Page 14 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens (The Crimson Duet #1)

Wandering Souls

F irelight illuminated every corner of the street. The stone roads overflowed with ravishing architecture and castle-like estates. Various shops occupied every corner, overwhelming me with their diversity.

Some sold clothes, some jewelry; some even sold poison potions. My eyes wandered, trying to catch a glimpse of every single part of this peculiar place.

“This way!” Florence tugged on my sleeve, leading me toward a shop she insisted we visit.

Hours later—and four new dresses—I still hadn’t seen every street of this magical village.

The square was filled with laughter, loud conversations, and music. I watched the musicians skilfully play their instruments; their music traveled through the crowd, enticing people to dance.

“I promised the children at the orphanage I would pay them a visit tonight. They will be so excited to meet you,” Florence interrupted my observation. “It is not far from here.”

“Orphanage?” My eyebrows flew up.

“Yes, the children who haven't found their permanent houses yet live there.” Florence held my hand as she pulled me down the street in the opposite direction of the musicians. “They are the sweetest! Let’s go!”

Were the children at this orphanage bitten? I wanted to ask her, yet something told me I did not wish to know the answer.

The orphanage was a glorious castle located at the end of the main street, each window was rainbow colored stained glass. Children’s laughter was heard even from outside the castle.

I did not know what I expected to witness, yet my imagination could’ve never done a justice to what was presented in front of me.

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 not confident 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.”

Killed. All of those children had been murdered by gruesome human beings. Every single one of them.

My stomach turned upside down at the idea of it, nausea settled deep in my chest. “I am sorry that happened to you.”

Florence sent me a half smile, “It’s all right.”

Silence fell in between us. I wished to ask her what had happened, but kept my mouth shut. I had no right to request such vulnerability from the person I’d been nothing but rude to these past months.

“It’s all right to wonder, Cordelia.” She read into my expression. “It’s in the past,” she shrugged. “My human family were travelers: never stayed in one place for long.”

I held my breath in, catching her every word.

“On one of those trips, some hunters tried to rob our carriage. My dearest father got into a fight with them, protecting me and my siblings.”

My fingers tightened around the reins.

“They killed him first,” she said calmly. “Then the hunters cut my mother’s throat, along with my young siblings, leaving me for last.

“I was nineteen then, the hunters thought I would be a great use for them, but seeing what they had done to my family I couldn’t take it anymore. I took out the knife my father gifted me, and ended my suffering myself.”

An icy chill ran down my skin.

“The next thing I remembered was waking in the cemetery, seeing the unnamed cold stones, lying next to the grave I must have dug out from. I didn’t understand what had happened, I was all by myself.

” Florence sighed. “For a while I was convinced my siblings shared the same destiny; I wandered around the world for the longest time hoping to find them.

“Perhaps their souls chose to rest in the end.”

I stared at Florence in horror, unable to say a word.

“My life got better after I met Roxanne, Caleb, and Francis. They offered me a place to stay, food, and companionship. I found the love of my life in this new being.” The sunshine smile was back on her face.

“I know you had a rough beginning here, Cordelia, but time will heal your wounds. I really hope you can find happiness here.”

The distraught I had felt when Francis first brought me here seemed childish after hearing Florence’s story, although she never seemed to judge me for it. I could not imagine what she had to go through before finally finding her peace.

The first sunray glanced from the horizon when we arrived at the castle. For the first time I saw it from the outside in its full glory.

The castle looked to be abandoned—only a few windows shimmered with firelight, giving this place some sense of life within.

Leaving our horses in the stable, I followed Florence through the front gate, passing the ballroom I’d danced in last week. Had it really only been a week? Somehow it felt like eternity.

Florence entered a room I had yet to discover, holding the door open for me. I hesitated entering, fighting the urge to find my own room, not interested in meeting Caleb again; though Florence didn’t let me get away that easily as she pulled on my sleeve to enter.

I walked into the pitch black room, unable to see anything beyond my outstretched hand.

Unwelcome fear grew deep in my stomach, forcing my eyes to adjust to new conditions.

A few seconds passed before the pitch black room took on a new light.

It was still dark, though I could see everything nearly perfectly.

I blinked rapidly, not believing in such abnormality.

The sound of matches being struck interrupted the silence, forcing my head to instinctively turn in its direction.

The room gained color, the fireplace in the center of the stone wall bestowed us with its beauty. Florence’s eyes glowed, reflecting the firelight, as she stared at the dark green settee in front of the fireplace.

A huge wooden table settled to my right, twelve chairs encircling it. Right in the center of the table sat long dead roses, as if darkness itself rushed through the room, sucking the life out of them.

I walked towards Florence whose smile dropped as if it never even belonged on her face. Walking around six settees facing the fireplace in a half circle, I followed Florence’s gaze, and saw the reason for the worry in her eyes.

Fiery hair fell in beautiful waves all around the cushions of the settee. Roxanne laid on her side, staring into the fire with blank eyes.

“I will bring us all some blood, make yourself comfortable,” Florence told me, gesturing toward the settee next to the one Roxanne occupied.

I nodded, even though the last thing I wanted was to be left alone in the room with Roxanne.

Florence turned on one heel, walking out the door after I took my designated seat near her beloved.

Roxanne’s empty eyes did not leave the fire’s flames as she moved to sit upright. Without sparing me a glance—as though I was not even there—she let out an exhausted sigh. Perhaps I was lucky she paid me no attention. I did not wish to be in the middle of whatever forced Roxanne into such distress.

Was this about the mysterious meeting she and Francis had attended earlier? Why would they need to meet with the Barrens of all people? I had to know what the subject of these discussions was without anyone withholding the information from me.

Perhaps Roxanne would’ve been a perfect candidate to tell me all I needed to know; we only properly met this morning, she wouldn't have been aware of how little I knew of the situation with the Barrens.

I had the perfect chance at succeeding if I played my role well.