Blood Circus

Chapter 13- Flashback Chapter 2

A eight year old Sylvia stood with her mother looking in the mirror. It was strange how alike they looked. Both mother and daughter had the same heart shaped face and long, light blond hair. Like her mother, Sylvia also sported pale white skin that was naturally flawless. The only difference between them was that while her mother had narrow brown eyes, Sylvia had an unusual shade of blue. Her eyes could only be described as navy blue, it was the only colour they came close to. If people looked close enough, there was even some sort of a violet rim around the iris. She had asked her mother many times about them, but never got a straight answer.

She watched as her mother covered her pale face with foundation, added a smokey eyeshadow, black mascara to make her light eyelashes stand out, and finally a scarlet red lipstick.

" Why do you put so much make up on?" Her mother laughed at her young daughter's question.

" Sweetheart, when you're older, you won't leave the house without your make up on. Trust me." Sylvia shrugged.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Sylvia jumped up and down on the spot while waiting for her mother to quickly apply her finishing touches, then both of them flew down the flight of stairs to the front door.

This was the moment Sylvia had been waiting four years for. Her mother pulled open the mahogany wood door. The tall man who stood behind it wore a thick black leather jacket, plain jeans, metal toed boots, a well wrapped scarf, and thick black gloves over his hands. His pale face was the only bare skin showing. His neat black hair was buzz cut at the sides and about an inch thick on top. In one hand he carried a suitcase, but he dropped it as her mother threw herself into him with enough force to make him stagger backwards. He bent his head and kissed her quickly on the lips before looking to Sylvia. He let go of her mother and opened his arms, crouching down to her height. Without hesitation, Sylvia ran into his arms with fresh tears streaming down her face.

" Dad!"

Inside, they had managed to calm down again. Her mothers make up was smudged from tears, and she had only laughed when Sylvia asked why she had bothered putting it on in the first place. Now they were all sitting in the main room. Her dad reached into his case and produced a small package. He handed it to her mother with a smile.

" Here, Ginny. I think you'll suit these." Her mother unwrapped the package and took out a pair of earrings. They were beautiful. An emerald 'G' hung from each of the silver hooks. Her mother gasped.

" They're beautiful!"

" That's real emerald too."

" Oh! Oh, darling, you shouldn't have!" She went to the mirror on the wall above the fireplace and uncliped her plain gold earrings, replacing them for the expensive new ones. Leaving her to admire herself, her dad reached back into the case. He looked at Sylvia.

" Sylvia. This is for you. Your mother mentioned that you love history." He smiled as he handed over a book. She held it in her hands and read the front cover.

' Vampire Legends & Lore'

She turned the book in her hands excitedly. Because of his work, her dad only got to come home once every four years. The first time he had come home when she was four, he brought her a doll. The doll was knitted and wore a pretty red gown with black hair and had reddish brown eyes. Sylvia had loved it. Her mother had not seemed as keen, but had let Sylvia keep it anyway. He had also given her a small ornament of a bat. It may not seem an appropriate gift for an four year old, but a bat was Sylvia's favourite animal back then. So despite the snarling face of the bat, she had loved it more than the doll. It now sat comfortably gathering dust on her room shelf.