Present Day
"Mother, you dont need to go."
I adjust led my armour and clipped the steel into place. It's been 20 years since Dimitri's death, and I have been defending the territory just as he had ever since.
"Yes I do. It's my duty to defend us. And I will not use today's modern warfare tactics. There's no honor in fighting your enemies from afar."
Madeline sighed.
"But a werewolf hasnt been sighted in weeks. You have defended us bravely, mother, but I'm afraid there is no enemy to defend against."
I turned to look at her. She has the same brown hair and eyes as her mother. A silky chocolate brown color. Her supple cheeks filled with life.
All signs of her mortality.
All signs of her frailty.
I turned away.
"Do you not remember what we are fighting against? How your mother died? How your brother died to defend you?"
She opened her mouth to argue, then sighed. "Yes, mother, I do. But there is no enemy in sight. Dont you understand? You are fighting a war against no one. Theres no more need for patrols."
My blood boiled with rage, my violet eyes glowing. I turned towards her. "Dimitri died when we thought there was peace. He did his patrols and would always come home because it was safe. Even when I begged him not to go, he left to ensure our safety and the safety of this kingdom and died protecting it from those treacherous wolves. I will do no less. And you will NOT disrespect his memory like that again. Am I understood?"
Madeline's gaze hit the floor and she crossed her hands in front of her.
"Yes, mother. Sometimes I forget that you are a vampire and I'm human. I know how frail I must seem to you. My meager twenty years must be a blip in time for you. I'm so sorry."
I sighed, reaching across the gap between us to hold her hand and cup her cheek.
"I didnt mean to frighten you, dear. Just to make you understand. You are my world now. Your biological mother asked me to promise your health and safety. I couldnt provide that for Anton, but I will provide it for you and your other sisters."
As if called, Dahlia entered the room, her cheery disposition filling the space with light.
"Mother, are you hungry? I heard you yelling down the hall and figured you might be hangry."
She giggled at her own use of the word.
I chuckled myself and took her wrist. "I could use a snack. Thank you, Dahlia." I leaned down and sank my fangs into her wrist. The girl tensed and then relaxed as the endorphins in my saliva do their job. Her taste is something of magick, just like her mother, but I only took what I needed. I licked the wound, causing it to clot and seal.
"Thank you, mother. You know you dont have to do that. I quite enjoy the bandaging process."
I laughed and hugged her, then took a napkin and wiped my mouth. These children do not see me as a monster. They see me as their mother, someone to take care of them and love them. These girls are fully aware that I am not their biological mother, but they love me nonetheless. The thought warmed my heart.
"Cecile loved it as well. She would only allow me to clot the blood so she could safely bandage it. She was a sweet one, your mother."
Dahlia and Madeline both growled but Madeline spoke first. "You are our mother now. She birthed us, and I love and respect her for her sacrifice, but she did not raise us. You did, mother. And when you call yourself and Cecile both mother it becomes aggravating and confusing."
Dahlia nodded her head in agreement. "Please, mother just call her Cecile. We know where we came from, and we love you just as she did. Nothing will change that."
I smiled. They're right. Cecile's children are just as much mine as they were hers. And I love them. I dont know why I expected them to love me any less than they would their own mother. I guess the fact that I'm a blood-sucking demon doesnt matter to them. I'm just as humane and alive as any other creature. That is something I taught them from a young age, to respect all living creatures. It's something that Cecile wouldve taught them.
The memory of her death still burned me as though it had just happened, Dimitiri and Anton's death just the same if not worse.
The wolves will pay for their deaths. The deaths of my loved ones is one thing, an irrevocable trauma that I may never heal from. But the death of an innocent child?
Its unforgivable.
I turned to stand before the wall length mirror, my own violet gaze boring into my reflection. My jet black hair draped over my shoulders to my lower back in waves, accenting the silvery steel of my armour. My pale skin made the pink of my lips seem a deep mauve, my cheekbones and jawline sharp. I stood at a mere five feet tall in the seven foot mirror, no where near the intimidating height in stories that the mortals around me told.
Madeline and Dahlia stood behind me, sporting the same chocolate hair and eyes Cecile had. It wasnt the only thing they got from her. Madeline was five feet two inches tall, Dahlia only an inch and a half taller. Madeline is bigger boned, as was her mother, where her sister was as thin as she is tall. They're beautiful women in their own right, with personalities bursting at the seams.
I smiled at my daughters appreciatively.
"I do not deserve your love, my daughters. But I see your point, and its appreciated. I will be doing the patrol regardless."
I heard Madeline huff but she made no other objections. She pouted in her tantrum as she stomped from the room to tend to her duties. Dahlia stared at my reflection in the mirror as I adjusted the clips and leather. She sighed and took a step forward.
"Mother, let me help you."
I felt her tactful fingers tug on the strings of my corset, then slid the steel clips in place. It's an intricate piece made by and given to me by Father. He was such a gentle man, but he believed that one should always be prepared for war at the drop of a pin.
"There."
I looked up and saw that Dahlia had readjusted my armour to make it fit snugly in place. The metal and leather hugged my curves as well as protected my weak points.
"Thank you, my sweet child. I guess I didnt know I needed help until you were here to deliver it."
She smiled sadly and patted my shoulder.
"Be safe out there, mother."
I watched as she slowly stauntered out of the room. Poor girl. She knew better than to argue matters of our safety, as a family and as a kingdom, and yet she worried for me as though there was nothing more important in the world.
I stared into my reflection, looking for any sign of a creature that could be so loved and cherished as I seem to be. I saw no signs of such a thing, only a demon who walks the streets at night, unable to see the day. A creature that feeds on the nourishment of others.
Maybe my daughters are blind.
Or maybe I'm just lucky.