Saying Their Goodbyes

"It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye."

-Regina Spektor

I was dazzled. The people – if you choose to call them that – in ball gowns, twirling on the well polished dance floor, were beyond beautiful; I have to give you that. Still that didn't take away the sadness and anguish I felt over what was about to happen.

A rail thin man took or coats at the door, 'accidentally' brushing his hand over my butt a bit too slowly for my liking. Jerk. Guess I was going to have to get used to that, the touching without my liking…if I survived the night, that was.

We walked into the room in a line, and I tried to make myself look as small as possible without slumping. The younger girls walked in the front, eager to get in. The older ones – me included – walked slower and got in last; we all knew what to expect, we'd been through this before.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath as we slowly made our way to our seats. Not that our audience actually needed to breathe. They were vampires.

When we were seated the little conversations around us seemed to pick up again, the orchestra started playing and some got up to dance. For the next hour, all we had to do was sit there, letting the different vampires – potential buyers – look us up and down. Just like oversized porcelain dolls. Or dogs.

"It's so hard to find clean girls these days." a short, redheaded vampire sighed.

I resisted the urge to snort out loud. Why were these vampires so keen on finding a virgin when they would just take it away the minute they laid their hands on her?

"Indeed it is." miss Samson answered.

I held back a snort again. She didn't mention the fact that she was the one who made is so hard. She thought it would double her income. Selling a night with the virgin first, and then completely getting rid of that person ones she wasn't 'clean' anymore. Oh, the irony.

An hour or so after we got there the bidding started; the young girls going first.

A little bald headed fat man in the corner of the room caught my attention. It wasn't because he was twisting nervously or because his face was so red he looked like he was about to choke. It was because he was human.

For some reason I immediately disliked him. There was something about his eyes – small and watery. He looked evil. Yes, that was the word: evil. And yet monsters surrounded him. I shook my head slightly, diverting my gaze. Perhaps there was something wrong with my brain.

I kept my eyes down when I heard my number being called. This was it.

To my surprise, and discomfort, the little fat man kept outbidding the vampires and eventually the others gave up.

"Going ones, going twice…sold!"

And there it was. I flinched slightly when the hammer hit the table. I willed myself to live in the present, to not think about what was about to happen.

A few minutes later, we all gathered in a little room, everyone with different expressions on their face. Some were sad, some looked pained and some even looked excited. Mine showed nothing but the numbness and the anger I felt inside. The anger was not so strong yet, but building.

"Oh my girls, I'm so proud of you. Come on, give me a hug. All of you, come on." Miss Samson sobbed.

The younger girls smiled and happily hugged her. I easily saw through her act; she'd always been a drama queen. And I wasn't the only one. When she turned to me I stared her down until she lowered her arms and muttered something unintelligible, her face hard. She didn't give a shit about what happened to her precious girls, as long as they were paid for; that I knew.

To think that this was the woman who'd practically raised me. She'd taken care of me for ten years, ever since my parents gave me away, when the vampire attacks got closer to our town. They'd been told that she ran a boarding school for girls. Well it was true, partially. She just left out the tiny, little detail about how she sold the girls to vampires after they were fully trained; and she probably didn't mention what the boarding school taught. But other than that, no lies. At least you could call her an honest woman, if that meant she could keep whatever tiny amount of pride she still had left.

I could feel the anger getting stronger and I mashed my lips hard together, trying to avoid a breakdown. At the moment I was mad at everything and everyone. I managed to compose myself enough to give away my last hugs and goodbyes to the girls, who actually meant something to me. The fact that this was the last time I'd ever see them hurt; it felt like loosing sisters.

I was just trying to mend together my broken heart when the little, bald headed, fat man walked in and roughly grabbed me by the arm, dragging me away from my sisters. I blew the youngest one a kiss and then followed my buyer without a word, feeling the anger in me boil.

He muttered all the way out, but I only caught a few sentences.

"He is going to be so happy. This is the perfect thing for Him," he mumbled to himself. His words confused me, but didn't really freak me out; I still had no idea of what he was gabbling about.

He stopped at the doors, letting the jerk from before get my jacket. I could feel the little man peeking up at me – yes, I was a few inches taller than him – and made sure my face revealed nothing. My brain was working frantically, trying to find a way out of it. I wasn't giving up, not yet. I wanted that sweet freedom badly, and was not going down without a fight. After all he was just as human as I.

He didn't give my brain much time to work, but grabbed my arm as soon as I got my coat, and dragged me out of the Withlock mansion, looking as if he was in a hurry.

I was more infuriated than surprised when I found that he had a handful of men waiting for him outside. Human, but still. I was just a teenage girl – well 19-year-old one; I couldn't possibly fight all of them.

The little man pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialled a number with shaking fingers. I didn't understand why he seemed so nervous. He got out, didn't he? No vampires. So why was he acting like the hard part hadn't even started yet?

The other just stood there, looking stupid. Perhaps they were mentally disabled; you probably had to be if you accepted a tiny, little, scared man as your leader.

"Yes, yes, it's perfect for Him," he muttered into the phone. I stood there, awkwardly looking out at the dark forest surrounding the house – or rather castle.

Suddenly he hung up.

"Stay here," he ordered, looking severely at me, and then waved the others with him as he and his little group of followers took off, into the mansion again.

Who did I look like, Lassie?

It took me a second before I actually realized what happened. I slowly looked around; everyone was occupied, minding their own business. I casually started striding down the stairs and continued towards the forest, slowly. My whole body tensed, prepared to sprint at the first sound of them.

I continued walking when I reached the first trees, until their branches made sure no one could see me. I swiftly bent down and ripped off my high heels – not exactly the ultimate running shoes.

And then I took off.

AN: Okay, I kinda hate this chapter. But it was sort of necessary. So read, and REVIEW!