~Krul Tepesh~

Another night in Sanguinem, which didn't bode well for anything other than another round of donors: to vampires, humans are nothing but cattle. And children... they're just a temporary blood supply. Such was the reality of a child's situation here. No one was waiting for them, no one would coddle them: they simply had to await their fate, whenever the vampires needed it. How else could they? Any attempts to escape always ended disastrously. And so, suddenly, new children were brought in, dressed in "cattle" clothing. A huge, spacious room, and in the center stood a throne: vampires were notorious aesthetes, so they appreciated aesthetics more. The frightened children, or those already beginning to understand what would happen to them next, kept glancing around, not daring to meet the gaze of the guards walking behind. Stopping, they finally saw who sat on the throne. A teenage girl, but a vampire, with pink hair and scarlet eyes with vertical pupils. Her gaze expressed only boredom, not disdain. Her hand was curled into a fist, resting it on her cheek, her leg crossed over the other. And not at all like a queen, it would seem? However, upon seeing the children, she raised her head, but without the boredom of a moment ago. She glanced at them appraisingly, but didn't wait for the guards to speak: she didn't need them. The children cringed slightly under that gaze, but it wasn't like Ferid's, who always tried to be friendly but concealed his sadism within, skillfully manipulating them. The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Krul turned her head away. Only then did the guards begin to lead the children away. But she caught sight of one child who was there. Raising her head again, she spoke with authority.

• Stop. This child...belongs to me. Without hesitation, the guards stopped abruptly, parting. Only then did Krul rise. The Queen's word was law, and if disobeyed, there would be severe punishment. The Queen slowly descended the steps before approaching the child. She bent down, examining him, seeing something.