Page 32 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens
The place was truly enchanting; the ceiling was painted blue, displaying many stars with the Moon right in the center.
“Florence! Florence is here!” Dozens of children sang in unison, running toward Florence, embracing her in tight hugs.
“I brought you a friend!” Florence exclaimed, chuckling. “Her name is Cordelia,” She nudged me towards the group.
“Cordelia,” the children slowly repeated my name in awe, as though tasting the sound of it. They all stared at me, expectancy in their eyes.
“May I braid your hair, Miss?” A girl in a dark green dress asked, gazing at me with huge—inhumanly glowing—green eyes. She looked to be around seven years of age, although given the knowledge I possessed, she very well could've been much older than me.
I found myself nodding at her question, unable to deny her any requests. A big smile spread across her face as she took my hand, walking me deep inside the rainbow castle.
I undid my already braided hair.She is just a child.I told myself.Timothy is not here.I repeated it in my head as a mantra.
The green dress girl, who’d introduced herself as Charlotte, braided my hair with so much care, happily telling me all about her night. “We were not allowed outside tonight,” Charlotte sighed. “Miss Morella said it rained a lot the day before, and the streets were still too muddy to play.”
Charlotte picked a dried bouquet, carefully adding the wildflowers into my hair. When I’d asked how old she was, Charlotte just shrugged. “It was my hundred and thirty-first birthday last full moon, although Miss Morella says I will always be eight.” She rolled her eyes.
Dear Gods. A hundred and thirty-one years of age, and still lived here, at the orphanage. An elder spirit trapped in a child's mind forever.I will always be eight,she’d said. Always a child no matter the time passing. Who could’ve possibly done this to a pure, innocent soul? Who’d been evil enough to doom a child to such a fate of eternity.
I glanced at Florence in the center of the hall, who now spun the jumping rope for the children. I wanted to ask her all about these precious, beautiful souls. What had happened to them? How had they found themselves here, in this magical, yet, all the same, dangerous village?
Deep in thought I didn’t notice Charlotte standing in front of me at first. She studied me with her beautiful bright eyes, staring at me in awe. “You look like a princess,” she said at last.
Charlotte’s words broke something inside of my chest—perhaps it’d been my heart, though I could not be certain—as I smiled back at her.
“That she is,” the voice behind me broke through all the children’s laughter. I spun towards the sound, spotting Francis leaning against the wall. He wore the same vest he’d worn at the Royal ball all those months ago. His hair fell in a perfect mess, barely touching his shoulders when he grinned at me.
“Oh, Francis, back so soon? Where’s Roxanne? I thought she went with you.” Florence turned to face him, without slowing the jumping rope. “How did the meeting with the Barrens go?”
My heart stopped at the mention of Timothy’s family name.
I smiled back at Charlotte, pretending I had no interest in their conversation, though I could feel Francis’ withering gaze on my back.
“The meeting—” Francis trailed off. “Went as usual.” He finished after a brief pause, as though choosing his words carefully. “Roxanne went home right after, she wanted me to let you know not to wait for her.”
“It couldn't possibly be this bad,” Florence's voice was barely a whisper.
Francis shrugged. “I will see you both at home,” he said, turning towards the exit.
What meeting? What in the Kingdom is going on?I wanted to ask, but before I got a chance Charlotte took my hands into hers once again. “Could we please dance now?” She jumped up and down in excitement.
“Yes! Yes, please!” The children all around me yelped in unison, clapping their hands, as they dragged me to the center of the hall.
The clatter of hooves onto the gravel was the only sound occupying the forest. According to Florence we had at least an hour to get back before the sun rose.
On the way home, all I thought about was the mysterious meeting, though I could not ask Florence about it just yet. She was the only one I could possibly trust here, yet I was notconfident she wouldn’t keep anything from me. No. I had to take a different approach if I wanted to know the truth.
Instead, I asked her something less alarming. “How did those children end up at the orphanage?” I called after her. “Were they bitten at such a young age?”
“No, they were not bitten, Cordelia. We are not actually allowed to bite children; we have a treaty.” Florence looked back at me. “They are like me—reborn.” She smiled.
“Reborn?” I asked, remembering Francis mentioned something about reborn vampires.
“Yes. It is a bit complicated to explain, and being totally honest, I still do not fully understand it, but in order to become a reborn, the human body that hosted the soul had to have been killed by unnatural means.” Florence took a long breath before continuing. “The souls who felt like their satisfactions were not met in their—often very short—lives, will return to our kingdom in a different form—in the form of a Vampire—to finish their duties.”
I stared at her, my brows knitted together.
Florence sighed, returning her attention back to the pathway. “We died at the hands of others, Cordelia. Unnatural deaths.” She cleared her throat. “Our human souls were not ready to leave this world, so we have been reborn in the form of a vampire.”
