Hours after Katia excuses herself for the day to sleep, once she was sure no one would be about, Nadia sneaks out her window and quickly makes her way to the barn at the back of the church grounds. No sooner than she enters, she narrowly deflects a bucket flung at her head, which was thrown by a quite unwelcome guest. One that would cause quite the stir if found out by anyone.
She turns to face the girl, her porcelain skin radiating and golden pigtails shaking. Her crystal blue eyes glare angrily at Nadia as she rants, giving her the impression of a sassy angel. That’s how she sees her anyway, as her heart patters slightly, though she continues to ignore it.
“I’ll be back soon, you said. Just wait here and hide behind the hay so no one will find you. I’ll come back for you when it’s safe. Well, I’ve been all around the vicinity of this barn, have had a full night’s rest and thought of all the ways to get back at you for making me wait for so long! Not to mention, I’m starving! I haven’t had a thing to eat since yesterday morning, you know?!”
“I’m sorry. Some things happened, but I’m going to make up for it now. It’s a few hours into daybreak, so everyone is sleeping. Normally I’d be too, but as we both saw, the sun apparently isn’t an issue for me. I’ll spend some time with you now, and make sure you get some grub.”
“Yeah, I have questions about that actually. You said you’re a vampire, but I don’t believe that.”
“Well, you don’t have to believe it, but it’s true either way. See my fangs?” Nadia stretches out her cheeks to reveal a pair of sharp fangs, as one would expect a vampire to have. “If I was really hungry, I could use them to drain you of your blood.” She can see the girl’s face turn in terror. “Not that I would! Obviously, I’m not cruel. Besides, I’d get into trouble if I did that anyway.”
“Yeah...right.” Her voice is skeptical, but she can’t really find anything to prove against it, so she decides to just accept it. “So, you’re a vampire, but apparently don’t feed on humans? I couldn’t follow everything earlier. I don’t really care for long, drawn out stories. Just get to the point.”
“Why did I waste my time having such a long conversation about me being a vampire and why I was out there if you weren’t going to listen? Yes, I’m a vampire. I drink human blood, but not from the source. We have it imported through secret channels from the human world. While most humans don’t know of our existence, there are those who are associated with our society.”
“So, you’re saying there’s a secret alliance between humans and vampires for business needs?”
“Yes, that’s right. They trade goods with us, blood being of top priority. We can’t survive without it and they know it, so there’s always going to be a market for them. It’s apparently quite expensive as I’ve heard, but I suppose it’s a small price to pay for the convenience. If we couldn’t trade, we’d need to procure blood on our own, which could possibly risk our treaty.”
“I see. So, you can eat normal food, but still depend on blood for survival. That’s almost classic.”
“Well yes, that is the fundamental nature of a vampire, is it not? Normal vampires will also burn up in the sun as expected, but the silly stuff about wooden stakes and garlic are widely false.”
“What about crosses and holy water? Also, are you guys really immortal? Will your limbs grow again if you lose them?” She asks questions in such quick succession; Nadia can just barely keep up. She holds up her hand, signaling for her to slow down and she does, but not without a frown.
“Crosses and holy water are also a myth. Many from our congregation use crosses in fact. They’re not quite the same as yours, but it is based on the same concept. No matter how many prayers you say into water, it can’t hurt us, and we are immortal, but not invincible. If you were to cut off our heads or squish our hearts or splatter our brains, we’d definitely die. Our limbs won’t grow back but can be reattached and open wounds heal quickly; faster with fresh blood.”
“Ok, I guess that makes sense. So then, one last question. What’s your deal? Why can’t the sun kill you too? You don’t seem like a traditional vampire or seem very happy to be one either.”
Nadia sighs. “That may be one question, but it’s a complicated one. I don’t think you’d understand it all since you don’t know vampire history. So, I’ll keep it simple.” Nadia suddenly becomes serious. “There’s an evil, ancient deity inside of me. I don’t know why or how, but apparently she entered my body and around five years old my father realized I was possessed by something unholy and brought me to the church to be healed by Minister Lowell. I’ve been here ever since, and I only see my dad a couple times a year. He remarried and had a baby boy a year after he dumped me here and he’s an important figure in our society, so he can’t let it be common knowledge that I have an evil being residing in me that’s after my soul. My mother died when I was born, so I don’t know much about her. They say I look like her though, but that’s all I know. I really don’t know much about my bloodline at all. I don’t even have pictures to view.”
The girl finally seems to show some restraint and offer some sympathy. “That really sucks. Sounds like you’ve had a tough life. I guess I can see why you’d want to escape such a terrible fate. The deity seems like a quite sinister being. That can’t be easy. Can your soul be saved?”
Nadia laughs. “I’d like to know the answer to that too. Lowell says it can, but he’s yet to figure out how. My father keeps saying he’ll bring me home when I’m healed, but I’m sure those are empty words by now. He’s got his precious family, so he doesn’t think of me anymore, I’m certain of that.” Nadia’s eyes become slightly darkened and bitter, but she maintains her face.
“I hope it works out for you….” Kei is finally subdued, not knowing how to properly respond.
“Yeah, thanks. You don’t need to worry about that though. It’s my problem, after all. Now come on, let’s hurry to the kitchen to get you some food, and then I’ll introduce you to Katia. She’s the only one I can trust to know about you. You’ll probably meet Lowell in time, but let’s not rush.”
“Fine, but I think you’re forgetting something pretty important. I’ve been waiting for you to ask, you know?” Kei looks at her expectantly, as though it should be obvious what she’s looking for.
“Huh? Ask what? If you’re talking about your backstory, I don’t really need to know that, so it’s fine. Besides, you seem to be pretty guarded if I’m being honest. I doubt you’d tell me anyway.”
“No, you dummy! It’s something even simpler than that.” She can see Nadia is confused. She sighs heavily and rolls her eyes. “My name! You’re supposed to ask someone’s name when you meet them for the first time. I asked you yours, right Nadia? Do I not deserve the same respect?”
Nadia rolls her eyes. “Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal, but fine. What’s your name then?”
“Keiko Miller, though everyone calls me Kei, so you can too. My mother died when I was really young, as did my dad, so I was raised in an orphanage. I left there though and won’t go back. I’m not sure how I ended up here exactly, but now I’ve met you, so it’s cool. Let’s be friends, Nadia. I want to learn everything about you and your vampire society. Is that okay? May I do that?”
She suddenly looks so docile, and Nadia turns away in shame, feeling that she was rude before. She must admit, having a friend would be nice, even if she is human. “Okay, we can be friends. Nice to meet you, Kei.” They shake hands, marking the start of what they hope to be a wonderful friendship. However, the ache in Nadia’s chest seems to increase, and she can’t understand why.