Chapter 4: Dorothy

I didn't remember much about my parents. I mostly remembered threading the snow when I was little, and that was also the first time Rhazien and I met though he didn't remember it.

I was left for dead on that one eventful night. Fortunately, another witch found me. A friend of my mother and father and was the one who taught me about my powers and gifts.

But since her life was in a constant run, she couldn't always take me with her. And that was how she decided to sell me to Old Bertud.

I didn't hate her for it. She didn't have any obligation to raise me. In fact, I was thankful that she saved me and taught me magic.

Besides, if I just ignored Madam Bertud's constant yapping, living with the humans ain't bad.

Completing my look with a simple dress and apron, I weaved my hair in a braid to keep the sweat out of my face.

Climbing down the stairs, Madam Bertud and Dorothy were already having breakfast.

"Please, by all means, moved at a turtle's pace. By the time you finish breakfast, all the fresh meat is sold out!"

I ignored Madam Bertud's nagging. My attention was drawn to the mole beside her thin mouth. She was a big lady with squinty eyes who didn't love applying makeup like the woman her age in this village except maybe for a bit of rouge on her lips.

"Sorry for being late," I said and sat on the opposite seat of Dorothy.

"Hand." Madam Bertud waved her hand at me, and I took it while hiding a smirk when Dorothy squeezed my other hand more than necessary. She cut me a short glare before she closed her eyes when the familiar prayer for breakfast rang in Madam Bertud's mouth.

Glad to know that Dorothy was still the same.

The three of us were never a family. Dorothy and I were sold to Madam Bertud when we were young. In exchange for shelter and food, we labored for the old woman day in and day out.

Madam Bertud didn't have a family nor sons and daughters, but she sure didn't treat them as one. There were others like us before until she sold them to nobles.

And now, only I and Dorothy were left. The two ugly ducklings in the pack.

Dorothy had a small elongated face with freckles dotted on her heavy, blushed cheeks. She loved to put heavy makeup even it was summer to hide her uneven skin tone and blemishes.

"Alright, dig in and make it snappy." Madam Bertud gulped a cup of soup and chewed a piece of bread before she mixed dozen of half-cooked eggs on her plate with the bits of her bacons.

My stomach grumbled as the back of my eyes watered when I saw my usual portion of yesterday's bread, sliced in half with the other piece on Dorothy's plate.

Food! When was the last time I enjoyed it? Being a vampire and Rhazien's Queen, I enjoyed all sorts of luxurious well-cooked dishes from ham steak, seared hare, Boar Piccata to the exotic roasted salamander. But all of it tasted bland, and the only thing sweet was blood.

And now, as the crunch of the hard bread made contact with my tongue, I almost cried in happiness. The saltines and coarse texture in my mouth was the feeling I so longed to feel. I really didn't appreciate simple food like this before, not until I lost my sense of taste.

I wanted to lick my fingers clean if not for the years of hard-coded manners and etiquette instilled in me.

Dorothy looked confused while Madam Bertud was focused on her plate. She probably wondered why I looked so happy with the leftover meals instead of playing it with my spork like the one she was doing.

I smiled sweetly at her while she frowned and drowned her hard bread into her soup. Her expression told a story that she'd rather starve than eat yesterday's leftovers.

Too bad that she'd rather waste it than give it to me.

After breakfast, Madam Bertud gave us money as capital for the fish in the harbor that we would sell in the market. The thirty-something Madam Bertud was never heavy-handed. As long as we double or triple the capital, then we would be fed.

But if not, we would be sleeping with an empty stomach and eating leftover meals for the next day, like what happens today.

Eventually, Dorothy and I went out of the house and walked towards the dock. Madam Bertud's hut was located in the small village of Euclid. A one-hour-long carriage journey into the small town of Hamill that was part of the Kingdom of Seraphim.

The dock was just a thirty-minute walk from the house. It was a straightforward path, following the dirt road towards the ocean. There were huts and houses along the way, and some villagers were already up and doing their usual morning routine. Swiping their front yard, milking the goats, harvesting the eggs and vegetables, and feeding the animals.

There were also like us who woke up early to buy fresh fish in the harbor and sell it to the town of Hamill when the sun rises.

"Look at that." Dorothy nudged me, and her pointy chin nodded in the direction of two youthful girls walking ahead of us.

I didn't remember their names, but I was sure that Dorothy didn't like them based on her tone. Well . . . she didn't like girls who were prettier than her though she also didn't like me even in my ugly state.

Dorothy blinked slowly and spoke gruffly, "See her boobs and that tiny waist? She definitely bought those corsets that nobles could only afford. Where do you suppose she got that money from? Definitely not from selling fish!" Every word from her mouth was twisted with venom and spite designed to cow and belittle.

I ignored Dorothy's rumblings and focused my attention on my mission. I wanted to get this done and over with and die without regrets. Surely, I had already accumulated good karma points for sacrificing my soul, denying it from the cycle of reincarnation just to save my enemies. I should be the Saintess, and the cosmos should understand my plea and finally grant me eternal rest.