Adela Augusta Blood Famine

Chapter Five

Adela

The wagon pulled up to a small decrepit hut wedged between two taller buildings, neither of which looked much better. To say it was run down would have been an understatement. They must have arrived in the ghettos of Kierra, a fitting place for street orphans to call home. Naturally, she found they were on the outskirts of town hidden in the twisted alleyways so that the city could maintain a golden image. Apparently, orphans had no place in the vampire hierarchy, and in Crichton, they were considered no more than a pest problem. It made complete sense that she would find Sofia here.

Adela looked at the roof and sighed, she was glad her provenance didn't have any slums like this. The roof looked completely deteriorated, as if there were a fire here once, and had long since been abandoned. Adela lifted the little girl from the coach, and held her in one arm. The child may have been a little old or big for being carried in this manner, but the strength of a vampire allowed it easily. Besides she doubted the girl ever had the opportunity to be treated like a real kid, and being a vampire, she could never give birth to her own children. If she wanted a child she would have to adopt and bite one herself, unlike the male vampire, who had a chance at passing on his genetics by infecting the mother and turning the unborn in the womb, for a female vampire there simply was just no way. Even if she did bite an adoptee they would be full-grown in a matter of years. The girl didn't seem to object placing one arm behind Adela's neck.

"Wow, miss. Your hair's very long." She observed.

Adela smiled. "Yes, it is. Where I come from, it-" she paused, considering words, that the young one may better understand. "-it means you're a good person, who has to take care of others."

"Like Sofia?"

"Mhm. Like Sofia." She nodded her head in agreement but was lost in thought. This was one important orphan. It would seem when kids had no one around to care for them, it was completely natural that one of them would mature in order for them to survive. In this world what choice did they have?

Adela gently opened the door, a hollow creek echoing off the worn boards. Once inside, she was astounded by what she saw. Well, over ten children were crammed inside the quarters, sleeping in makeshift beds. Some of them eyed her cautiously, still awake. Others retreated under torn rags, that they likely called blankets.

"Juniper, you were out late." A soft voice called from above them. The caravan of vampires looked up to see the small street orphan known as Sofia. She sat perched on a wooden beam, like a mother bird, watching from a high nest. She was vigilant and sat where not only the whole room was visible, but the outside streets as well.

"And Adela. Why are you here?"

Again she felt an odd feeling. She was unaccustomed to being talked to as an equal. Sofia almost spoke to her as if she was below her, exuding a type of strength. It filled her mind with a small amount of ease. Not all humans feared her race, perhaps a new balance and peace could be obtained. Even if this vision was currently only present in herself and a child.

Adela smiled at Juniper setting the girl down, returning her to her group. "Juniper asked us for our protection. Tonight's a full moon."

Sofia nimbly lept from one beam to another, descending from her perch. She landed in a pile of rubble that shifted as she slid down it to the floor. "You are correct Miss Adela, the Blood lust is indeed in effect." Her eyes narrowed. "You are vampires, I appreciate what you did for me earlier, but I don't think it... safe, for you to be here."

Adela was moderately offended, but she knew she shouldn't take it personally. She hadn't stopped to think that Sofia might feel threatened by them. That was completely fair as vampires could easily be responsible for most if not all of these kids' loss of parents. However, the Augustan lineage had different customs. Though it was unlikely that homeless children here in Crichton knew about her culture.