Indecent Folks

I looked around for Lauren when I stepped out of the greenhouse, but I couldn't find her anywhere. My eyes landed on a woman gardening in her front yard as she sat on her heels. She turned to me when she noticed my presence. I looked away and resumed walking instead of putting up a staring contest. Although they were not hungry for blood, I don't want to provoke anyone from sucking mine.

I noticed that most women here were either mothers or teenagers. I'm glad that there aren't any kids. Just when I thought about that, I heard a faint giggle somewhere, prompting me to glance at the house to my right. My mouth slightly hung open when I figured that it could be a kid. The house had a small window with a sheer white curtain, so I quickly caught a figure of a small person running past the window. I took a step back, baffled by what I saw. "Dani,” Rougan called my name from behind.

I held my breath and turned to him. "What?" I asked, squinting my eyes from the bright sun.

"If you're bored, go may to my room." He glanced at the house to my right before he closed our distance and stood a few inches away from me. His eyes landed on my lips and stayed there. "Also, be good."

I frowned at him and walked away. A round of laughter echoed behind me, so I looked around and saw the men walking towards Rougan. "She's hard-headed but pretty," one of them even said, like I wasn't only a few steps away. They turned to me, but I grabbed my skirt and walked away. I don't intend to be arrogant around these vamps, or else they might have my blood for dinner.

When I reached the workshop entrance, I watched some vamps go in and out of the door, holding some supplies and finished products. Then my eyes caught a familiar figure of a lady. She carried a pitcher in one hand and a pair of mugs in the other. I ran towards her, not minding a couple of eyes turning to me. "Lauren," I called.

Her eyes shined when she saw me and moved a little further from the door to meet me. "Did you have a nice chat with Paige?" she asked.

"Somehow. What's that for?"

"My parents are inside. I'm bringing them water. You want to come in and see what we make?"

I turned to the door and caught a partial view of what's inside. "Can I?"

We headed inside, and I immediately got the attention of the vamps. I'm glad that they only shot a glance at me and turned back to what they're doing. The workshop's walls were way taller than the village's but made of wood. There were unlit sconces fixed at the same level on the wall and huge windows where the sunlight came in, illuminating the place at this hour.

Everyone was so busy. There were several tables, chairs, machines, tools, and supplies for handiworks. There's an area allotted for weaving baskets and rugs, pottery, wood carving, toy making, a space for jewellery and kitchenware. My eyes landed on the shelves, trunks, and even wagons to the west side of the workshop, where they store finished products.

"This is...amazing," I whispered in awe.

Lauren stopped at one of the tables, so I looked at the woman sitting on a stool as she made a basket. She must be Mrs Clarke. "Hi, Mom. Look who I brought here," Lauren whispered, prompting her mother to turn to me.

Mrs Clarke smiled and scanned me with her eyes. "Oh, I didn't have the chance to see you last night. You're pretty!" she said before gesturing to me to come closer.

I smiled at her and walked up to her side, staring at the messy table. "I'm glad you didn't see me last night. I was ugly," I kidded.

She chuckled and shook her head. "I haven't seen an ugly vampire, so you don't have to worry."

I force a smile before shaking my head. "I'm not a vampire," I whispered.

She turned back to me, a smile playing on her lips. "Rougan has finally liked an ordinary woman?"

I don't know if she's asking herself or me. Lauren laughed and poured water on the mugs. "Mom, if Rougan likes her, then she must be more than just an ordinary woman," she said before turning to me. "I'll give this to my father. Wait here." "Well," Mrs Clarke took one of the mugs and chugged the water down. "What brought you here? Is there anything we could help you with?" she asked.

I looked around and thought of anything. If I'm staying here, I might as well ask questions so I could do better. "There's something I'm curious about, and I think I need someone older for this."

"Do I look really old?" she asked, slightly bothered at her appearance as she picked the small mirror on the edge of the table.

My mouth hung open as I waved my hand in the air. "No, no, Mrs Clarke. You're as beautiful as my mother," I replied.

She smiled sweetly and poked my waist. "Silly girl. You don't have to flatter me. What is it you want to know?" "Paige told me things that I didn't understand."

"Mrs Banford? Oh, brace yourself for more then."

I smiled and licked my lower lip as I heaved a sigh. "She talked about my loyalty and that Rougan wants it?"

"So you're the " She froze like she realized something she shouldn't have said. "Uh..." She's holding back. "I don't know about that. Maybe you should talk to her so she could make it clear for you," she responded before she filled her mug with water.

Lauren came back and observed her mother, who already glued her eyes on the table, making herself busy. "Are you okay, Mom?" she asked.

Mrs Clarke nodded before tapping her daughter's arm. "You should take Dani out of here. It's noisy, and the dust will ruin her dress."

Lauren smiled at me, so I turned to the entrance and walked away. When we stepped out, I took one last glance at Mrs Clarke before looking at Lauren, who obviously wanted to say something. "What is it?" I asked.

She sighed and looked around before gently holding my arm to lead me in the stables behind the neighbourhood on the east side. The stables were empty. The Sunkens who went to the market must have used the horses.

I watched Lauren look around before she turned to me. "I met this guy. He's one of Sawyer's friends. He's smart, and he likes me."

"That's straightforward. Is the guy a vamp too?"

"He is, but he's not a Sunken."

"If he's Sawyer's friend, then he should be about a man in his 30s like you?"

"I'm 24!" she defended.

I looked at her from head to toe. "You look sixteen."

"Well then, you look eighteen in that sense," she murmured. I frowned at her while she took a deep breath and her hands dropped lazily on her side. "What I want to say is, he's a botanist, and he's trying to make a Sapper." I blinked in surprise. God knows how to help me, doesn't he? "A Sapper? How did you know about that?"

"It's common knowledge among the vamps, but no one in history was able to make one," she mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"But what this had to do with you?"

"I want to help him. He told me that a kingmage's blood could neutralize the lead in the mixture." "What's a kingmage?"

Her shoulders dropped as she stared at me. Her shocked face turned pale. We fell silent for a moment before she fiddled with her lower lip and looked around. "Rougan hasn't told you yet?" she whispered, anxiety crept into her voice. "Tell me what? You're as weird as your mother," I said. "Why does everyone here tells me something only to stop when I'm already intrigued. Is this about me?"

She pinched her ear and shook her head. "No-uh, kind of."

I glared at her, and I made sure that she notices, although her gaze was jumping in all directions except towards me. I took a small step to close our distance and towered over her. "Why don't you just tell me what I need to know?" She remained silent as she stared at the stables, so I gently held her arm. "What is it?" I stressed.

To my surprise, she frowned at me too and grabbed my wrist. I winced in pain when her nails nipped at my skin. She raised an eyebrow as her lips formed into a grin. "You're just naturally unique, but you're still every other girl who got too close to Rougan. You're arrogant and narcissistic."

I smirked at her and pulled my arm away. "Is Sherlock your teacher?" I sneered. "You're not wrong, but just so you know, I don't like to stay here. So how about I help you, and you help me so that you can get your man, and I could finally leave?"

She clenched her jaw and looked away before gently stepping back. "If I scheme against Rougan, I'm good as dead," she whispered before walking away.

I was left dumbfounded. That's it? Did she just give up? I rolled my eyes and turned to the empty stables. Although I'm a stranger, these vamps already know something about me. What's a kingmage? Is it a piece of common knowledge among them too?

Thoughts clouded my mind until I noticed that I was already back in the mansion. I approached the first person I saw, a woman cleaning the vases in one of the living rooms. "Excuse me," I called her attention. She turned to me and smiled, holding a small towel in her hand. "How may I help you, Lady Jones?"

"Just call me Dani, please. I need books. Do you keep books about vampires?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. We have a library in the mansion to keep this place as ordinary as possible, although most of us cannot read."

I frowned in surprise. This place looked expensive, but none of them attended school? "Why?"

She gently shook her head and forced a smile. "We were just a small village of craftsmen and merchants before. We cannot read, but we're good with numbers, and it got us through with the trade."

My shoulders dropped as I forced a smile as well. "That's...awful," I whispered. "Do you want to come to the library with me?"

She looked at the vases behind her, but I already grabbed her arm so we could walk together. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Norah," she replied.

"How long have you been a vampire?"

Just a heads up: FindNovel.net is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey! "Hmm, about 400 years."

I turned to her as we headed upstairs. "400 years? Paige was already a vampire around that time as well. You turned at the same time?"

She smiled and nodded. "The entire Sunkens turned in the same week."

"What?" I exclaimed.

She chuckled before leading me to another hallway. "I thought Sir Rougan already told you this, but I'm happy to fill you in," she said, opening the door to her right.

We walked in, so I looked around a corner where we stood. A row of enormous shelves filled the room, and opposite the door was a huge window, a table, and a couch.

"Does this look ordinary enough?" she asked, laying her arms like a proud library arranger.

"Well..." I walked near the first shelf and noticed that they didn't arrange the books alphabetically, which is entirely understandable. I began scanning the spines to read the titles. "This is hard work, so I appreciate this." "May I ask why are you looking for books about vampires?" She leaned on the edge of the table.

"I never actually studied about your breed."

"Mystic breeds, they say."

"Yes. Now I realized that I never studied any of the mystic breeds, not even wolves or witches."

"I heard some schools teach about that."

I smiled at her and shook my head. "I hated school. On another note, I'm curious about how your village turned." I leaned against the shelf behind me.

She crossed her arms and turned to the window. "We were a huge clan, just living in different villages in a kingdom to the North. Then one night, our parents went to the market because it was New Year's Eve and many people were shopping. We, the ones who were left, had our celebration. Until we got attacked by a clan of vampires." She turned to me and forced a smile. "Rougan was the oldest among us, and we fought back as hard as we could. The vamps killed the children first. I don't know if that's mercy killing. Then they sucked us dry and left us for dead. Our parents buried us in a field.

Her eyes turned reddish from her tears. She sniffed and cleared her throat before resting her palms atop the table. "About two days later, Rougan's parents met this good old witch. She had this exceptional powder that works on a dead body if he had a vampire's saliva in his system. She offered it to Rougan's parents and gave them a choice to bring their son back, but as a vampire."

"And they accepted it," I concluded.

"We're already six feet underground, but our parents were determined, so they dug our coffins up. Then they diluted the powder with water and injected us with it. They tried it first on Rougan, so he was the first vampire in our clan. After we turned, we agreed to turn our parents, making us a whole guild of vampires. The Sunkens."

I shivered upon hearing everything. So that's why Rougan was hellbent on keeping me here. This village had 400-year-old history, and they managed to keep their secret that long. Of course, they won't let an ordinary person like me ruin their lives.