The Vampire's Harvest

4

When they announced your sister would become a breeder, you had hope. Out of all the occupations available to those who will never attend a ball, breeder is the most highly exalted. It came with the promise of finding love in your children and watching them go off to the dream of immortality, which a breeder could one day achieve as a drone. You thought, after the trauma Gianette endured with her vamp, she'd embrace the quiet, nurturing life of a breeder and that it would be okay for you to leave her. However, it's clear she hasn't recovered and you cannot allow her to suffer alone like she did when her lord died.

Gianette had started out like any other young hopeful in town. She dreamed of the day she'd attend the ball and often played dress up with you when you were both children. You'd both pretend to be off traveling the world, seeking adventure as a vamp's chosen companion. When your sister hit adolescence it became clear that her beautiful and vibrant spirit would easily earn herself a master. Then when she was twenty-one and the ball was made available to her, she was granted a mask within minutes of stepping onto the dance floor.

She had been living the dream.

Gianette wrote to you fairly often once she became a feeder and entered immortal society. She wanted to prepare you for your new life just as your older brother—one that you never got to know due to your age gap—did for her. So she regaled you with nights dancing with her lord on the deck of great ships sailing towards far off continents. She wowed you with descriptions of sandy deserts, icy mountaintops, and lush plains. She teased you with anecdotes of living in a luxurious mansion, pampered daily and served by a loyal staff of drones. She also hinted that she saw the day she'd become a vamp drawing near, certain her dear lord would convert her soon.

But, then the letters stopped.

When you saw Gianette again, she looked older, wiser, and beaten. Her vampire, like many others before him, died during in-fighting. You don't know exactly how it happened as she would never say, but based on gossip around the town, he was one of a high ranking duchess's allies and a rival clan slaughtered the duchess and her comrades in one fell swoop after infiltrating her palace. They say no one made it out of the palace, including feeders and drones. Gianette was simply lucky that her lord disliked taking her on political trips.

You couldn't comfort her when they were packing up her things for her return to town. You couldn't hold her close when they told her there was no room for her as a feeder anymore, as it was distasteful and unacceptable to claim a feeder that has been bitten by another. You couldn't dry her tears when they stole her dream away. This time though, you have a chance and Gianette is the only family you've ever known. So you take out your work clothes, strapping on a sturdy pair of boots and throwing a satchel over your shoulder.

You glance over at your formal clothes and the silver pin you had bought with Ailisa earlier. You snatch up the pin and thrust it in your bag as a reminder of the dream you are leaving behind. You don't know where following Gianette will lead you, but you're prepared to cross the road, no matter how rough it may be.

You head back down the stairs and as you pass through your kitchen, you think to grab something else to help you on the journey. You don't want to weigh yourself down with too much and you also need to hurry if you are going to catch up with Gianette before she leaves forever. After a quick scan of the room, you grab a waterskin hanging on the wall. Whatever happens or wherever you go, you know you'll need water to survive and you have a feeling Gianette isn't going to come back home quickly. Better to be prepared than lost outside the town's borders without fresh water to drink.

You head out into the street and turn for the old mill up on a distant hill. You make your way towards the abandoned building, only to hear voices in the trees lining the fields. Not expecting company, you jump at the sound and look around to find its source. As you settle, you recognize that one of the voices is Gianette's and that she isn't far from where you stand.