In the trial of people

The weather was sizzling hot.

The snow-capped mountains melted quickly, and the werewolves preferred their human forms.

In a small city cluttered with settlements, most werewolves there had never seen the elegance of the major clans.

Their market was a dreary place. The streets were strewn with dirt. Noises came from clamouring sellers and complaints, from the poverty-stricken buyers.

Most of the passers-by hugged their purses to their chests, their clothes frayed and washed to the point that made rags. Their trails dragging along the stench of heat.

Standing before a stall, a petite woman — Allena was haggling with an angry trader over a bowl of wheat. The little girl beside her couldn't feel Allena's tight grip on her hand. Instead, her doe eyes were gripped by the dark entrails of fried meat, hearing nothing but the sizzling of oil, smelling nothing but the juicy aroma.

She swallowed the saliva in her mouth. She could almost taste it.

"Add the wheat too!" The haggling woman fumed. But when the trader turned her back, she smiled with mischief.

Her little one was silent which was unlike her. As she looked down, a laugh rumbled in her chest at the hungry sight.

"Lilah," she called to her. "Do you want that?"

No response.

A smooth, melodious laugh rolled out of Allena's mouth.

"Huh..." Lilah looked up at her mother as she felt a gentle nudge.

The trader gave Allena the goods she'd purchased which went into her little brown sack. She paid and coaxed her daughter along.

With no hesitation, she stopped before the meat trader. "Package two pounds," she told the man.

"On it," he replied, spared the little girl a glance, and got to work.

When she saw the exchange, Lilah's round face lifted in an angelic smile.

Allena returned it, having been watching her closely. She stroked her shoulder-length dark hair.

Soon, the delicacy was hot and ready. Allena took the meat from the trader, putting it in a separate bag.

Lilah's eyes followed it hungrily. She gulped.

"Let's go home," Allena said and ignored the scalding glare from the wheat trader.

The cost she'd managed to spare for those scanty grains of wheat was still eating her up.

Allena trudged home with Lilah in tow.

In no time, the market was behind them.

The little girl, full of the vibrance of a seven-year old, skipped the stones on the rocky path. She gasped in awe when green birds soared past, slowed down whenever she saw squirrels, only to get pulled forward again.

In this little home-run, she was lucky to go on with her whims without any scolding.

A block away from their settlement, their ears twitched.

Some men were talking in hushed voices.

Lilah's mother had always told her that talking too much was bad in this weather. But these people were not just talking but seemed to be arguing about something.

These men were supposed to be at the tenth major clan.

Did they come back for an errand? Allena thought.

As they got closer, the pair could finally make out some words.

"Not the prince," a husky voice sounded impatiently, "he's still in seclusion."

"Ah." This tone was too soft for a man's.

Allena had barely heard.

Since Lilah was being strung along at her mother's pace, she was slowed when they came to the source of the squabble.

It was from within a house. Its door was the only one directly in the street. It belonged to a missing person.

Why are people inside?

Thinking hard, Allena tried to figure out if the man had later been found.

"Stay here and make no sound," she told Lilah quietly and left the bags with her by the edge of the house.

She walked up to the door with practiced stealth and put her ears to it.

Lilah, like any other seven year old kid would choose to chase enjoyment. She held that bag, turning it over and over in contemplation. The aroma of food was irresistible but she was soon drawn to her surroundings.

The next house was dilapidated, belonging to no one. She sat there with a curious gaze and was about to move forward. Then, she remembered that stern instruction and remained still.

"If Conifer had been more courteous, he would have company in the mortal world," it was yet another voice, Allena surmised.

"Quit your petulance, brat."

Four different voices in total.

But none sounded like gritty Ingrid, the former house occupant. The wicked man owed her seventy bronze coins.

Even in death, he must pay in full. She had a suspicion that he had intentionally disappeared because he owed a lot of people.

Ingrid was a helpless man whom she had helped out of pity. However, after his disappearance, it was found that he also owed others in the same scheme.

Allena withdrew a bit.

Who was Conifer?

The entrance to the mortal realm was in the palace. How could he come and go freely?

Just then, she began to smell smoke. There was an exotic scent mixed with it. She sniffed the door and detected that it came from a termite-eaten hole that was the breadth of a finger.

"Caww!" A bird squawked loudly above.

Her heart skipped a beat as she reared back, startled, as if the bird was about to swoop down on her head. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

Then, she blinked a few times, confused.

Why do I feel so frightened?

She froze.

Why am I eavesdropping?

She looked left and right. The streets were empty.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she decided to leave it be. She would inform the security head to investigate. With that resolution, she returned to her daughter.

"Lilah?"

Not now. This child.

"Lilah!"

But, she wasn't there, not even the bags were left behind.

Where did she run off to? Only in just a short time, and she'd crawled off on her little legs.

A thought struck her and she burst into a smile.

"Digging into that meat, are you?" She raised her voice and forgot that there were men next door.

Stones crunched under her feet. Traversing the side of the house, there was no clear boundary between this decayed house and Ingrid's. Overgrown weeds criss-crossed the path and the grass looked trodden through. She sniffed out her scent.

She followed it.

"Lilah! Mama's getting worried," she called out shakily as she turned the corner, unsure now.

Children and their curiosity. Why would she take this path?

The little girl could hear her mother calling for her. She could hear her coming closer.

"Mother, don't come anymore!" She wanted to say, but couldn't.

You cannot follow. There are strange people here.

Lilah struggled and struggled. At that moment, she wished she was already ten years old. Only then could she establish her mind communication pathway.

Thus, Lilah's mother didn't hear these calls.

Unsuspectingly, she rounded the corner. She saw her Lilah sitting unkempt with a gag around her mouth. Her body was bound completely with a black rope.

"Lilah..." She gasped. "Who did this to you?" She asked, but her daughter's distressed answers were muffled.

Rushing headlong to untie that cloth, Lilah's eyeballs widened in fear.

Allena did not sense anyone. The impression was that the perpetrators had run away.

The air shifted, and before Allena could register it, a loud whack was heard. A crack of intense pain struck her skull as she careened forward.

A tear rolled down Lilah's face, her body paralyzed as terror took over.

The sounds of distress from Lilah gradually faded as Allena lost consciousness.

"Too loud," the voice which had been too soft for a man spoke. She was tall and nimble as her pale hands swiftly grabbed Allena before her body would be cratered by the stones of this earth.

Three people flickered into existence behind her.

They saw the woman's child sobbing violently with snot running down her face, and their frozen hearts stirred.

Their uniform midnight cloaks revealed strange black eyes that seemed translucent.

One of them crouched to her level, but kept a safe distance.

His eyes were shapely in a good way, but the irises looked as if it was coated with glass.

They pierced through her. Fresh goosebumps broke out on her skin.

From this range, she saw two strands of white hair hanging near his eyes. He must be old.

Regardless, his bearing was soft as he picked up the bag fallen behind and stood. He passed this bag to a shorter man and told him to prepare the portal.

The man disappeared instantly. Lilah's fragile heart raced, and she was having trouble catching her breaths.

Who are these people? Not only did they not have the familiar scent of werewolves, she could not sense their aura.

For an unknown reason, the man's eyebrows furrowed, and he made a grunting sound. The black eyes looked directly at her.

She peed. The liquid flowed out, soaking her garb and escaping from under her skirts.

The man had no reaction. He only picked her up in a surprisingly gentle grasp but was careful not to soil himself.

"Do not make trouble, so that we do not have to make trouble for you," the man said, its roughness unsettling her further.

She nodded. The warning had the desired effect.

The next moment, she was inside a house.

She was dizzy and nauseous.

She lifted her head to see a large coil of energy pulsing soundlessly, undulating in a mirror just as tall as the only woman amongst these strange people.

"Go," that woman said.

A man walked through first. Allena was in his arms.

Lilah craned her neck, still tense and alert.

The woman followed.

The body under Lilah flexed and began to move.

As they entered the portal, Lilah dared not blink.

When Lilah opened her eyes next, it was with a start. She sat up, body sinking on soft bedding.

She panicked, scanning the area with urgency. Silver lamps illuminated the darkness.

A figure was standing by the strangely constructed window.

"Mother?" She croaked in disbelief.

"Lilah!" A cry of relief.

Allena hurried to the bed and took Lilah in her arms.

She didn't seem hurt at all which made Lilah wonder if she'd been dreaming.

At the same time, keys jingled. A door she hadn't paid attention to slowly swung open.

She burrowed into her mother's embrace.

"It's okay," her mother stroked her back.

A man came in standing tall. When those eyes met hers, she knew it was the man who'd carried her.

They had shed their cloaks.

However, the lamps did a poor job of lighting their faces properly.

When the woman who must have been the one who hurt her mother followed, she snarled unwittingly. Whimpering at the glares she received, she shrunk back.

"What's your name, little girl?" The man asked. His voice was not the same as before. It was as cool as water.

Lilah hesitated and stole a look at her mother. She saw an encouraging smile.

"Lilah," she answered, looking down at the floor.

There was a tiny pause. "I'm Prince Lenard."

What? There is only one prince. Unless...

And I'm Fighter Lulu," the woman bit out with a hint of impatience, and pointed at Allena. "Your mother will tell you the rest."

"Allena," that lady went on to address her mother. She continued,"You agree to our terms."

Allena clutched the little girl not knowing if she wanted to laugh or cry. Not much of an option left.

"I agree," Allena answered. But, that tone reflected one who had long made up her mind.

Lilah was shivering badly, fidgeting and stealing looks all over the place as her little brain struggled to understand the immediate situation.

The light had caught the edge of unusually long teeth. The unnatural black eyes. The snowy complexion. The strange mode of dressing.

She knew the stories.

They were captives in vampire territory.