Change - A Vampire's Slave

The walk to the forest was a long one. The sky was clear and darkening fast. It was a warm night due to no wind and the candles in our hands. The atmosphere was thick with an overwhelming amount of emotions from the girls. Fear, anticipation, nervousness, excitement. 

Lena looked around her. There were 53 girls in total walking through the forest. Barefoot, wearing thin white dresses and holding candles. The only things she could hear were quiet whispers between the girls behind her and the crumpling of leaves under their feet.

She was apprehensive about tonight. The Sacrificial Ritual was an event that happened every five years in her town. Girls aged between 17 and 20 were sacrificed on this night, and in return their town would be protected. Back at home they called it the "Change". A night that would change the lives of most of the girls. She came to a sudden stop when she realised they had reached the clearing. She remembered what they were taught and got into a single line with the others. She then held the candle near her face. She couldn't see anything apart from the other girls because the sky had turned black and the candles were only strong enough to light the girls' faces. 

They all suddenly turned deathly silent when they heard rustling of leaves all around them. The men were here. The crowd of men were a mixture of werewolves and vampires. Werewolves got the first pick of the girls. If a werewolf finds his mate then he blows out her candle and she walks away with him, into a life of wedded bliss and hapiness. Once the mates are found, its the vampires' turn to choose from the remaining girls. Higher class vampires chose first, and the lower class vampires chose last. 

The girls chosen by the vampires had a more unlucky fate. They were to be slaves, maids and mistresses. She hoped she was the mate of a werewolf, just so she would not have to live with the shame of being a mistress or a slave. She heard rumours that some vampires even passed their human slaves round their group of friends to take turns.

A shiver ran down her spine with fear and she looked along the line at the other girls. She saw some with burnt out candles walking away, then it dawned on her - the werewolves had chosen their mates. She would be condemned to the life of a slave. 

'No, this can't happen to me. I was the good girl at home. Always doing my chores, never speaking back, never cursed. Hell, I didn't even have a male friend! No, no, NO!'

But maybe they would not pick her at all. She had heard that in previous rituals, some girls were not chosen and were allowed back to town.

Her heart filled with a spark of hope. 'Yes! They will not choose me. I will be allowed to come back home.' She will see her parents again, and she could attend to the litter of puppies her dog gave birth to 2 weeks ago and -

The candle in her hand was blown out. The fire atop of the wick disappeared, just like her spark of hope.