A Hanging

Once Olivia had stepped off the carriage, she looked around, dazed.

Although she was from the countryside and the people residing there were plenty, it could not compare to the sheer amount of people she was seeing now.

Dozens of people were walking past her. Some in a hurry, while others had the privilege of taking their time and strolling around. Numerous shops clustered together on the street, while people stood in front of the stall's, talking to its respective owner.

The sky was a light grey, evidence of the smoke coming from the factories in the distance.

From behind her, Olivia heard the tinkle of a bell. She turned around only to find a bike speeding towards her, causing her to hastily step to the side to avoid an oncoming collision.

"Sorry!" The young boy shouted behind his back as he whizzed past on his bike.

While Olivia stood marvelling at the bustling sight in front, an impatient voice drew her away, "How long do you plan on standing there?"

She looked at the vampire standing a few steps ahead, before briskly walking to catch up to him.

"I've never seen so many people," Olivia commented, as she walked slightly behind Alexander.

She had already become accustomed to his somewhat unresponsive state, and therefore continued with her chatter, "Everything looks so… busy."

Her eyes continued to roam around until they landed on a particular set of people.

A small distance away, a few others were crowded around a platform. Two ropes hanging off the pillar.

Alexander noticed that Olivia's attention had once again been diverted. His eyes followed hers and noticed the crowd of people.

Soon, two people with black hoods over their heads, were escorted onto the platform.

"Take off their hoods!"

"Yeah, take it off!"

The crowd started to get rowdy as if getting ready to watch a great play.

Without further ado, the escort swiftly yanked the hoods off. Two men, looking to be around the same age, were revealed to the audience.

The men had the same placid expressions. Their cheeks were sunken in, while their eyes had dark under bags. Their frames were thin and withering, while their faces seemed extremely grey and pale. A sign of malnourishment.

The most striking element was the tight collar sitting around their necks.

"Slaves…?" Olivia murmured under her breath.

"Haaa… Poor lads," A throaty voice resounded from beside her.

Olivia's eyebrows rose in surprise. While everyone else was jeering, this man next to her seemed to be the only one genuinely saddened for the two men.

She turned to her side to look at the old man, "You seem to know them?"

Hearing her question, he turned around, looking at the curious young woman, "Indeed I do, good lads they were."

"If you don't mind, do you know what crime they committed?"

The old man turned to face the podium again, a low sigh escaping his wrinkled lips, "Although I don't know much, I know that a local merchant had bought the two lads as slaves. Thing was, the merchant was known to have a temper. I suppose their lives became even more miserable as the days went by. According to rumours, the one on the left over there," The old man nudged his head towards the platform, "Could no longer tolerate the merchant's rage and so in a fit of luck, ended up pushing the old merchant off the stairs."

"Is that so…" Olivia's eyes turned to look back at the two men. The escort was now securing the ropes around their necks.

"Well that wasn't all actually. While, miraculously, the merchant didn't die from his fall, he was indeed heavily wounded. That's when the lad on the right witnessed everything that had happened. He smashed a nearby vase and stabbed the merchant in the neck, finally killing him. Of course, this was all from the mouth of one of the servants."

Once the old man finished his recount, he shifted his head to the side to observe the young girl's reaction. What startled him, however, was that she had no change in expression whatsoever. As if their whole conversation was based around mundane happenings.

Suddenly, the crowd cheered. The two men were now swinging by their throats, their necks bent in an odd angle.

"Had enough fun?" Alexander who had been standing quietly at Olivia's side, spoke up.

Hearing the low and velvety voice, the old man looked beside Olivia, finally taking notice of the extra person. But soon, his hunched body started to tremble, his eyes fearful. He no longer had the strength to carry on standing there as he quickly scuttled off, not bothering to say goodbye.

Olivia had a good idea as to why the old man hurried away but nevertheless didn't mind.

"Let's go," She replied.

Walking across the street, Olivia could hear the different stall owners in order to attract customers.

"Get your fresh produce here, fresh produce here right from the farms!"

A few children, accompanied by their parents, went up to the stall owner in a bid to bargain with him for some cheap groceries.

A while later, Alexander led Olivia into a quiet looking shop. Only a few people walking around inside.

As she observed, she noticed that there were no commoners present. The customers only consisting of either nobles or the wealthy.

"Hello, Master Alexander. A pleasure to see you come today," A worker promptly greeted them upon their arrival.

"Hmm."

The worker seemed used to the tight lipped vampire but did not dare show any rudeness. While their voice sounded bright and airy, only they knew how fast their heart was beating inside. What a joke. The other was a vampire while they were a mere human. They definitely knew their place.

"It's been a while since you last visited. I suppose you want to look at the new arrivals. Claire!" The middle-aged man summoned another worker.

Just then, a young woman walked towards the trio. As soon as her eyes landed upon Alexander, her breath hitched. She quickly turned her gaze away, aiming it at the floor.

Olivia noticed that the woman seemed unaccustomed to vampires and looked to be trying very hard to curb her fear. Comparing her to the middle-aged man, Olivia could not help but think the young woman started working here rather recently.

"Yes, Mr Poole?"

"Go and fetch our latest styles. Be careful to handle them well," The middle-aged man ordered Claire in a stern voice, a stark difference to the one he used earlier.

Claire did not even look up, quickly scurrying away to complete her task.

"My apologies, Master Alexander. Claire is a new worker, just started last week. She has yet to learn the ropes. Please forgive her for any mistakes," Mr Poole's tone, once again, returned to its bright and airy countenance.

Alexander was now sitting down on the brown leather chairs. Seeing that the vampire had no desire to engage in such meaningless conversation, Mr Poole cleverly closed his lips, tight.

Instead, he took his time to gaze at the vampire's companion. One that he had not seen before. She seemed young, had healthy rosy cheeks with bright pinkish lips.

Olivia had long felt the intrusive gaze, and turned her head to face his stare.

Noticing the young woman's eyes looking back at him, Mr Poole couldn't help but open his mouth slightly.

'She's human?'

Before his thoughts could stray further, Claire had come back with a few clothes draped over her arm.

Seeing the man occupied with something and no longer looking at her, Olivia turned her gaze back to what she was observing earlier.

Outside the shop window, a young boy seemed to be surrounded by a pack of children. From here, Olivia could not see the young boy's face as the rest of the children were obstructing her vision. She could, however, see the aggressive stances the children took against him.

"It seems to fit you perfectly, Master Alexander," Mr Poole loudly complimented, causing Olivia to turn away from the window and look towards them.

Alexander stood in front of a full length mirror. Seeing Olivia peer at him from the side, his deep crimson eyes looked back at her from within the mirror.

Olivia, on the other hand, could not help but slightly widen her eyes to fully take in his appearance. At the moment, in her eyes, he looked extremely handsome. His new suit looked to be well tailored to his frame. The black trousers made his legs look even more robust and long.

As her eyes travelled from bottom to top, she finally found her gaze on his face.

Thinking up until now, Olivia felt that Alexander looked to be very good-looking. Even more so when she compared him to all the men she had ever set her eyes upon.

While her gaze was still roaming, it accidentally landed on his lips. Looking at them now, they seemed to be a deeper shade of pink, different to any other shade she had seen. They looked to be soft and luscious. Seeing them caused Olivia to subconsciously dart her tongue out to wet her own lips.

Olivia then quickly paused. Noticing her own abnormal behaviour she hastily moved her gaze to look at the mirror only to find that his eyes were watching her every move all along. Soon, her face began to lightly flush.

"Doesn't it look well suited on him?" Mr Poole turned to Olivia, not noticing what was happening between the two.

"Yes… it does," Olivia managed to breathe out before turning her gaze back towards the window.

Outside, the situation seemed to have escalated.

The young boy was now on the floor, curled into a ball. One of the children from the pack looked to be shouting at him, giving the boy a kick every once in a while.

Suddenly, something had changed. Olivia continued to watch, looking at the group of children move back a step.

Through a small gap, she could see that the young boy had stood up from the ground, his face seemed determined while his small hands were clenched into a ball.

Looking at them, Olivia pursed her lips.