Seeing with the Shadows

Chapter 43

Calista

         It was Calista's third week working at the Menskive's when she finally saw Silver. She was working with washing and mending clothes, which was near the kitchens but not too near, so their paths only crossed at mealtimes and sometimes when walking to or from sleeping quarters.

When she finally figured out who she was, Calista didn't really know what to say. It's a bit tricky, explaining how you know who someone is because you're really there from the future to save your friend, even if you're a Vampire.

One sunny afternoon, the Menskive family had gone off on a trip to visit some of their friends (a rare thing, as they preferred to invite people to their mansion to show off how incredibly rich they were) and they had left with only a few servants. Everyone else was staying behind to make sure the huge building stayed clean and everything was in order. Because the kitchen staff only had to prepare food for the staff and none for the family, they had a lot more time.

Coincidentally, the clothing staff didn’t have to do as much washing and mending of clothing as usual because there wasn’t anyone to there to wear or rip the clothes.

A lot of the staff was outside in the courtyard, taking advantage of the sun that beamed down onto the slightly sparkling stones set in the ground. Calista sat down next to Silver, who was sitting alone a bit away from everyone else.

“Hi! I’m Calista.” She said as she plopped down onto the ground next to her.

“Oh, hey!” Silver jumped a little, “I didn’t expect anyone to come over here. I’m Silver.”

“I know- I mean, um, I’ve heard someone call you that before and you just seemed nice so I thought that I would come over and talk to you…” Calista tried to cover up her slip but it seemed that she had only succeeded in making it more awkward.

“Oh, okay…” Silver  said quietly, looking at her a bit strangely, “How do you like working here?”

“It’s alright, I guess… I really like cooking so it was just my good luck that I got a job in the kitchens!” Calista smiled. She didn’t even really know what she should ask Silver about. This conversation wasn’t going in a direction that would help her figure out how to help Lena, but she didn’t really know what to say.

“I’m doing clothes and sewing and all that.” They continued talking on about not much of anything, and Calista began to wonder if coming here was a good idea at all.

Lena

Quoim shook Lena awake. “Come on, we’ve got to get some breakfast. It’s time to get back to school.”

“What- ooh... okay.” Lena pushed the covers back, climbed out of bed, and did her morning routine. Soon they were both sitting at the breakfast table. Lena had gotten dressed, but Quoim was just sitting there in her pajamas with her hair really messy.

Lena cleared her throat, “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”