follows a pattern that leads to the best possible acceptance and I'll be damned if I'm going to make an exception for you!"

"You don't understand, Maria is doing this to get back at me and if Isy ..."

"If your friend decides to join the family of a vampire that is her decision! And hers alone!" She saw Caroline's exasperated look and sighed. "Fine with me, I will tell her from you to avoid Maria."

"That's not good enough! You have to tell her ..."

"I don't HAVE to do anything!" Rebekka turned and opened the door. "You might HAVE to think about what exceptions have already been made for you and what the consequences are for everyone involved!"

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Caroline ran up behind and grabbed her arm. Rebekka looked at her as if she had a hard time not to push the hand away.

"Then at least please take me to Thomas. To the king, I mean." She hastily corrected herself.

"And you think he has nothing better to do than bend more rules for you?" Rebekka made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Anyway, I'll tell him you want to see him. I’ll let him deal with his new acquisition himself." She rushed out.

Caroline had been taken to her new chambers by Rebekka, but failed to respond with appropriate enthusiasm. The two large cosy, if somewhat old-fashioned, bedrooms were complemented by a spacious and modern bathroom with a bath and rainforest shower. A semi-circular balcony in the bedroom overlooking the cliffs and distant palm-fringed beach was the icing on the cake.

When Rebekka had left, hopefully to talk to Thomas, Caroline distracted herself by searching the bedroom wardrobe. It wasn't so much a closet as another small walk-in room with a corner wardrobe and large mirrors. She was looking for clothes like the ones Rebekka had brought her. Trousers, shirts, maybe a dress and leggings or tights for underneath. Outfits she felt comfortable in.

She couldn't find anything. Apparently, her wardrobe had been upgraded at the same time as the rooms. She rummaged through pompous dresses that looked like they were for a ball, short minidresses that were suitable for nightclubs at best. She did not find any trousers.

It got worse with the underwear. There was not a single item without lace and the bras reminded her of corsets. Not that she had anything against corsets. On certain occasions she loved to squeeze into them and pair them with steampunk skirts or even leather. She remembered the time in her life when she regularly wore this kind of outfit and had to smile.

What was that? A beige elastic band protruded from the lingerie. It forked in two on one side and came together again on the other. It looked like the orange rubber band Lilo had put on herself in the film 'The Fifth Element'. Oh, how she had loved that movie. In bright green, it would look more like the groundbreaking mankini that had achieved cult status through comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. She held it up curiously, wondering what the thing, as she affectionately christened it, was doing in her wardrobe.

"Not necessarily my first choice, but if you like it."

Caroline uttered a soft cry and made a small leap to the side as the velvety voice sounded behind her.

She caught sight of Thomas standing in the opening of the dressing room, looking at her with amusement.

"You wanted to see me?" He looked at her expectantly. "I don't suppose it's about the choice of clothes Claudia has put together for you, is it?"

"No, yes, well ..." she stammered. Come on, get a grip!

"To be precise, there are a lot of issues I would like to discuss with you, Your Majesty. This thing" she held up the rubber band. "is just one of them. Do you by any chance have any idea what it might be good for?"

She had regained her equilibrium. Mentally as well as physically.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that one. Fashion is not exactly one of my core areas of expertise."

"Alright. Just one last question on the subject then." It had just occurred to her and she wanted to get it off her chest while she had the courage.

"Claudia seems to have assumed in her selection that I will be moving somewhere between opera and swinger clubs in the future." She held up one of the particularly revealing minis and the tip of the most bulky ball gown and stood up.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Did she base that on your preferences, Your Majesty?"

" Your real question is something else, isn’t that right?" He left open whether he already knew what she was getting at.

" OK, so straight to the point, then." She cleared her throat and looked at the bit of fabric in her hand. "Is sexual activity in any way part of my future duties or is there any implication of this?"

She had spoken a little more quickly than she would have liked to have done and only managed to look up when she had finished.

"You want to know if I have any desire to use you?"

Heavens, just answer the fucking question, she thought to herself, feeling anger rising out of her helplessness.

"Rape. The word you want to use in that context is rape," it slipped out before she could stop herself.

"Since you are mine and have committed yourself to be at my disposal in all matters, it is hard to call it rape should I exercise my right."

His voice sounded friendly in contrast to the words and he smiled. No, from what she had seen she didn't trust him to force himself on her. But he seemed to enjoy testing her limits.

"Just because a woman is married off, for example, because it is so traditional in a certain culture, does not automatically mean consent! Not even a one-time consent draws a commitment or ...”

His smile widened and she stopped herself.

"The world, especially the Western world, has evolved a lot in recent years," he mused.

"Long overdue and urgently needed or what du you think, Your Majesty?"

"To answer your question, no I do not intend to force you into any form of sexual activity and you are also welcome to adjust your wardrobe according to your imagination and our guidelines."

She noticed that his statement did not contain a final promise or commitment. For the moment, however, she was relieved.

"While we're on the subject of expectations," he continued. "my idea is that we meet twice a month. You have the opportunity to ask question and I ... What has been explained to you so far about our diet and blood donation?"

"Would you rather have my blood from a glass or a vein?" Now it was her turn to smile. The subject also caused knots in her stomach, but nowhere near as much as the possibility of being abused on a regular basis. No matter what they called it.

"I see." He suddenly looked at her strangely. Not by any stretch of the imagination she could define his expression. "Well, the experience of drinking directly from humans is more intense and one of the main reasons for becoming a guardian. I must confess, I was not prepared for your blood, despite the warning. And it worries me."

Excuse me? The question marks buzzing through her head seemed to be visible as he continued.

"Damien, in trying to save you, tasted of your blood and reported to me that it was extraordinary. There are two components to blood. The taste, depending on a person's physical condition and diet, and the energy content, depending on the minerals, proteins, hormones, among other things." He interrupted himself briefly, seemingly to find the right words.

"Blood is life and energy for us. A vampire who has just drunk blood is able to access all his abilities to the full. It can be difficult for us to control ourselves when we drink, if we have paused for a long time or if the intoxication is particularly strong due to special taste and high energisation. In your case, it's both."

"And you can say that about such a tiny drop, Your Majesty?" she frowned sceptically. "Ah, that's why you were suddenly so tense, was it?"

He nodded. "It took me some self-control not to go on."

Caroline wanted to delve deeper into the subject. Wanted to set up samples, run scans with contrast agents to see exactly which components triggered which reactions in a vampire's body, but there was another reason for his visit and that took top priority.

"So I would like" Before she could say anything he continued. "that Damien or Joël be present until I can be sure that no" He hesitated briefly. "accidents happen."

"Accidents? As in 'my heart stops beating'-accident?" She swallowed. "How often do accidents like that happen, exactly?"

"Now and then." He looked a little less good-natured now, and considering the request she was about to make of him, it was imperative that he was sympathetic. She would elaborate on the subject at another time.

"All right, in company then," she agreed. "I am glad, after all, that you do not want to kill me by accident." She wrestled a smile from herself and was finally about to get to her request.

"No, I would like to avoid that." He looked at her searchingly. "You seem distracted."

"Um, yeah, I don't know if Rebekka has addressed what exactly is bothering me, but to recap, I'd like to request to speak to one of the people who was kidnapped along with me."

Oh damn, it was driving her nervous to talk to a king. The excitement was reflected in strangely complicated expressions. Among other things.

"Yes, she mentioned it. She also mentioned that Maria approached you. Did she threaten you?"

"No, this is not about me."

"Then my answer is the same one Rebekah has already given you." He beat her to it as she was about to open her mouth and raised his hand. She remained silent.

"I will not question the judgement of my people and interfere in their areas of competence unless there is urgent cause. Rebekka is extremely dutiful and competent enough to decide how to handle this situation. Don't expect her to make exceptions just because she is fond of you. I also want you to trust her, me and the system. If you cannot, I still expect your obedience."

Something in Caroline slumped and her stomach tightened. Under other circumstances she would have been more than taken with the attitude. It took strength, trust and confidence to rely on your people as a leader and not constantly satisfy your own ego by interfering. In fact, she was the one who had complained to the manager with her request past Rebekka because she wanted special treatment. She probably would have reacted similarly in his place. She now knew what she had to do and nodded in surrender.

"All right, I understand, Your Majesty."

"Good. I want you to continue to focus on learning our standards and your recovery now. Our first meeting will be in a fortnight. I would also like to take that opportunity to learn more about you to see how you can best contribute. Until then, listen to what Damien and Rebekka tell you. If you need anything, contact them or Claudia as well."

He took her nod as a sign that she understood, turned and walked away without waiting for a reply. Without a goodbye.

She looked after him thoughtfully. Yes, she had vowed obedience, but a woman had to do what a woman had to do - to protect another. She didn't like it at all, betraying him within two days without having even begun to build a relationship of trust, but she saw no other way out.

He had made his decision, she made hers.