The night was unusually cold. Sulpicia wrapped her arms around herself as she walked to the orphanage she called her home. Her parents had died in a fire when she was twelve, and no one wanted to adopt an older child, so she simply remained there. She would be leaving soon, which pleased her and scared her all at once. She had been waiting for the day when someone would come and rescue her, preferably an attractive man. But she knew the odds of that happening were slim to none.
But there was a lot about this night that was unusual apart from the cold.
She rounded a corner, feeling an odd sense of foreboding. Like she was being watched. She walked faster.
Out of an alley stepped a man. He was rather average in height, in his mid-to-late twenties. His hair was as black as the night around them, reaching his shoulders. He was dressed all in black. He was beautiful. Sulpicia took a step back, startled.
He spoke to her then. "Now, what is such a beautiful young lady doing by herself at this hour?" He stepped into the light of a torch then, and it lit up his eyes. They were the color of blood.
Sulpicia took in a sharp breath. "I was just going home," she replied.
"Where is home for you, sweet?"
She didn't understand why she was talking to this stranger with frightening eyes and the face of one of the gods, but there she stood, answering his question.
"The orphanage."
The stranger tilted his head to one side. "But you're a bit old to live in an orphanage, are you not?"
"Yes, but I'll be leaving soon." Why, oh why, was she speaking to him? She wasn't sure, but she couldn't help herself.
He took a step closer to her, but she did not mind. Not at all. "Is now soon enough for you?" he asked, his sweet-smelling breath blowing into her face.
She nodded, taking his outstretched hand in hers. From that moment, everything changed.
Her dreams of rescue had come to reality...
...sort of.