Shadows Sing Side Story Ch. 5

Natasha’s Day After

 

I'm haunted by these last two days of council meetings. First, the drama of leaders having children and then that boy… sorry, grandpa, out of no were making a scene like that. The worst part was the disapproving gaze when the young one agree to be a protector for a human child. No wonder tensions proliferate. I honestly thought I was going to die because all of this happened on my watch. They gave me the black robe of authority. They taught me their ways and traditions. They ingrained their laws and expectations on my lips and body language. After all, I'm not like them. If they hurt each other, they could live and recover. But if they attacked me, I would have died where I was standing. It sucks being a human embedded in a vampire's world. 

How did my life get to this point? Where did I mess up so badly that I work for literal creatures of the night? O’ right. Debt. It grew and grew till I could not pay a cent back. I went to college with full-ride tuition covered, only to lose it over a severe sports injury, and my grades were so bad I could not keep it. So, I had to take out debt to finish. Then, the local town I grew up in went into financial ruin, leaving my parents, who invested in their employer, to not only lose their job but their retirement plans. After years of being devoted, they found themselves with nothing. So I did an odd job, to send them as much money as I could. Which caused me to take out even more debt to have some funds to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly. Then, it got worse when my mother needed special medical assistance that would cause harm to a leg. At that point, the debt was so bad, and I needed help. That was when an innkeeper told me about a line of work that pays well, had excellent health benefits, and three free meals a day. All I had to do was help support a large family who often had conflicts with their neighbors. 

I thought it was too good to be true, and the conflict sounded silly then. I didn't know that it was a type of code to explain I would be a support for a vampire network as one of many peacemakers called a governess. Only after I agreed and was sent overseas did I learn the truth. They don't accept anyone for this line of work. Three conditions must be met. One, the human must be in trouble, often in debt nowadays. Although I have heard that in the past, they could have been slaves or people seeing a second chance on death row. The second condition is that they must be eager and open-minded to learning. That way, they can adapt to the demands and stress of a peacemaker's work quickly and flawlessly. The last, They have to prove that they can keep a secret. The test of secret-keeping is in the recruitment test when told to go see a guy at an address and to go as you are. If one arrives with any recording device, pen, paper, or any way to leave or record a message during the interview, they would be disqualified. I did not have much at the time and had no way to make note of the discussion. So, I met all three requirements and found myself here. In a job, I can't leave, always under the eyes of vampires.