The sun peers through the windows, attacking my fragile skin, and burning me out of a dream… She was always so gentle with her morning call, what happened? I assume that there must be something wrong with my skin… I woke up to the mirror beside me like usual. To a horrific and confusing shock, I find that there is no reflection to mimic me. I contemplate for a second if I am still asleep… still stuck in a dream… But this feels real.

I can feel the burning pain in my skin too well for this to be a dream. Perhaps I am ill? But from what? My mind flashes through all the possibilities and explanations as to why or how this could be happening, as I continue to stare into the mirror with my broken eyes… I hadn't noticed before, but once my breathing became audible I realized how unnatural it was.

I tend to bite my lips when I am scared, I also forgot to pay attention to that. Sometimes, when I get really scared, I bite them so hard that I don't even notice the pain it causes me. But the blood from my lip… has never tasted this good before. The only thing that brought me comfort during such a delusional moment, was a similar taste to red wine. Biting my lips during this time was a reliable tranquility. In my barely conscious waking moments, I continued to drink my own blood, heavily relying on its calming effect. It tasted so good that I soon forgot why I was worried in the first place. I've had a variety of pristine red wines before, but none like this. The taste is so magnificent, that I bite into my arm to get some more.

I start to feel light headed, but the feeling in my mouth surpasses that of the pain in my head. The only sense I can focus on is my taste, and soon I then begin to lose my other ones. My focus shifts to a loud ringing sound, things around me become blurry, and my fear once again surpasses my feelings of content. I can feel my head throbbing, and for a scarce amount of time, I perceive nothing but the color black. After everything fades, I then perceive nothing at all. During the split second that I'm closing my eyes, I assume that whatever illness I acquired must have already killed me by now, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I remembered that as my last thought before waking up next to my personal maid. "Lady Victoria, are you alright? You're white as a ghost!" Her voice shakes with concern. "Hmm, better now… still a bit light headed…" I groan exhausted. "Allow me to get you some water, then…" She replied, before rushing out. I sigh in relief, knowing that my arm was hidden. For it wouldn't be irrational to assume that she would have fainted if she ever saw me bleeding. I licked the remaining blood off of my arm, and used my long sleeve to cover the wound. After having done this, it suddenly occurred to me how bizarre my actions were just then. What even was that? I've never had such absurd urges in my life. Then again, my blood was delicious… I went about my day trying not to think about it.