ileana’s girls: act 1﹑a renewed shift blossoms #2
The cart gave a harsh bump, dragging Lillia from the groggy unconsciousness that had gripped her. Her sleep had been broken, restless, a useless feat amongst the chilling cold that gripped her muscles and soaked her little dress.
The rest of the children were in similar states, the exhaustion and gruelling journey having lasted two sun rises. The bump had dragged everybody to a hazy wakefulness, frightened eyes blinking in confusion.
Lillia swallowed, her throat bobbing as the lock of the cart screeched open.
The sound grated against her ears like nails on a chalkboard, the only other sound apart from snivelling, soft cries, and hushed whispers she had heard for many gruelling hours. The little girl squinted as the sunlight spilled into the cart with harsh rays, stinging her already bloodshot eyes.
She felt Eddie cower closer to her, one of those monsters urging the children closest out of the cart. Some that took too long were jerked by their arm, the haste an underlying threat.
Lillia urged herself on, stiff limbs uncurling as she fell in step behind the gaggle of other children. Her breathing quickened as she drew closer, Eddie’s fingers grasped tightly in her hand.
She was tugged out of the cart, and a firm hand on her shoulder pushed her towards the other girls. Lillia gasped, her head snapping around as her fingers slipped from Eddie’s grip. He had been pushed the other way, into the separated gang of boys, and she could only cling onto the sight of his wide eyes before he was swallowed up by the children behind them.
Lillia stood on her tiptoes, desperate to seek out her friend, but another monster at the head of her group, a woman, ushered them away. She swallowed down a whine.
Pattering footsteps filled the path as they were lead into a huge industrial building; Lillia had never seen anything like it - the assortment of arched windows, doors, the sheer scale of it. The boys were lead further down, to an adjacent building. Theirs was marked ‘Sector B1’, whereas hers was marked ‘Sector G1’.
She was unsure what those words meant.
As they entered the building, Lillia fiddled anxiously with her dress. The size of this place was intimidating, the corridors lined with paintings and text she couldn’t quite discern. The vampire lady at the head of the group paused, and turned to face them.
Everybody seemed to stiffen, and go still, including the little girl.
“You’re all property of the Institution now,” she smiled, all sharp teeth and fangs that made the children vibrate with nerves. “There is nothing to be afraid of. You’ll be educated here, in all the ways a good human should. And eventually, when you’re older, you’ll be rehomed. Doesn’t that sound delightful?”
The vampire was pale, with long, braided blonde hair that fell gracefully over her shoulder. She seemed to stretch impossibly tall over all of them, like one of those winding trees on the outskirts of her village. Her eyes gleamed a dull red, narrowed and as sharp as a knife. She seemed to be assessing each and every frightened face that stared up at her, pinpointing one and then onto the other.
When she reached Lillia, she cowered slightly. All she could think about was the gleaming red eyes protruding in the darkness, a glowing reminder of the monsters that had torn through her village like a raging storm, like wordless animals.
“There are plenty of facilities for you all to feel comfortable,” she continued, motioning around her to the grand, opulent building. Glittering balls of light glowed from above them, and Lillia’s nose scrunched in wonder. It didn’t seem to be on fire. How was it emanating such light? “Shared sleeping quarters, a cafeteria, classrooms, and plenty of outdoors for your physical health.”
She wanted to go back to the village. She didn’t want to stay here.
“Come,” the vampire motioned for the stairs, her lithe form moving as though she didn’t even touch the ground. An agility that made Lillia feel quite twitchy with nerves. If one of the kids got scared, wanted to run away from it all, there would be nothing that they could do to escape her observant eyes and inhuman speed.
The orange rays of the sun leaked through the windows as they climbed flights of stairs, soaking into her dirty, tear soaked face with each gruelling step. A few children lagged behind, their solemn faces crinkled with flashes of pain. But it seemed like the vampire had a keen eye on every girl, assuring she made it to the top floor with little issue. A large, circular window greeted them, and two long corridors flanked ominously on either side.
The blonde vampire took them to the left, stopping gracefully in her tracks. She whirled around to face them, and Lillia gasped softly when a girl bumped into her from behind. She glanced over her shoulder, the short brunette cowering slightly under her gaze. She was cradling her arm, a glimmer of blood peeking out from under her tattered sleeve. Lillia’s eyes softened, and she turned back to the vampire as her voice filled the quiet space.
“Bathroom facilities stair side,” she informed, and then gestured to the other side. “Bedrooms to the window side.”
Eyes blinked up at the doors.
“You sleep at 10PM and you wake at 6AM, no earlier, no later,” the vampire explained firmly. “You’ll be educated on your superiors and the life you’ll live for them. You will be fed here, clothed, and provided for. You’re all serving a higher purpose.”
Her expression turned mocking. “No need to look so sad.”
The little girl barely glanced down at her clothes, her muddy dress making her chest squeeze with a flurry of emotions. She couldn’t stop thinking about how upset her ma would be if she realised her dress was dirty again. She really liked this dress.
“As girls, you’ll remain desirable as long as you excel in cooking, cleaning, and other services,” the vampire smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. The little girl wondered what she meant by ‘other services’. “But in this sector, your education is your primary focus. You refer to your superiors, like me, as either sir, or ma’am. Your lords and ladies, my lord or my lady. Don’t worry so much, these will become second nature to you.”
Lillia’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t keep up with what she was saying, desperately trying to retain the information being tossed at her so casually. It surged into her racing thoughts, before becoming muddled and useless. She blindly followed the vampire’s movements as she waved her hand, and one of the bedroom doors clicked open.
The little girl gawked at the display of power.
Another girl, clad in a grey dress and pinned back hair, was waiting patiently, her hands clasped in front of her and her head bowed politely.
“Ma’am,” she greeted, keeping her head inclined. Lillia stared; this girl looked only a few years older than her, still baby faced and small, but so well behaved. The vampire smiled again.
“Delilah. See that you and the other representative’s clean them and provide them fresh clothes before breakfast.”
Delilah nodded sweetly, her shoes tapping against the floorboards as she crossed the corridor to the bathroom, popping the door open for the girls. She ushered half of them in, greeting everybody with a warm face as they entered.
As Lillia went to move into the bathroom, the vampire stopped her.
“The rest of you to the other side,” she ordered, spinning the little girl by her shoulder and urging her forward. Her feet skittered along the floor nervously, the rest of the group crossing into the other hallway. Another girl in a grey dress was waiting by the other set of bathrooms, guiding them inside.
Lillia glanced nervously behind her, noting that the vampire was gone. Her bones shuddered a sigh of relief. Other human girls greeted them, and groggy from the restless journey, she allowed herself to be herded to one of the baths. Some girls had to share, but Lillia was lucky enough to get one by herself.
The girl at the door ran her bath with warm water, folding some fresh clothes on a tall chair with a towel for her.
“My name is Dol,” she introduced politely. She had dark black hair that reminded her of her ma’s eyes, which fell in a short wave under her chin. She, too, looked the same age as the girl from before. Some of them looked various ages, but no older than eleven, Lillia sumised.
“I’m the lead representative of this ward, so please feel free to come to me if you need,” Dol smiled, encouraging the girl to remove her dress. Lillia stared at her with big eyes.
“But…” Her hoarse words trailed off like sand slipping through a crevice, her nose wrinkling in sadness. Dol’s eyes softened with sympathy.
“I know,” she whispered, leaning down to stop the flow of water. She tested the warmth with her hand, satisfied with the outcome. “It won’t be returned to you. I was sad, too, when I was first brought here. But I’m afraid it’s filthy, and you need to be washed.”
Lillia clutched her dress, shaking fingers digging into the muddy fabric. She opened her mouth to retort, to cry, to scream, but she couldn’t. Weariness had settled so deep in her bones, that a harrowing tiredness made her too numb to do anything.
So she stripped out of her clothes, slipping into the bathtub with a little sniffle. She felt hot tears rolling down her cheeks, her chin all tense and her nose wrinkled as she feebly tried to keep them at bay.
Dol nudged her cheek tenderly, and got to work on washing her. The older girls fell into a unified rhythm, lathering them with strong smelling liquids that frothed in their hair.
Dol worked vigoursly to untangle her wild locks, the colour returning bright and smooth like new. She marvelled, rubbing a rough cloth over her face to clean off the dirt.
“You have a lovely hair colour,” she complimented, and Lillia’s red rimmed eyes peeked up shyly at her. “I’ve never seen a blonde like it.”
The little girl sniffled, running her fingers through the locks clumsily. It was so soft to the touch; she was quite overwhelmed by all these new things, like how those round objects in the ceiling made light, and how warm water appeared from the metal on the end of the tub.
Once she was thoroughly cleaned, Dol helped her clamber from the tub, all clumsy, soaked limbs. She dried her off with a towel, and out of the corner of her eye, Lillia noticed an older girl tending to the one who had bumped into her before.
She was dabbing a wet cotton ball to her arm, soaking up all of the blood. The little girl was sniffling through tears, glimpsing at Lillia through her eyelashes.
They both stared at each other.
Then, Lillia was helped into her new uniform, the same grey dress over a clean white shirt. Dol fixed her collar and pulled up her tights, and then slipped a shoe onto her foot. She then paused, laughing apologetically.
“Oh, these seem a little big for you. Let me fetch a smaller size.”
The little girl watched her go, and picked uncomfortably at her new clothes. Her nose wrinkled at the impossibly creaseless fabric, her toes wriggling in the airy material of her tights. She took a fleeting moment to gaze at the rest of them, all in various stages of dress.
The girl from before looked a little less in pain, but no less uncomfortable.
When Dol returned, she slipped the shoes right on her feet and buckled them in. She took her to dry her hair, another odd machine that blew hot air from the circular hole. The older girl let her play around with the strange buttons, but nonetheless got right back on track not a moment later.
Her fingers combed through her hair, drying the damp strands with ease.
“I will arrange you for Mălina’s class,” Dol gently spoke up, her eyes turning serious. “Of course, don’t ever call her that. Only ma’am. The other vampire, she’s called Viorica.”
Lillia blinked miserably.
“Mălina is strict,” the girl whispered secretively in her ear, having leaned forward like in some form of confidentiality. “She likes girls who look neat and are well dressed, so always wear your hair in a bun. My bunk is on the far left of the dorm, so if you need help, come to me. You will have to learn how to do it yourself eventually, though.”
Sir or ma’am. Wake up at this time and go to bed at this. Wear a bun. What more did Lillia have to remember when all she could think about was the horrors she witnessed at her village?
“Be sure to volunteer to answer questions,” Dol encouraged, brushing Lillia’s soft locks and scraping it back into a neat, tidy little bun at the bottom of her neck. “Mălina likes that.” Her voice turned serious. “Just be sure you’re certain you answer correctly.”
The little girl’s eyes crinkled. “Will I get my dress back?”
Dol’s expression saddened. “No,” she sighed. “It’s an honour to be in the Institute, er— what was your name?”
She fiddled with her fingers. “Lillia.”
“Lillia,” she repeated fondly. “This is the best place to be. We humans are so lucky to be looked after so kindly. Here.” She tapped under her chin, encouraging her to look at herself in the mirror. “Don’t you look pretty?”
Pretty, yes, Lillia thought. She wondered if her ma would think the same.
