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I finally settled in a cold town far away from the memory of Claudette and of what I did to Peter. A local woman had lost her entire family including her child in a fire; she came to live with us to help with Dierdra, never questioning why I was unable to produce milk. I told her it was a family trait; my own mother was unable to nurse me. She did not ask about the father either, though I saw the questioning looks in her eyes.

Since she never left us, I had to be sneaker eating my stew, though I’m sure she was curious why I always made the same stew once a week and was particular about which dish was mine. After two years I thought I could trust her with my secret.

“I know you wonder about my stew and why I’m particular about it.” I addressed her one Sunday night while eating the stew. “Since I can remember I get cravings for blood and on Sunday’s my bowl of stew has blood from a cow in the broth.”

Her eyes enlarged and she stood quickly. “You are the cow plague!” It was true, my desire had gotten stronger and I was finding I needed more cows’ blood, even though I went three months without blood after I killed Peter. I had not yet put the connection together.

“Vampire!” she yelled at me, it was the first time I would hear that term, but would not be the last. She scrambled towards the door grabbing Dierdra as she headed out.

“Leave the girl!” I screamed at her.

“She is not safe with you, Vampire.” She started to run out the door but I caught her and grabbed the child, putting her back inside. “Help somebody, Vampire!” the wet nurse, all these years and I cannot recall her name, was screaming as she ran.

Scared, I ran after her, again that floating feeling came over me, and soon I had aught up with her. “Come back, I will not hurt you.” The woman kicked at me and spit in my face.

“I will never live with an evil like you.”

My anger boiled and her neck looked gleaming white in the moonlight. Before I could stop myself, I was biting her neck and drinking her blood, but how it made me feel. I felt alive for the first time in months. I dropped her dead body and wiped my mouth, Dierdra and I needed to move on.

I was afraid of what I did. That woman had been a friend for the past two years and I easily took her life. I looked at little Dierdra and wondered if the urge overtook me if I would take her little life too. I knew I could not let that happen so when I chose the next place I chose a large town where there might be some people no one would notice if they went missing, cow’s blood, it seemed, was not going to quench my desire any longer.

We wandered for months and finally ended up in Paris where I managed to find a place to live in the low end. No one wanted my herbal recipes; I was one of many, so I took work as a maid to one of the wealthy nobles. The nanny to their children was kind enough to watch Dierdra while I worked. I looked at all the tapestries and other things that showed their wealth with envy. I’d never owned anything just because it was pretty.
That was much of our lives; eventually Dierdra started lessons and would help me with the end of my shift, at this time we worked for a new noble. After we finished we would move to our tiny quarters inside this new noble’s house.

“Momma,” She was the only one to call me that, even when she was past the age to call me that. “When can we move out of this house and into one of our own?” By this time many nobles wanted their servants to live in a servants quarters, it made them appear wealthier. We could not move into our own house, but it was time to move along, Dierdra was getting older and the mother/daughter routine was no longer working. Other servants were asking questions.

One night we simply grabbed our belongings and a few that was not ours and moved on. We only took small things that no one would notice, a spoon or a knife.

We begged entrance into another house on the opposite end of the city and set ourselves up as sisters. Only a few months passed before Dierdra was ready to move on again.

“Antigone,” Dierdra asked one night. I asked her to stop calling me ‘Momma’ in case others were around. “I don’t like this house, can we leave?”

I shook my head, the house was comfortable and we were treated decently there, it was much too soon to move again. “Is there a reason?” I knew if she had a good reason I would move to please her, I loved making Dierdra happy since she made me happy. There was something about her I could not place, something in the way she was that made me know I would always love her.

“There is no reason,” She said quickly and kept her eyes averted from mine. I made sure she had eaten then went for one of my walks in which Dierdra was not welcome. Usually she and I walked together, but twice a year I went out along, to feed, so that I would not harm my dear Dierdra.

When I came back, Dierdra was crying softly in the corner of the room, when she saw me she stopped and smiled. “Have a good dessert?” she playfully called my feedings. She knew I only went for people that would not be missed, people that lived on the streets. It involved some hunting so sometimes I was gone for hours.

A couple months passed and Dierdra changed physically, though still always cheerful. I knew what had come over her and I was furious with myself for letting it happen again.

“A man took advantage of you, now you are with child.” I whispered vehemently.

Dierdra looked at her hands. “The missus and master have not been able to produce an heir; I am doing the ultimate duty as a servant.”

“Is that what he told you before having his way with you?” I demanded to know.

“She told me it was my duty.” She continued to look at her hands. “The missus made and her husband mate, she guided him into me and held me in place to not disturb the process.”

“Is this why you asked to leave those months ago?”

She nodded. “It was to happen that night while you were out. I did my duty, but it hurt, that was why I was crying when you came back.”

“We are leaving!” I shouted throwing things into a sack getting ready to move on yet again.

“Antigone,” she grabbed my arm and held it still. “Momma,” She said looking into my eyes. “They will hunt us if we leave; they know I am with child already.”

I looked at this girl, the one I always thought of as a daughter, never a sister like the others and nodded. “We will stay until the child is born, then we will leave this city and move to another.”

She nodded in agreement. “Thank you Momma, for keeping your rage at bay for me.”

The next sixth months passed, I refused to leave Dierdra alone again ad I would not take her on the hunt with me, so I made due with the rats in the cellar, they sufficed and held me days at a time, it was a good thing there were plenty.

The night of the birth approached and several times I felt that strange sensation that I felt long ago when I last saw Miriam as a young girl. I thought nothing and continued to prepare Dierdra.

I was not allowed to be in the room while she gave birth, the master feared me though the missus eyed me suspiciously from time to time. I waited at the far end of the hall, the master waited outside the door impatiently for any news. I felt that strange feeling in the pit of my stomach and looked around. A strange man stood staring at me through the window. I moved closer but then heard cries from the room Dierdra was in, the child was born. I smiled and clapped my hands, now Dierdra and I could move on to another place.

“Momma!” Dierdra’s startled cry rang out. I ran towards the door, the master stepped in front of me and knocked me over. I was not expecting that. As I lay on the floor I was able to make out the voices on the other side.

“I can’t have you trying to take her back.” The missus said. Another girl, Dierdra had a daughter.

“My sister and I are leaving, I swear to you.”

“Your sister? That vampire? Yes I’ve always known you see I am part of a group that hunts such abominations and I needed an heir to pass my legacy to, so you see why now.” I heard no more voices, but another cry of pain from Dierdra. I stood and flung the man aside knocking down the door. It was too late, Dierdra was dead and worse her neck was slit and the woman was attempting to sever her head. She looked up at me.

“You never can be too sure.” She said with a haughty laugh.

“We never did anything to you, why did you do this to us?”

“Your kind is kin to the devil and must be weeded out.” She snarled holding the crying girl close to her bosom.

“Dierdra was nothing like me, she was a beautiful child. Why did you do this to her?” My rage hit a new high and I could feel my urge boiling into an aggression I’d never felt before.

“She kept company with a vampire; she knew you for what you were and did nothing. She is partly to blame for all the death you caused.” I would have lunged at her then, but men from out of no where grabbed my arms and held me. If I fed normally, I could have thrown them off, but I only had eaten rates, the effect blood had on me was knowledge come to late.

“This girl will be a savior to humans; I will make sure of that.” She quickly took leave of the house leaving me alone with the men. My anger was too much and when I felt one of the men loosen their grip, I flung him off and grabbed the other by the neck, the other man and the master charged at me but I smacked them away and quickly bit into the man I held at the neck. The blood tasted so sweet that I believe I drank every drop. My mouth covered in blood I turned on the other two who were beginning to flee. I managed to catch up with the man I called master and took him out swiftly but the other used the time to make his way into the night. I charged after him only to stumble over his body. I looked around and saw the strange man from the window.

“I hope you don’t mind that I took him out.” He politely said. “But it seemed he might get away and I did not want you to hunt everywhere for your revenge.”

I looked down at the dead mans neck, there were two puncture wounds, just like I would leave. Shocked I looked at the man to see him smiling with teeth like my own.

“Have you never met one of your own kind?” He smiled at me; the surprise must have registered completely on my face. “No wonder you were acting like the help. Poor dear doesn’t know you are one of the rulers of this world.” He moved closer and took hold of my arm. “Who would be so cruel to make you and leave you clueless about your own kind?”

I shook my head, too stunned to speak. Eventually I managed to say two sentences to the man. “My revenge is not over, I must find the woman.” And “I was born.”

The man shook his head. “I’ve been after that slayer for some time now, she’s a tricky one.” He looked out towards the distance. “As for being born, of course, when we all turn we are born into this new life of wonder.”

I shook my head, he did not understand and I did not have time to explain. “Thank you, but I must find that woman and child.”

“You won’t find her now, she’s good as hiding. She and I have been having a cat and mouse game between us.”

“I want that baby!” I started wandering in any direction my feet would go.

“Well yes, baby’s blood is delicious, but we can find others.” I gagged at the thought of consuming a child’s blood, the note Miriam came with flashed briefly in my mind. The man was right; I would not find her that night. I had lost my only connection to my sister and all my daughters, my only connection to the love my mother showed. What would become of me now, I wondered that night, for the first, but not the last time.