1 The orphanage

Hello fellow readers and writers!

This is my second book on Webnovel, and I am super excited to share it with you! Check out my other book Wild Roses as well.

Please leave comments and remarks. I want your thoughts and opinion regarding the story. I also appreciate any support coming from you guys. :)

Love, Dazelda

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As a result of the ruthless and long cold seasons in Paxos, as well as the lack of fireplaces in the orphanage, the winter mornings were rough. Hence getting out of the warm bed and stepping on the cold floors was an awful way to wake up. On top of that, the governess was a mean old woman who would ring the bell fiercely to unkindly wake everyone as fast as possible.

The ones who wouldn't abide would get a beating as punishment. Eliana was one to get that sort of punishment a lot. She wasn't a troublesome girl. On the contrary, she was known to be kind and softhearted, but still, she would continuously break the rules. Mostly it was due to her best friend, Georgina, who was a wild child. Only yesterday, Georgina had convinced her to sneak out of the orphanage to visit the town fair, which was happening only for three days.

Unfortunately for them, they were caught on their way back, and their punishment was getting five strikes with a wooden stick on their palms - both their hands were red and sore. They already knew that doing their chores today would be painful, but they didn't regret it.

The bell had been rung three times until Eliana forced herself to leave her bed. The fourth ring would bring a penalty with it. She kicked into Georgina's side, who was still sleeping beside her, so her friend would start moving.

They both got into their slippers, wore robes, and walked toward the bathrooms. While waiting in line, Georgina kept thinking about last night and couldn't get over a certain someone.

"Eli, did you see that handsome fellow yesterday? I could swear he smiled at me when our eyes met. I wonder why he didn't come over to talk to me…" she whispered to Eliana.

"Hahaha, how are you still thinking about him? You didn't even speak to each other yet. He must be a coward because he didn't approach us."

Although Eliana was also whispering, her laugh caught the attention of other girls standing in line. The two friends didn't mind the jealous glares as they were used to the hostility of the other orphan girls. Until now, it always had been them two against the world.

"Oh, Eli, don't be so strict. Maybe he is shy. You never know. More importantly, do you think he was human? His eyes were blue; most humans don't have bright eyes… Except for you, of course, haha, my most beautiful girlfriend with the most beautiful deep ocean blue eyes!" Georgina winked dramatically as she said the last part and put her arms around her friend to hug her.

Giggling at her friends' theatrics, Eliana rolled her eyes while reciprocating the hug. Georgina didn't know that Eliana's eye color was not an exception but proof of her vampire heritage.

There was a clear hierarchy in Paxos and around most of the globe. On top of the food chain were the vampires who colonized many countries, even overseas. Their immortality gave them the advantage of time and patience, leading them to gather vast amounts of finances and collect experiences in war strategies. The werewolves were the only species that matched their superiority, but they predominately resided in Agora and were not allowed to live in Paxos.

Therefore, the majority of vampires were part of the elites. No one would expect a vampire child to end up in an orphanage in a human village. Thus, for the humans around Eliana, there was no doubt that she was human, and her eye color was what was left from one of her vampire ancestors.

Looking at Georgina's happy face, Eliana was reminded of the fact that she was lying to her friend and felt guilt creeping up in her heart. The only person who had known about Eliana being a pure-blooded vampire had been the previous dean of the orphanage, who had died of old age two years ago.

Miss Rada had found Eliana by the steps of the building, cradled in a blanket in a basket. A note was left saying, "I will eternally be grateful to you for caring for my child. If only there had been another way. Please let my precious daughter know how much I love her and that she should never come looking for me."

Back then, Miss Rada had realized that Eliana was a vampire baby, and if the humans in the village had known, they would have disposed of her, which was why at Miss Rada's instructions, Eliana had always kept her true racial identity secret, even from Georgina. As Miss Rada's weaknesses were children, she decided to raise Eliana as a human child and taught her to control her vampiric abilities and not drink human blood.

The sudden appearance of the girls' number one nemesis brought Eliana back to the present. "Aw, aren't you two adorable? I think last night's punishment wasn't enough." Sophie said while giving them an evil smile.

Both girls glared back at her, understanding that it had been her who had ratted them out. "Of course, it was you, Sophie. What on earth is your f****** problem?!" Georgina said aggressively, moving toward Sophie to stand before her, ready to fight.

Eliana stepped in between the two right away. "Stop it, you two. Let's not start the day this way."

"Haha, always the savior, huh? You two had it coming. I know you put the spider into my soap, knowing I have a phobia. Mark my words: if you two are thinking of escaping to the fair again tonight, I will watch you and report it."

Georgina was about to slap Sophie on the cheek when Eliana took Georgina's hands and pushed her into one of the free toilet stalls so they wouldn't fight. They could hear Sophie outside the stall laughing out loud, saying, "Mark my words, you idiots!" while leaving the bathroom.

"That snake, I swear I will kill her one day." Georgina was furious.

"Gio, please calm down. She only wants to rile you up. Why do you keep giving her what she wants?"

"It is so freaking difficult! She makes me so mad! That spider was not enough. I will get her even better next time."

The scene of the spider and the soap popped into Eliana's mind, and she couldn't keep her laugh back. "Oh my god, do you remember her face when she saw the shape inside her soap? That was priceless! One of your best ideas, I have to say." Georgina couldn't stay angry and joined Eliana's laugh.

"Haha, so true, that was quite the scene!"

Still amused about the memory, they left the stall to get ready, and Eliana had to think back to the days when all three of them used to be friends. They had arrived at the orphanage around the same time as babies, so they grew up together. Over time Sophie got jealous of Eliana's beauty, and when they were 14, Sophie cut Eliana's hair in her sleep as a prank. That didn't sit well with Georgina, and so the war of pranks started.

Lost in her thoughts, Eliana took too much time to get dressed and barely made it in time for breakfast, after which they had to start with their daily chores. The older orphans were responsible for, the younger ones and had to check if they had made their beds, cleaned their dishes after breakfast, washed the hallways, etc. That usually took them until midday. After lunch, the older ones would work at the soap factory.

"You know soon I will fall in love and marry into a wealthy family. Then I will be able to buy this soap for myself. I can only imagine how comforting the oily foam would be rather than that disgusting stuff we have at the orphanage." Georgina mumbled to Eliana while cooking the oils for the soap.