Blood 

"Dorothy?" My eyes followed her silhouette into a dim corner. I knew she was Dorothy. There could only be one lady whose powder was white as a corpse and with an eye-catching red round rogue on her cheeks.

I chaste after her and hid behind the edge of a stone wall. Flashing my head enough to take a glimpse of what she was up to, I was surprised that she wasn't alone. There were three more girls beside her, and all of them were blindfolded. Each one was led inside an abandoned hut by a bulky bald man.

Needless to say, I think I knew where she was going to get those gils.

I took a sharp breath and hid behind another corner when I heard footsteps in the narrowed alleyway. Another two girls were being led inside the hut –– then followed by younger men who were also blindfolded, but they were not resisting. They didn't even give as much as a squeak.

I took a deep breath and decided to wait for Dorothy. I could only hope that my roasted fish was still hot when I got back.

I shifted on my feet when I felt them strained from standing for thirty minutes straight. There were already others who were guided out from the hut, and once they made sure that they were far enough, their blindfolds were removed, and they were free to go.

I waited for another thirty minutes for Dorothy. If I knew this would take so much time, I should have just gone back to my food. But I didn't want to miss Dorothy by doing so.

I could only hope that the kid didn't eat my food or there would be repercussions.

Finally, I spotted Dorothy going out of the hut, and I followed her with careful steps until she was left alone.

She removed her blindfold when the bulky man left, and I ambushed her upfront when she barely took a step towards the sea of crowds.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Gyargh!

Dorothy jumped back. Her body visibly trembled, and when she finally recognized me, she gave me her most fearsome glare.

"Trinity! What are you doing here?"

"That should be my line. What do you think you're doing?" I asked and ran over my eyes on her.

Dorothy clutched her arm and looked the other way. "None of your business."

She then gave me the popular flipped of the hair that noblewomen loved to do before she went past me. "Anyway, I secured our gil. You have nothing to worry about."

I grabbed her hand. "How long were you giving them your blood?"

Dorothy's face paled, and she couldn't react for a moment.

I crossed my arms and waited for her answer. I knew those people. They were called Blood Dealers, mortals who were dealing with vampires. Their main job was to bring fresh blood to the vampire kingdom, mostly virgin blood of youths from age sixteen to twenty-four, for their blood was the most delicious and freshest of all.

"You do know that what you're doing is illegal, right? If the Church caught a whiff of what you're doing, the penalty is death."

Dorothy frowned and growled, "Before I'm caught, I'm already dead from starvation." She then sighed and briefly closed her eyes. "Besides, I'm not doing it frequently."

"Of course not," I sneered, "Or else you'd be a corpse by now. Do you know how much those guys drain your blood? No wonder you're putting too much makeup lately." It was to hide her sudden paleness and hollowness of her eyes.

Worry crossed Dorothy's face but only for a second. "You're not going to tell anybody about this? Are you?"

"And what? Get us both in trouble?" Those who made deals with the nonhumans directly or indirectly were put to death. All their family to the last generation were executed.

Dorothy bit her lips. "I just . . ."

But before she finished her words, I caught her in my arms when she wobbled, and almost fell on the hard cobblestone. The scars and lump on her head would surely make her look uglier if she did.

"You . . ." I was speechless for a moment. "How long have you been doing this?"

I felt Dorothy's chin rested on my shoulder. The pointy edge of her jaw hurt a little against the thin flesh of my skin.

"Long enough to be in this state." She was panting and catching her breath. In my hands, she felt like a corpse. Light and cold.

"Are you crazy? Then what happened to all that money? You could have left the old hag's house."

A cold breath grazed my neck from Dorothy's laugh of mockery.

"Where will I go? What will I do?" She sighed. "Some girls are princess showered in pieces of jewelry and love. Some are nobles, rich and powerful. While others used their charm to get what they wanted . . ."

She then chuckled full of scorn. "But we are not one of them . . . We are the unfortunate, the ugly, the poor. That's us, Trinity. Nobody wants us. With no family. No name. No money. Not even looks! We're going to be all alone. . ."

". . . At least . . . with the gil . . . I can cover my face with makeup and maybe attract some guys to like me."

". . . Idiot, you don't even know how to apply makeup."

Dorothy snickered. "Leave me alone."

My eyes roll on the sky. "If I did, you'd be sleeping here in this dirt path. Come on. Don't nap here. Let's go back into the stall."

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A/N

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