Children Of The Wheel Ch 05

Thanks to Liter Knight for her careful editing!

Author's note: Please note the category change. This chapter is a departure from the regular tone of the series, so proceed with caution. I will separate the potentially unpleasant sections with a line of asterisks, so that readers of the series can enjoy this installment while skipping the sections they might find uncomfortable. The first asterisk section includes depictions and discussions of suicide, and the second depicts sexual assault.

Chapter 5

Abby slid the tray of gorritas into the oven. Will had raved about Abby's meat pies to Maddie a week ago when he had dropped her off and Maddie had insisted on trying one. After Abby had made them, Maddie had immediately added them to the bakery's wares. It had been a little tricky to find the olives but Maddie eventually found a supplier and the gorritas had become an overnight sensation, they sold out as fast as she could make them. It had really raised her standing in the bakery and she got to pick her schedule now. Combined with the rumors she'd be joining the family soon, everyone treated her like she was one of the blooded already.

Abby turned and Maddie was in the doorway to the kitchen. She had just come from her office after doing the day's accounts. She gave Abby a pleased smile.

"Your gorritas are going to make us rich. I just got an order from the palace."

Abby tried and failed to hold down a surge of pride and excitement. "Really?"

Maddie nodded, "The Dracul want four dozen for their monthly feast."

"The Dracul have feasts? With food?"

Maddie rolled her eyes, "It's another new thing. They gorge themselves on food to try and remember what being human feels like."

"Doesn't that waste blood?"

"Of course it does, but Dracul love to be wasteful. It's how they convince themselves they're important."

Abby's enthusiasm guttered away like a spent candle. Maddie must have seen it because she gave Abby a sympathetic look.

"Don't feel bad. They'd eat just as much no matter what. At least this way we get something out of it."

"I guess."

At that moment the bell above the front door rang. Abby knew Will was supposed to come pick her up around now. She looked around, despairing. Gorritas were tricky to make and she had taken longer than expected. She still had to clean up.

Maddie saw her look and waved a hand, "I can get it."

"Are you sure? You are the boss."

"The boss still needs to get her hands dirty, and I owe you a lot for bringing me that recipe."

Abby's token resistance collapsed, "Thank you."

She pulled off her apron, quickly washed up, and walked out into the front of the bakery to see him. Just the sight of Will brought a smile to her face.

Will smiled back just as happy to see her. She walked up to him, moving faster than normal, and his arms were around her waist and he was kissing her. She put a hand on his face and it was smooth. And Abby felt a surge of affection. Will had been turned with two day's worth of stubble on his face and it grew back instantly the moment he woke up every night. She had mentioned she liked it when he shaved and he had met her with a smooth face every night from then on. Abby really appreciated that casual respect for her.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said it back in the same tone and gave her another kiss on the forehead. "How was work?"

"Oh fine. The gorritas are tricky but it helps that they're a hit. What about you?"

"Went good. Finishing up a cabinet. I'll have it ready for delivery in the next few days," said Will. He hesitated for a moment, "Hey, I know we talked about eating out but would you be interested in another walk along?"

Abby felt that old excitement come back, "You set up another one?"

Will nodded, "She said she could do it any time but she said tonight would be good."

"Yes! If it's alright with you?"

"Sure. we can take a rain check on dinner," Will hesitated again, "I think this will be the last one."

"Really?" Asked Abby. It came out a whisper, suddenly things felt very real and very serious.

Will nodded, then his eyes widened, realizing what he was saying.

"Yeah, I mean... I figured you should do one with each of the parties so after you do this one you'll... I guess that'll be it."

They were quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. Abby had been so caught up in her new routine and in the excitement of the walk alongs Will was putting her through she had lost track of what she was walking toward, but now it felt very close. She glanced at Will and he looked distant, she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

Then another thought broke through. Abby felt a moment of uncertainty.

"So this last walk along is with a Midnighter?"

Will nodded, "Uh huh."

Will hadn't talked about the Midnight party very much. She got the impression he didn't like them. All she knew about them was that Matej had been a Midnighter and that Enzo said the Duskers gave the names of murderers to the Midnight party for punishment.

"Is that... is it safe?"

Will heard her fear and waved a hand at her, "Oh, yeah it should be fine. The Midnighters can be unpleasant but there are a few nicer ones. Lorraine and I get along pretty well. She fought in the war and she's always respectful to me at assemblies."

"You're having Abby follow Lorraine?" said Maddie, her voice tense.

Abby turned and Maddie was in the doorway to the kitchen. Her arms were folded and her face was tight.

Will gave her an uncertain look, "Yeah. I figured Abby should get a glimpse at all three parties."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I... I mean yeah. That's why I'm doing it."

"Abby's not going to be a Midnighter. I don't see why she needs to."

Will scratched his neck, looking uncomfortable, "They're still family. We see them at Assemblies and parties. She needs to know who her relatives are going to be."

"Not the parties I go to. And they're at Assemblies for now."

This time Will sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Can we not talk about politics right now? The Midnights are part of the family and that isn't going to change."

"I don't want Abby exposed to Midnight work. And Lorraine is not as nice as you think she is. You know what she is."

Will tended to be slow to anger but at that his eyes turned black, "I can't believe you just said that."

"It's true though. You know what they're like.You can't..."

Will cut her off, his voice tense and hot, "Abby needs to know what she's getting into. When you work up the courage to have your own childe you can raise them like you want."

Maddie ground her teeth and stood up straighter. The air was so tense Abby felt like she was freezing, even through the heat of the ovens. Now she really was scared. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this anymore but Will thought it was important and she trusted him.

"It's alright, Maddie. If Will thinks I need to see this, then I need to. This is as much about making him comfortable as it is about me."

Maddie looked at her. A long blank faced look, but finally nodded, "Alright, alright."

Then she looked back to Will, "But you had better prepare her and not just hand her off to Lorraine like you handed her off to me."

"I don't want to bias her."

"Will I swear to the Night Hag if you don't talk to her you will not have a night's peace for the rest of your life."

Will raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, fine," he said. Then looked quickly to Abby, "Can we get out of here?"

Abby nodded, she glanced back at Maddie.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Maddie's arms were still crossed and she gave Abby a nod in return.

"Be careful, dear."

Will hurried out and Abby followed. Will was taking quick strides down the street and Abby was struggling to keep up. Will finally noticed and snorted, then stopped walking.

"I'm sorry about that."

"That's alright."

"I forget how some of the more hardcore Dawns get."

"Aren't you a Dawn?"

"Sure, but I'm pretty moderate. Some of the true believers don't think we should have anything to do with the Midnights. But Maddie was half right. I wasn't really going to say anything about the Midnights. I wanted Lorraine to have the chance to say her piece and for you to form your own opinions but that's probably a bad idea for the Midnighters."

Will started walking again at a more reasonable pace and Abby followed. He was heading up town, into the merchant districts and some of the nicer residential areas.

"So you've seen the other two parties. Each has their own philosophy about feeding. The Dawns help people and take blood as payment. The Dusks stop injustice and use the fear of punishment to try and redeem people, and the Midnights punish the Wicked, people that have committed unforgivable sins."

"And that punishment can be death?"

Will gave her a somber look, "Usually, eventually."

Abby was starting to see why Maddie was worried for her.

"And I don't think there's anything wrong with the Midnight philosophy in itself, but the Savons that subscribe to it... well, it tends to attract a certain type."

"I could see that. If you're feeding on the irredeemable, it doesn't matter what you do to them."

"Exactly. And facing all that cruelty, feeding on it, night after night. It sticks to them. In a lot of ways the blooded are what they eat and when you feed on the Wicked, it's easy to become Wicked yourself. But they're not all bad, and Lorraine is one of the better ones. A lot of the Midnighters are as contemptuous of the other parties as Maddie was of them, but Lorraine always said we each have a place. And we fought together during the war and I never saw her do anything objectionable and she had plenty of opportunities. But... I've never seen her feed. I don't know what she's going to do. No matter what she does it will be hard to watch. Midnighters say making the Wicked suffer is part of their creed but... everyone knows they do it because they enjoy it. Every Midnighter revels in suffering. They love the taste of it. It flavors the blood for them the way happiness does for the Dawn and fear does for the Dusk."

Will went silent for half a block, lost in his thoughts again. After a minute or two he continued, "When we started this I told you it wasn't a test, and I still think that's true, but this is going to be as close to a test as you're going to face. I want you to see everything that being a Savon means, even the bad parts. You have to be able to stomach that if you're going to be happy as part of the family."

Abby nodded, "I won't let you down."

"You won't let me down either way. This is still a test for yourself. To see whether you truly want to be a part of this."

"I do," said Abby but she felt a lot less certain than she had before.

They walked quietly for a few minutes. The streets gave way to nice townhouses and well kept yards of a wealthy residential district. Some of the house were full mansions, taking up most of a block.

"Will?" asked Abby.

"Hmm?"

"Maddie said something about what Lorraine was? What did she mean?"

Will shook his head. Looking angry again, "She shouldn't have said that. That's a very rude thing for a Savon to even imply. She meant Lorraine..." Will hesitated, searching for words, "...is pretty. She's a very pretty woman."

"Oh, is that bad?"

"It's bad for a Savon. Women as pretty as Lorraine are... they're supposed to be Mircallas," said Will, his voice still tense.

A thought bubbled to the service of Abby's mind. A tangled knot of jealousy and anxiety she usually kept hidden away.

"Is that why you and Lily... why you never fed on her?"

Will froze, then nodded, not offering any further explanation.

The anxiety continued to buzz in Abby's chest. On the one hand she appreciated that Savons weren't so focused on beauty, that they saw it as the shallow, deceptive bullshit she always thought it was. But on the other hand that meant Will only ignored Lily's looks because of a tradition, not his own preference. If it wasn't for the Savons' shunning beauty, maybe Lily would be walking next to him right now instead of her.

"You alright?" asked Will.

Abby swallowed and nodded quickly. She knew she was being ridiculous. Will liked her for her and it wasn't like she was hideous. He had never done or said anything to make her doubt his feelings for her. She pushed her doubts down deep, back to where they always lurked.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said. "So don't mention Lorraine is pretty."

"Oh god, absolutely not!" said Will, he sounded horrified, "Not at all. Not even to compliment her. Especially not to compliment her. She'll take it as a terrible insult."

"Alright," said Abby. She took a breath. She suddenly felt like she was in a fairy tale. The kind with a clever heroine having to trick her way past terrible monsters. There were always arbitrary rules, given by a wise grandparent that you needed to follow to avoid doom. Abby vowed this was going to be one of the fairy tales where the clever girl made it through unscathed and lived happily ever after, not one of the cautionary ones about being careful what you wish for.

Will looked ahead, "There she is."

Abby followed Will's gaze and almost stumbled. She instantly knew who Will was talking about. The woman waiting for them was tall and striking. She had golden blond hair and eyes the color of the sky. A generous mouth and full figure. She was wearing a fine green dress with silver embroidery and her hair was in a loose tumble that Abby knew had been carefully arranged. Will was right, she was as pretty as any Mircalla Abby had seen and then some. When she saw them her ruby red lips spread into a smile.

"William."

"Just Will. It's good to see you Lorraine."

Lorrain held out her hands and Will took them. It almost seemed for a moment like Will thought about kissing her hand but then the moment passed. Abby felt a surge of jealousy. She had never been pretty and she never got over how much better prettier women were treated. She was suddenly happy being as pretty as Lorraine was seen as a mark of shame among the Savon.

"Thank you for agreeing to do this," said Will. "And this is Abby."

"Your prospective childe," said Lorraine, looking her over, "She certainly is pretty, such a sweet looking girl."

Will looked uncomfortable and Abby felt a surge of anger. She was used to those kinds of insincere compliments from beautiful people. She knew most of the time they were just fishing for compliments in return. Abby was glad Will had told her not to compliment Lorraine. It made it easy to avoid the nicety.

"Thank you. And thank you so much for agreeing to let me tag along. Will wants me to see what being a Midnighter means, and he said there was no one better to show me than you."

"Oh, William, you're such a dear. And she's so polite as well. I see your dithering on siring was paid off. You've finally found someone who suits you."

"Right, yeah, Abby's been such a gift," said Will. Abby saw him fidget and knew how he felt. There was something about the tone of Lorraine's voice that made you feel like she was always laughing at you.

"When William approached me with his request I was honored. Shepherding a new soul into the family is a rare privilege, and to choose me to represent the Midnight philosophy to his new bride..." Lorraine's eyes widened in excitement, "...an honor. I'm so glad you were able to accompany me tonight. I have a new prospect that I'm so excited to show to you."

Lorrain held out an arm.

"Shall I show you how the true children of Savon walk the night?"

Abby glanced at Will, who gave her an uncertain look. Abby had the sneaking suspicion Will didn't really know what he was doing. But Abby braced herself and took Lorraine's arm. It felt strange to touch another vampire. She was used to Will's coolness. The subtle density of his body, but it felt strange from Lorraine.

"You must bring her back to me unharmed," said Will.

"Of course, I swear I will return her to you with all her limbs intact," said Lorraine, then gave a haughty, fake laugh. "Come with me, dear."

And with that they turned and Will was behind her, falling away. Abby turned back to look at him one last time.

"I'll see you soon," said Abby. She had to fight not to make it a question.

"See you soon," said Will.

She walked arm and arm with Lorraine through the well maintained streets and the fine houses of the wealthy neighborhood they were in.

"This neighborhood is a lot nicer than the other ones I've been to," said Abby.

"Ah yes, one of the advantages of my calling. People in need and more vulgar forms of sin tend to congregate in less appealing locales, but the Wicked are everywhere. Perhaps even more of them among the high than the low. It lets me follow my calling in pleasant surroundings. So who else did William have you tag along after?"

"Maddie and Enzo," said Abby.

"Ah, paragons of their creeds. Did you like what you saw?"

"I did."

"Wonderful. Hope you will find tonight just as enjoyable. It is a rare treat to show off my work."

They fell silent as they walked. Abby had found it easy to talk to Maddie and Enzo but Lorraine was so off putting it was hard for her to think of what to say. Abby felt the first kernels of panic. She reached for the most basic topic.

"Do you have a craft?"

"Ah, yes I'm a dressmaker."

"Oh that makes sense," said Abby, relief washing over her. This seemed like a safe topic, "Did you design your dress? It's beautiful."

"Thank you, I did."

"Are Midnights like the Dusk where their crafts don't really relate to their feeding?

"It depends. Many of us find ways to weave the two together. The butchers, for example, find many creative uses for their skills on their nightly visits. For myself it's more relevant than you might think. Creating clothes for someone is a very intimate act. You get to know them in the process of finding out what they want, adjusting the results. I've discovered many secrets while practicing my craft. Secrets that have led to many late night visits."

"I see," said Abby, her throat tight. She imagined being stripped down to her underwear in front of this woman while she was weighed and measured, withering under those ice blue eyes.

"Ah, here we are at our first customer for the night," said Lorraine, stopping in front of a large townhouse painted sky blue with white trim. It even had carvings of leafy fines set into the trimming. Abby followed the vines around the lines of the house, focusing on the details to distract her from her unease.

"This house looks nice."

"Yes it's well kept. A nice happy family, mother, father, two sons, and a daughter."

"Why are we here, then?"

"Oh, the man of the house killed a child. A beautiful little boy."

Abby's head whipped around, "What?"

"Yes, a terrible tragedy, it was an accident. The child stepped into the street in front of his carriage and he was late for a meeting. It might have been the purview of the Dusk but he had no remorse. He didn't stop, didn't seek to make amends. He paid off his carriage driver and pretended it never happened. I've peered into his dreams and he felt nothing, until I made him feel it."

Lorraine ascended the steps and walked inside. Abby was so used to making deliveries with Maddie she took the Shroud unlocking the door in stride. The inside of the house was just as nice as the outside. With patterned, gold leaf wallpaper and more flower carvings on the stair bannisters. They were in a front hall with a marble floor and a large marble statue of a City State hoplite directly in front of them, just to the side of the staircase to the upper floor. There were fine oil paintings, portraits and still lifes on the wall going up the stairs.

"Nice isn't it?" said Lorraine, "The man of the house does well. A real estate lawyer. He writes up the contracts people sign to buy and sell houses. Which is why he just doesn't have time to stop for children. Not when there's money to be made."