breast. She missed the days when she basked in the sun, but it was so long ago she'd almost forgotten what it felt like.
Her gaze caught a little girl who couldn't be more than six years old by a well. She was holding a doll with one hand and tossing pebbles into the well with the other. Eve smiled. The little girl reminded her of Katya when she was little.
She leaned against her window pane and continued to watch the little girl toss pebbles. She wore a small print dress that draped her little body and fell to her knees. Her hair was the same colour as Katya's, chocolate brown, framing her cute face. Eve's vampire sight made out her cherubic cheeks.
She sighed with nostalgia, missing all those years she shared with her daughter before Balkathan's attack. Eve had known almost immediately she had given birth to a human child and she had thanked the Gods above for their mercy.
When Katya was born, Eve had decided her daughter would choose when she was old enough if she wanted her mother to turn her into a vampire.
Thinking of Katya, she saw the little girl bend and pick up a pebble with the same hand that held onto her doll. Eve watched her walk to the well and toss the stone in, her doll following.
Eve tensed, straightening. The hair at the back of her neck rose as she watched the little girl's shoulders crumble and shake. She was sobbing quietly. Frowning, Eve looked around the girl to see if her parents were close by. She saw adults all around the girl, but no one seemed to notice her.
A man stood close by, talking to a guard, and Eve silently willed him to turn around. She stiffened violently, watching the little girl walk to the edge of the well and peer inside. Then Eve grew cold. The little girl raised her body on the ledge and leaned over.
'Turn around, dammit!' she hissed at the man close by.
The thing she feared most happened. The little girl slipped and fell into the well. A violent stab of fear wrenched her gut as her vampire rose to the surface and she hissed, releasing her longs fangs.
She snapped her gaze to the man. 'You imbecile! Turn around!' she hissed.
There was no more time. A moment had already passed and the child would drown if no one saved her. She knew it would be suicide with the punishing sun beating down on the courtyard, but she couldn't stand back and watch an innocent child die.
Grimly, she raised herself on the window ledge and vaulted through the air, clasping the hood and cloak close to her body. Her feet touched the ground and she sprinted towards the well. She heard gasps and screams as she sailed past stunned villagers. Without another thought, she flew in the air and dove like a sharp needle down the center of the well, her cloak catching a snug of mortar behind her, ripping from her shoulders.
Damn it! She'd worry about her cloak after she saved the child. As she dove, the well grew darker and colder, until she splashed in the water. She sputtered and gasped as she rose for air and looked around wildly in the small, round enclosure. She couldn't see the girl anywhere. Pushing her vampire sight to the full extent, she twisted around and looked again. Nothing. Taking a deep breath, she dove in the water and felt around, her heart racing.
She felt something. A tiny hand! Grabbing the little girl, she rose to the surface of the water and touched the little girl's chest. She wasn't breathing! The child was still and Eve couldn't see a flicker or movement anywhere on her sweet face.
A violent rush of maternal love splintered her soul. She hadn't been able to save Katya from the two years of torture she'd endured, but she sure as hell was going to save this child.
How could she make the child breathe? Thinking fast, she opened the little girl's mouth and breathed air into her little lungs. Nothing! She tried again. 'Breathe, little one. Breathe!' she said, her voice thick with emotion.
Again the little girl didn't stir. Eve choked back on a rising sob and tried again, this time drawing a longer breath into the little girl's lungs. The girl choked and coughed, water sputtering from her lips.
Eve wanted to sob with relief. She held the child close to her breast. 'It's okay, honey. You're going to be okay,' she said, her voice breaking.
The little girl stared at Eve and her face puckered into a frightened scowl. 'Your eyes! They're glowing. Scary red eyes!'
Quickly, Eve pushed her vampire down and she felt her fangs retreat, her eyes revert to their human blue. 'Is that better?'
'Yes.' Her little face crumbled.
She could tell the little girl was frightened and any second she was going to start crying. 'What's your name, honey?'
'Becca. What are you? You're not like papa. He's a Lycan.'
'I'm a vampire, honey. Are…are you a Lycan, too?'
'No. Papa said we choose if we want to turn when we get older.'
'I see,' Eve said slowly. So Drago's Kingdom was both Lycan and human and everyone born human was given the choice to choose their fate. Admiration and respect rose in her breast for the king. His rule was honourable.
'Papa said Vampires are bad.'
'There's good and bad in all people, honey. Not all Vampires are bad.'
'You saved me.'
'That's right. So now you know I'm not bad.' She felt something floating next to her and smiled. She grabbed the doll and gave it to her. 'Here. I think this is yours.'
'I want my mommy. It's cold here.'
