Dhampir Knight

Chapter 5 - You're a Dhampir

"Theo?"

She lifted her head. She must have dozed off, for she hadn't even heard Quil's heavy boots approaching. It was dark above them, too, although the drizzle of rain had stopped. The Marshall sighed, her hands on her waist, visibly relieved.

"I've been looking for you for a while, Theo. What are you doing here?"

Her voice was kinder than usual. She probably knew something had happened; the forest was Theora's favorite refuge. Still, Theo shook her head.

"How did you find me?" she asked, her voice sounding raspier than expected.

"I'd be a poor Marshall if I couldn't find one kid in the forest," Quil smiled, pointing at a visible footprint Theo had left a few steps away. "Are you hurt? Why aren't you home yet? You got your mom worried."

Theo shrugged; she didn't want to talk about it. She felt even worse because she knew Quil was the Marshall, and the village's Marshall probably had better things to do than to look for a not-so-lost child. Quil sighed, and came over, sitting next to Theo. After a second, she put her hand on Theo's head, ruffling through her blond curls.

"Bad day?"

Theo granted her a nod.

"...Yulke told me you had a bit of an argument with the other girls."

Theo frowned. She wished Yulke had kept his mouth shut... She hid her face back in her knees, even more ashamed.

"Talk to me," Quil said. "What did they say?"

"...They called me a rabid dog."

Quil scoffed.

"Because you bit Dandan?"

"They said I'm... a vampire."

Quil raised her eyebrows slightly, and let out a faint sigh. Her hand stopped moving on Theo's head, and she took it away.

"...Why did that make you upset?" she asked calmly.

"I'm not a vampire," Theo protested, lifting her head up.

"No, you're not," Quil replied, calmly. "...If you know you're not, why did that make you upset?"

Theo didn't answer for a little while. She wasn't sure either. She just hadn't liked that. She didn't like that those girls made her feel... different. She looked away, not hiding her face this time but just not willing to look in Quil's direction.

"Quil?"

"Mh?"

"Are vampires bad?"

"No, they're not."

"You have never met one," Theo pouted.

"I have," Quil said. "Several of them, actually."

"Really?" Theo jerked her head up, surprised.

Quil nodded.

"That was a long time ago. Before you were born, Theo, before I was this valley's Marshall. I've seen several of them... Vampires aren't bad people, Theo. They're just like humans."

"...Then do they really bite people?"

"They do," Quil replied. "But they don't bite out of anger, or to inflict pain. They bite because they need to drink human blood to live, and they don't bite people who are unwilling to give them blood either, it's illegal. Nowadays, they seldom need to actually bite people though; there are blood banks controlled by the Royal Family that supply vampires so they don't have to do it the old-fashioned way. I promise vampires aren't inherently bad. No one is, Theo."

"...Why are there no vampires in the village?"

"There aren't many vampires in the Kingdom", Quil explained. "Not anymore... They, uh... It's harder for vampires to have children, that's why there are a lot more humans in the Kingdom. Most vampires live in the Capital or in the North, as they don't like heat either. You learned about the end of the Ice Age from your teacher, right? When that happened, the humans moved to explore the south of the Continent, but the vampires remained in the cities up north or moved to the new Capital. They have to stay near big cities, where there are lots of people, so they can have access to the blood banks."

"...Is my real dad in the Capital, too?"

Quil froze. She had not expected that. Her eyes went to Theo, who was staring at her footprint up ahead. That child was surprisingly serious at times, with an adult's expression that made her look like her mother. She let out a faint sigh.

"I know dad isn't my real dad," she confessed in a mumble. "I heard the other grown-ups talk... And I don't look like him. I don't look like anyone but mom."

Quil bit her tongue, repressing her anger. What the hell could she have heard from the adults, to know this painful truth already... She sighed, and stood up, throwing her long hair over her shoulder.

"Theo, that's not for me to answer. ...Come on, I have to get you home, it's already late enough. Ann's waiting for you for dinner."

"What about dad?"

There was a faint pause before she answered, during which Quil was secretly relieved to hear Theo still call Hamel her dad.

"He's with the caravan, one of Yanheim's men is sick with some fever. He'll join the dinner soon. Ann told me you caught the rabbits for that stew. New traps?"

Theo nodded, but she didn't feel like talking about her traps, not this time. She quietly followed Quil, who knew better than to press her for answers. Instead, they just walked side by side, all the way to Theo's house. The Marshall didn't need to guide her, for Theo could find her way back just fine, even in the dark. It was way past nightfall when they got out of the trees and back on the path to the village, and the only lights came from inside the houses. To her surprise, her mom was waiting for them right outside the door, and she didn't immediately scold her when she saw Theo. Instead, she stood until Theo and Quil arrived, and when they did, Ann got down to hug her, letting out a sigh of relief. Theo felt a lot better after that; it had been a while since she'd had a hug from her mom. Ann, after exchanging a glance with Quil, didn't ask anything but stood back up.

"Go wash your hands," she said. "Oh, and your friend left something for you, Theo. She dropped by earlier."

"She?" Theo frowned, surprised Romie would leave something for her when they hadn't seen each other that day.

But it didn't come from Romie. Instead, when she walked inside, she spotted a girl's handkerchief on the little table of their living room, one she'd never seen before. Theora walked up to it, opened it, and, preciously wrapped in it, found several of the long strings of leather that she had selected earlier in the day. Her jaw dropped. She was sure she had dropped those while running out of the shop... Theora blushed a bit, taken by surprise by what seemed to be a peace offering.

"I didn't know you were friends with Letzia's daughter, Theo?" Ann's voice came from their kitchen.

"...I'm not," Theo admitted.

So Yosette was the one who had collected the leather strings she'd left? They weren't all there, but she guessed Yosette hadn't been brave enough to follow Theora into the forest; most of the other children her age didn't dare to go past the line of trees. Still, Theora felt strangely touched by this unexpected present. She set the leather strings aside, and folded the little handkerchief, wondering how she was going to give it back. There were tiny pastel purple flowers embroidered on it, the type of very girly stuff that the other girls appreciated. Theo wondered if Yosette had chosen to give her a handkerchief with purple flowers on purpose. She wondered if it would be bad if she kept that handkerchief for herself...

"Any news from Hamel?" Quil frowned as Ann was setting the table for four people.

"No," Ann replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. "He shouldn't be long now. It's taking a while, for just a fever... You two sit and eat. Theo's stew is ready."

"...You made it, mommy?" Theo frowned suspiciously.

"Your dad prepared most of it before he left," Ann retorted with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I only prepared the vegetables and heated it all up... And go wash your hands, I said!"

Theo scurried off before her mom could find another reason to scold her. She climbed the stairs quickly, and first, she stopped by her room, which was taking up all of the last floor below the attic. It was never tidy, but the kind of organized chaos that only the room's owner could find her things in, and even her mom was only allowed in to collect her laundry basket or put Theo's clean clothing in her wardrobe, the only side of the room she was ordered to keep tidy at all times. The biggest part of her room - a full third of it was dedicated to her precious projects, and a desk covered in various assortments of pieces of metal, wood, gears, and raw materials arranged in various wooden boxes under it or hung by ropes from the ceiling -Theo had been forbidden to hang anything above her bed-, and her tools were lined on the wall, where she had pinned several rows of nails and hooks. It was also the best-lit part of her room, right below the window, while her bed was pushed into a corner, with only her bedside table between it and her wardrobe.

Theora dropped her precious leather strings in a box in her bedroom and carefully set the handkerchief on her bedside table before going to wash her hands and climb back down. Like often, Quil was invited for dinner, and they sat around the table to eat the rabbit stew. Theora's eyes were still red, but neither Quil nor Ann mentioned it at all. Instead, they listened as she explained her whole plan around Danell's new leg, and told them about her chat with Yulke in the workshop.

"He said the Engineer's Guild had a whole building! I want to go with Danell later."

"You can't visit their building," Ann said. "They're closed off to visitors, they will only allow the general public in their entrance hall like most guilds."

"...How do you know, mom?" Theo asked, surprised as she hadn't mentioned that yet.

Ann's spoon froze mid-air. She only looked at the empty end of the table.

"...I just know. I'm your mom, I know things."

Theora was too big to be convinced by this weak explanation, so she darted her eyes at Quil, looking for a silent explanation, but the Marshall only let out a faint sigh, and filled her cup with wine. Whatever reason her mom had for lying, Quil wasn't going to solve this for her. This made Theo wonder if they had properly made up since their argument that morning. She had stayed a long time in the forest, had Ann and Quil made up while she was hiding? They sure were acting like nothing was wrong, and Theo wasn't foolish enough to ask anything about that new King, too nervous she'd rile up her mom again.

"Theo, make sure you drink up your soup," said Ann, pushing a tiny bowl before her.

"But I'm full already," Theo pouted.

"You need to eat your soup to grow."

Theo glanced down at the usual tiny bowl of dark red soup. She knew it wasn't just soup, despite what her mom said. Sure, there was a faint taste of vegetables and herbs in it, and her dad swore it was for her health, but Theo knew there was one more ingredient in it, and she glanced at Quil. The Marshall didn't say anything; she had left the table and was headed outside their house, lighting up a cigarette like she often did after her meals. Theo glanced back at her soup.

"Theo," her mom pressed her.

"I don't want to."

Ann stopped putting away the empty dishes, and put a hand on her hip.

"Excuse me?" she said with a warning tone.

"...I-I don't want to drink the soup today. I'm really full."

Ann didn't say anything. Theora was preparing herself mentally to be scolded, and she was sure that, despite having her back turned to them, Quil was listening from where she stood, too. After a few more nerve-wracking seconds, Ann's expression suddenly softened, and she sighed.

"Fine," she said.

"W-what?" Theo mumbled, surprised.

"You said you don't want to eat it, right?" Ann sighed. "I'll just put it away."

And she did, taking the little bowl away from a stunned Theora. She'd expected to be scolded by her mom, for she had never had an evening where she didn't have the red soup before. When Theo had made a fuss about eating it a couple of years ago, her mom had scolded her severely, until Theo had drunk half of it.

"You're not mad?" Theo enquired nervously.

"Why would I be mad? You're a big girl now, Theo, you should know when you've had enough."

Theora was stunned. She'd never, ever won an argument with her mom. This was almost even more nerve-wracking than a full-on confrontation.

"...Really?"

Ann sighed, and suddenly, she took off her apron and came to sit at the table with Theo. A bit nervous at this sudden setting, Theo glanced in Quil's direction, but the Marshall was still standing steps away from their open door, and visibly watching the village while smoking her cigarette. She was still within hearing range of Theo and her mom, though.

"Theo, you're a grown girl now, right? You know why you have to drink the soup?"

Theora realized that Quil had talked to her mom while she was upstairs. She gave a faint nod.

"...It's blood," she muttered.

"Yes," Ann said. "Do you know what happens when you don't drink it?"

Theora shook her head.

"When you don't," Ann resumed. "You bite people. Because you're thirsty for blood, and your body naturally wants to bite people to get some blood. That's why when you fight other children, you sometimes bite them. You used to bite Hamel a lot when you were younger too, you remember?"

Theora reddened. She had felt it, earlier that day, when she had fought with Dandan. Her mom was right; she'd felt that urge to just bite him, rather than use her fists... and now, all of the other children called her a rabid dog or a vampire because of that bad habit of hers. She jerked her eyes at the bowl of abandoned red soup, now regretting that she hadn't drunk it.

"I'll drink it," she muttered.

"You don't need to," Ann explained calmly. "You didn't bite Dandan deep today, because you're getting better at controlling yourself. It means you don't need to drink the soup as often, or if you don't feel like it."

"But I don't want to be a vampire," Theora said. "Quil said I'm not one..."

"You're not a vampire, Theo", Ann sighed. "You're a dhampir."

Theo frowned. She had never heard the term 'dhampir' before. She knew about vampires, because they were mentioned in her class by her teacher, and because she sometimes heard other children or the adults mention them, but Theora only knew of vampires like she did of all other things that existed beyond the village and that she'd never seen for herself. And she'd never heard about dhampirs at all.

"...What is a dhampir?" she asked, already nervous about the answer.

"Dhampirs are people who are half-human, and half-vampire."

"So I am a vampire," Theo retorted, a bit sullen.

"No, you're a dhampir," her mom corrected her. "It's different. Vampires are nocturnal creatures, they hate the daylight. Do you hate the daylight?"

Theo shook her head, and, in fact, at this very moment she felt tired, and the urge to get in bed.

"Right," Ann said. "And vampires don't enjoy consuming food like humans do. They need blood, and only blood. But you like human food, right Theo?"

Theo nodded.

"See? You're not a vampire."

"Why am I not a vampire? Or a human?" Theo frowned.

Now she wondered what was wrong with her, to be neither a real human, nor a real vampire, but something in-between.

"Because you're both," Ann explained. "That's how it is. That's why your eyes are purple. Vampires have red eyes, and mommy has blue eyes, right? So your eyes are a pretty purple like this."

"...Dad doesn't have red eyes," Theo muttered.

She saw her mom take a deep breath in, and her body stiffened. Theo was nervous.

"No, he doesn't," Ann finally said.