The Bloodmaid's Tale

Chapter 3

June fluttered her eyes open the next day and woke with panic. She still thought she was back at camp, and she couldn't feel Sarah beside her. But as she looked around she remembered what had happened and knew Sarah was gone now. It left an empty pit in her stomach, the kind she knew couldn't be filled. She had loved Sarah the moment she had been born, never jealous that there was now a new baby of the family. No, Sarah was doted on by June so much her own mother had joked if June were any older people would think Sarah was her own daughter. They both looked alike, the same heart shaped face, the same long eyelashes. They even seemed to have the same birthmarks on the small of their backs. She missed her as much as she missed Luke. But at least in some way there was still a chance of seeing Sarah, as long as she could survive this place....

Her wrists felt bruised as June tried to dig her finger up the black metal clasp and massage where her Keepers had bit. It was no use and she heavily sighed as she sat up from her bed and looked around the room.

It was small, but very well kept. Thick curtains hung from the solitary window overlooking the garden and garage in the backyard. It was night as the black clouds rolled over the dark sky. June stood from the bed and felt the cold hardwood floor beneath her warm feet. The walls were plainly painted, a dark blue in this house full of black, white, and gold.

June sighed and found the mirror Fredrick had promised her. She looked into it with wide eyes. She hadn't seen her reflection in so many years and she looked more grown up than she should. Her blonde long hair waved and curled in a mess of cream around her face that seemed hollow in the lamplight. She looked to her face, her hand gently touching her cheek, as her eyes were steel gray, like the sky before snowfall. She had become so skinny from her time in the Flesh Camp, her once hourglass curves now tight against her skeleton from being so malnourished. To think, she would have killed for this body before the Order of Gilead....

Grey and blue eyes were a rare trait in humans in that time, harvesting and the decrease of genetics left the humans very little distinction between each other. Most had brown eyes, with brown or black hair, redheads and blondes were nearly extinct now and a different eye color was nearly impossible. Maybe that was why she had been chosen? Luke if he was lucky would hopefully end up in a house as well instead of the Farm, he too had blonde hair but blue eyes like Sarah's.

But there she was, her big gray eyes staring back at her. Her cheeks looked pale and her skin was almost white from the lack of sunshine. A ghost of what she once was...

Suddenly a figure appeared behind her that almost made June jump out of her skin.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you!" the girl said. She was dressed in a cotton green dress that almost looked too modest for her. The girl had short brown hair but a warm smile. She was apparently a Martha, which were the half human, half vampire breed, and a few steps below June. At some point, the vampires had decided to breed with the more genetically sought after humans, and in turn made half breeds. Most didn't think vampires could become pregnant with children, and while it was difficult, it was still possible for the female vampires to conceive. June had known a few stories of the female vampires taking human children and turning them to be their own, a thought that made June shiver as she thought of the fate of Sarah.

"My name is Cora and I'll be taking care of you" she said handing June a fresh pair of clothes. It was the same red dress, same shoes, same veil, and the dress code for her rank. "You are allowed to talk to me you know" Cora said taking a brush from a nearby dresser "You are higher up than me and can speak to me freely, I do not think bad of you like others will no doubt" she spoke very frankly, her auburn hair held tightly back into a bun.