“Sorry about the rough handling,” said a soft voice. A pair of equally soft hands unlocked the manacles around Arthur’s wrists and undid his blindfold. He was greeted by a familiar face. His own, in fact, the key difference being a pair of sharp teeth protruding from the upper lip.

“A vampire,” said Arthur, stuttering.

“Good, seems we didn’t hit you too hard on the head,” said the doppelgänger. “Rest assured, my helpers have been thoroughly disciplined.”

“They were just doing as they were told.”

“No, they’re just bad,” corrected the vampire, handing Arthur a cup of water. “But it’s not what you're thinking. They’re not bad because they’re vampires. They’re bad because they make bad choices.”

Arthur raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Yes, if only they could have kidnapped me humanly,” he said, too thirsty to worry if the water was poisoned. “That’d be the proper thing to do.”

The vampire chuckled. “Doing bad things doesn’t make you bad,” he said, refilling Arthur’s water. “Enjoying them does. Look at you humans and your churches. Are any of you really innocent? No. Each week you confess your sins and feel bad about them, even though you can’t help yourself.” He grabbed Arthur by the wrist, rubbing his welts gently. “I can’t help that I need to drink human blood, but I do feel bad about it.”

“Yea,” said Arthur,” “I can tell that killing me will really choke you up.”

Now the vampire was laughing out loud. Very unusual behavior for a vampire. He wrapped his arms around Arthur and pulled him up, guiding him to a table in the corner. The room was rather opulent, Arthur observed, just now looking around.

The table was covered in cheese and cooked meats, vegetables Arthur had never even seen before, all fragrant with herbs and spices. Was that the plan? To make his blood taste like cinnamon and pepper?

A large bed covered in satin blankets sat in the center of the room. A young woman was lying there. Though judging by her fangs, “young” was the wrong word. She easily could have been many hundreds of years old. Thousands even.

She regarded Arthur with mild agitation. The same look he would give a moth that had flown into his room - annoyed that it’s there, but too indifferent to actually get up and smoosh it.

But even an annoyed look was enough to make Arthur blush. This girl was beautiful. Her skin was white and bright like the moon, her hair pitch black. And the tips of her hair were deep blue. She was all the colors of a night sky, with eyes like stars, shining brightly on Arthur.

“Please, have some cheese,” said the vampire, redirecting Arthur’s attention.

“Can vampires even eat?” asked Arthur.

“We can, in the sense that you can eat dirt. It’s not very good for us, and it tastes terrible, but it can be done.”

“Then why do it?”

“For a vampire, blending in is everything,” said the vampire, popping a piece of chicken in his mouth. He chewed it slowly, savoring it. He even licked his lips. “Once we’re exposed, it’s all pitchforks and torches I’m afraid.”

Arthur glanced at the platter of food. The idea of dying had a way of sapping his appetite, otherwise he would be stuffing his face. There were so many foods he had only heard of, so many flavors he had always wanted to try.

“I’m curious,” he said, turning over a piece of cheese. “What is it you want? Did you bring me all this way just to kill me?”

“That would be quite something,” said the vampire, stroking his chin thoughtfully. It was remarkable just how much he looked like Arthur. “Killing my look alike. Yes, that would be quite the power trip, would it not?” He smiled wide, exposing a row or sharp teeth. “But no, I’m afraid I have something else in mind. You see, I’m a vampire by the name of Octavian.”

There was a pause, as if he were giving Arthur the chance to react. Even the vampire on the bed, whose dull eyes had been gazing out at nothing particular, was now sitting up straight, her expression tense. Octavian’s name clearly meant something, but Arthur had no idea what.

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Far from upsetting the vampire, this only seemed to please him.

“You see, I rule over a rather large empire,” Octavian explained, pacing the room. “It is so vast, they say the sun never rises in my kingdom. Some part of it is always dark.”

Arthur watched the vampire pace out of view, then flinched as a series of long, pale fingers perched themselves on his shoulders.

“I can only be in one place at one time,” continued Octavian, tightening his grip ever so slightly. “Unless, of course. I had a double. Someone who looked exactly like me. Though rest assured, I wouldn’t use you for anything too complicated - a few public appearances, maybe issue a couple of decrees. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

Arthur wanted to respond, but his teeth were too busy bumping together to form any words. He could feel a powerful chill emanating through the vampire's fingertips, seeping through the dirty rags he called a shirt.

The vampire pulled back his hands, then reached over Arthur’s head and grabbed a cracker topped with cheese.

“So, what do you think of my idea?” he asked.

“Can I think about it a bit longer?” stuttered Arthur, still shivering.

“Of course,” said the vampire, returning to the seat opposite Arthur. “I won’t force you. If you decide against this course of action, then I’ll simply return you to your village, and it will be as if this conversation never happened.”

Arthur did not know what to say. This was not the sort of thing he ever expected to hear from a vampire, let alone a powerful one. Perhaps what Octavian said before was true.

Perhaps not all vampires were equally bad.

“But if you do accept,” continued Octavian. “You will have to work. You may have my face, but you do not have my training, my wit, my presence. You will need to learn to properly impersonate me. This means reading many great works, learning a great many skills.”

The vampire leaned forward in his seat, until all Arthur could see was a pair of dark brown eyes, showing him his own reflection.

“But if you should accept, I’ll see to it that your village is well taken care of,” said the vampire. “Your family will move into a new mansion, and not a single vampire will come anywhere near.” The vampire leaned back, taking a chunk of seasoned chicken with him. “And if you have any other requests, I’d be more than happy to fulfill them.”

Arthur glanced down at his swollen wrists.

“I misjudged you,” he said. “You may just be a good man after all.” He bit his tongue. “Or, a good vampire, that is.” Just saying those two words together felt wrong, like he was spitting out a chunk of dirt.

Then again, he had never met a vampire quite like this before.

“Oh, I’m not a good man,” said Octavian, chuckling to himself. “I'm a bad man that overthinks things. My fellow rulers, they think ‘I want a new castle, I guess I’ll raise taxes.’ But I think, ‘we’ll, then the peasants won’t have enough money for their family to eat, they’ll get angry, grab a pitchfork, slit my throat in the night.’” The vampire rose and made his way to the door. “A happy man is a harmless one. That’s what I think.”

The vampire was now opening the door to leave, and his companion had left the bed and was standing next to him. Arthur would now have the chance to be on his own, to carefully think over his decision.

Only, he had already made up his mind.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “It’s a deal. I’ll be your look alike.”

Octavian looked at him skeptically for a moment, as if he did not trust a human to make such an important decision in such a short amount of time. But his expression quickly softened. He noticed something in Arthur’s eyes, a certain hunger that won him over.

The vampire lord already considered himself lucky - lucky enough to have discovered such a perfect look alike. But perhaps he was even luckier than he first realized.

He smiled.

“Very good,” he said, motioning to the woman with the pitch black hair, who was partially hidden behind his cloak. “Saturn here will be in charge of your training. She can teach you everything you need to know.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” she said, in a way that was entirely unconvincing.

“And I’ll be sure to send word to your family that you’re safe,” added Octavian. “And make sure they are well taken care of. You have bought a lifetime of safety for your family.” He gave a small bow. “A vampire’s lifetime.”

Arthur had never seen a vampire bow before, certainly not to a human.

And he almost wished it had stayed that way, as he could feel Saturn’s cold gaze. Her eyes sharpened at the edges, her dark pupils smoldering like coals.

“Thank you very much,” said Arthur, adding a “lord” at the end. Octavian did not seem to care, but Saturn was glaring at him. Her expression softened only slightly after her added the “lord.”

Arthur chose not to mention that he did not get along with his family, or with anyone else in the village for that matter. While he was relieved they were safe, it was hardly his driving motivation.

No, what really won him over was the chance to learn things, to taste things, to see places. This was his chance to escape from that small village in the middle of nowhere and live a proper life. An exciting life.

For the first time ever, he dared to feel the slightest tinge of ambition.