Puppet to the Crown

Chapter 8

“I am not going,” I stated clearly in an exasperated voice for the hundredth time that morning. My room had been under siege by both Tina and Blaire who were hammering away at me to spend some quality time with the lovely Tyrone. They just didn’t get it. They may have had my mother and father’s in relationship in the bag, but mine most certainly wasn’t.

“Please,” Blaire whined from behind the locked door. I rolled my eyes in response before flipping the page of one of the countless books I was given for summer reading.

Tina cut in, “Don’t be such a baby, Emily.” This was seriously getting on my nerves. Slamming my book shut I tossed it across the room. It was comforting to hear it smash against the wall and plop to the floor in a big fluttering mess. Without hesitation I stormed over towards the door and opened it wide.

Tina and Blaire looked both relieved and happy about seeing me leave my quarters. They were in for a rude awakening.

“Let me make this very clear. I think Tyrone is an asshole. I want nothing to do with that pathetic thing. Okay?” I told them slowly in a mildly condescending voice. A slight slither of guilt arose in my body as I stared at their shocked and slightly hurt faces. Sometimes they just took things to far. This was one of those times.

“Good day to you two,” I grumbled storming past them in a rush while slamming my bedroom door shut behind me. They didn’t follow. I was in one of my moods.

My midnight colored cloak fluttered about behind me due to my quick pace. Making the turns to the library was easy. For whatever reason leaving the confinement of the castle had become quite the addiction. There was zero hesitation as I sauntered into the large, imposing library doors. My body naturally moved over to the trap door that lead to the ever so interesting sewers. My nose hardly noticed the odor. My eyes had become particularly accustomed to the absence of light as I wandered the corridors caked in a substance I hardly wanted to define.

By the time I reached the end of the hall and climbed out of the hole that hung over head my temper had most certainly cooled down drastically. A small smile played on my lips as I watched the people pass me by. On a few rare occasions someone would send me a wave. Over the last few visits I’ve dedicated my time to helping people out who needed it. For that reason a couple people know of my actual existence in the lower district. Of course they all knew me as Gabby instead of Emily. I’m not sure why I did it, but impulsively I felt the need to conceal my identity and replace it with something that is more of a symbol or an idea.

With ease I blended myself into the crowds of people and wandered the streets as they did everyday in their life. Last night I had decided that I wanted to go to the markets. The castle never got anything from the markets, they had everything shipped directly in. My curiosity was peaked at the thought of what kind of life these people were living.

The people changed as I approached the markets. Suddenly everyone became very conscious of their belongings as they bundled themselves up and glanced cautiously at any prying eyes. It was mildly alarming.

A man smashed right into my side causing me to stumble backwards slightly. I nearly made a fool of myself by falling to the ground in a heap. When I lifted my head I was surprised to find the man was gone. Thanks for the apology jerk.

I continued my journey into the unknown. Big tubs of fruits, vegetables, and assortments of meat were on display. I watched in awe as people bartered their way down on the price. It was something so different from what I was accustomed to.

It was at this moment I saw it.

The stand was nicer than the others. It consisted of three giant freezers each containing massive amounts of blood. Naturally there was a fair stock on display as well making it easy for one to purchase a sack of blood. The salesmen wore stony faces as vampires approached. It had become illegal for them to suck human’s blood. Now they were forced to buy from the blood bank.

For some reason I found the stand intriguing. It was the compromise we had settled for and now I was curious as to how well it worked. People were hesitant to approach. It was almost as if they were scared. I stepped closer.

A pale, sickly looking woman stepped forward from the huddled mass that was simply staring at the stand with a look of desire on their faces. Her face was gaunt from starvation. She looked miserable bundled up in clothing that had turned brown over the years. “Sir, please. I need it survive. I don’t have any money,” she pleaded with the salesman.

The people behind her nodded in agreement.

“Well that is just not my problem,” the man retorted glaring at her. This was sick. These people were never going to survive if they couldn’t get their hands on blood. It was at this moment I noticed the child that would more or less change my life forever.

He looked young and fresh with dark skin and even darker hair. Upon first glance I guessed him to be about twelve. He approached the stand at an angle from behind the man. So casually he ambled by as if nothing was amiss about the situation. I saw his tanned hand reach out just at the last moment of passing and grab a bag of blood, before he roughly shoved it in his pocket.

It looked like he was going to get a way with it. Oddly I was quite happy with that outcome. Sadly that is not what happened. Let’s be honest it never works that way.

The salesman grabbed hold of the boy’s collar and jerked him backwards. “Who do you think you are,” he growled down at the boy like he was dirt.

The boy’s face filled with fear so quickly. Evidently he’d never been caught before. It all happened so fast. Before I could even comprehend it the man had pulled a butcher’s knife out of his pocket and was pinning the boy to the counter. My breath was caught in my throat as I watched with horror as the scene unfolded.

Another man wearing a similar uniform helped pin the boy’s arm down. “I’ll take care of you’re sticky fingers,” the salesman growled down raising the knife overhead preparing to remove the very hand that had attempted to take his merchandise. The crowd watched in horror. Women weeped as they stared. My stomach churned.

“STOP!”