The Torn Sins

Chapter XXVII

Cybil's POV 

"What kind of changes would you be making around the Castle if you became the ruler?" the announcer calls out.

I gaze over at my brother, offering him a wave of my hand to signal that he should go first. After flashing me a slight smirk, he begins his spiel.

"I'd start by ensuring peace and safety in our community. It's been brought to my attention that the streets have been rowdy lately, just last week a vampire was found dead in a back alley. Unacceptable, our people must be protected." Applause erupts from the audience, he pauses for a moment before continuing. "I'd also work on expanding our education system. Having a daughter of my own has shown me that private tutors is not an acceptable form of teaching in such a large community. I've been to cities where they have different schools set up to teach different styles of learning based on the interests and abilities of the children. I'd want something like that for our youth here. Those would be some of the changes I'd start with, other things could come into place at a later date." As he finishes, he looks over at me from his balcony and I mouth the word coward at him. He gives me a wide smile this time before gesturing towards me.

"Ah yes, my brother's interests are mundane I'm afraid, quite simple indeed. I'm after creating a new era here in the Castle, wouldn't you all agree it's time for some real change?" I call out and they cheer me on. "I'd start with the outskirts. Children being ripped from their homes without any idea what the Castle is like; unacceptable. Feeders should be elegant, proper, and trained from birth in my opinion. The fear on a child's face the first time they're bitten, it's unlike anything else. Just ask Natham, that very type of fear is why he's with us today. He sacrificed his freedom to keep a child from experiencing that type of pain, and I would do the same. The system in the outskirts would be different.

"Next, I'd tackle the Borders. Have you seen the community those humans are living in? Ridiculous, my mother always says, 'If you can't take care of your pets then I won't let you have any,' and I couldn't agree with her more. None of us would dare spend more than a few minutes in the Borders, let alone live there. Why should those humans? We could teach them to willingly share their blood with the common Castle folk, just as we have to the feeders that share their blood with Nobility. The only way this could happen though is through educating them, teach them that we are not monsters, instead that we are creatures of peace that purely wish to survive. A humble servant is always better than an unwilling one.

"As my brother mentioned, a vampire was found dead a few days ago, and we all have no doubt that it was a human that murdered him. I know this sparks outrage amongst our community, but what can we expect? We've had them living like rats, caged animals, of course they're behaving this way. We must nurture them, raise them up in the way we want them to be," I can tell I have them hooked. They're all listening so intently, even my brother's eyes are glued to me as if he's astonished, his ears fixated on every word I'm saying.

"The last issue I'd like to bring up right now is the education of our slaves. Natham is to be your king...he cannot write and can barely read. I know you're all thinking, 'Well he was a slave before, he didn't need those skills,' but you're wrong. Lack of education fuels hatred. If our feeders knew their history, knew that their blood was a holy and wondrous thing, they'd feel proud to serve us. If we better our humans, we better ourselves."

I wait, in silence, for their response. I've done my best to manipulate the situation in a way that will be to their liking but I can only hope...deafening applause erupts suddenly amongst the crowd. Their cheering causes a ringing in my ears and before I even know what's happening, red roses are being tossed into the air, towards my balcony. It's a sign in our campaigns, of being favored by the people. My mother's mother once had roses tossed at her, now it is my turn.