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Chapter 3

Babette stared at herself in the vanity mirror, simply for curiosity. She smiled, her fangs automatically revealing themselves. She had learnt quickly that the Zemya made no attempt to hide their fangs expect when they attempted to blend in with humans. This, she had been told, was unlike the Maya, who were trained from birth to hide their fangs when they spoke and laughed. Babette made a disgusted face at the thought of such weakness "Fangs are something to proud of. They are a weapon, and therefore they should be known to the enemy and the weaker ones then us so that we get the respect we deserve" she muttered.

The young woman studied her eyes, and remembered Jacqueline's words to her 'the gold in your eyes will fade over time, leaving only the brown. Only when you're angry or hunting will your irises become golden again'. She was glad of this for her own benefit, because she had to admit that having golden coloured eyes would be a little startling. She felt no pity for the humans who glimpsed her though, they meant nothing.

The young woman suddenly remembered her dream from the night before "It is true that the humans mean nothing…but he means something to me. I just cannot see what" she thought.

Suddenly, Babette turned sharply at the noise of soft footsteps coming in her direction. She stood swiftly from the vanity stood and met the eyes of her sister as she walked through the door. Jacqueline smiled pleasantly "Is everything alright?" she asked. She had read her sister's thoughts moments before, and had hurryingly decided to interrupt her and distract her mind with something else. There was a good side to still being able to see Babette's thoughts…she could prevent her from remembering anything too important by distracting her mind.

Jacqueline continued, smiling still and speaking friendly "Would you like to go into the village with me? We can pick off the dregs of the tavern" she offered. To preserve their secret existence, the only humans that the Zemya fed off of were the dregs of society…the ones no one would miss. It was for the benefit of no one looking for a 'missing' family member of course, for no Zemya cared in the slightest about the humans.

Babette argued "But Jackie, it is the daytime."

"Oui, but it is very overcast. The sun merely weakens us, you forget, it does not kill us like the humans want to believe" replied the older woman.

Her sister laughed bitterly "Oui. The humans just want to feel like they have protection against us…they are so frightened that they actually have made up their own silly 'rules' about vampires to keep themselves from being too afraid" she commented.

Jacqueline smiled "Venir ma petite, we must go" she said.

Babette walked through the nearby village, her sister in tow. She held a thin, beautiful umbrella over her head to block away any sun. She had seen many fine ladies with such things in even mildly sunny conditions, so she decided it would not be considered too strange. She wore a simple peasant gown, and she had to make a considerable effort to hide her fangs in order to mingle with the humans.

The young woman suddenly saw three women out of the corner of her eye, and they were clearly all flirting with the same man. Curious, she came to a halt and her gaze shifted to them. One of the women, a tall and beautiful one with fair skin, wore a red dress that displayed her cleavage. The two other women with her looked almost identical to her, expect one wore a green dress and a yellow dress, but all of similar style. Considering how close they looked physically, Babette guessed they must have been sisters.

The man they were flirting with then caught her attention. He was handsome, with quite obvious muscles and long brown hair. If the circumstances were different, say, if he weren't human, the young woman would find him most attractive. She shook her head "No…" she thought "He is nothing more than my food."

Jacqueline's voice interrupted her "Ooh, he certainly looks promising" she commented, looking over her shoulder.

Babette nodded, not taking her eyes from him "Oui. I do believe I have found my next meal" she said. She closed her umbrella and lowered it, before walking into the tavern towards her target, deliberately swaying her hips slightly as she did so.

The man, who had been speaking to the triplets, soon forgot about them when he saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman approach him. He smiled "Good morning miss" he greeted.

Babette smiled seductively "Bonjur monsieur" she purred. Even from where she stood, the alcohol in his breath was recognisable, her smile turned sly as she thought "This is going to be easier than I anticipated."

Jacqueline stayed outside the ally that Babette had lured her victim to, and smiled wickedly when she heard the sound of a body crumpling to the floor. Her sister walked out, quickly wiping the blood from her lips, and smiled at her sister "That was all too easy" she said.

The older woman replied "Tre's bein ma petite."

They continued on their walk through the village as if nothing had happened. There was silence between them for a while, until Jacqueline began to speak more. However, Babette wasn't paying attention. Her mind was quickly on the subject of the man that had been in her dreams, and how she couldn't shake the thought of him. He was someone important, that she knew, but how? Was he a nobleman of sorts? Or…was he important to her in some kind of way?

All of a sudden, the young woman was aware of Jacqueline's presence as she asked "Babette, are you listening?"

She turned to her "Oh, my apologise Jackie. I…was simply thinking…" she started.

"About who?" demanded her sister quickly. Fear filled her. If Babette was thinking about him, then she had to come up with a lie…and fast.

The young woman replied "I was thinking about this man. I have not been able to get him off my mind ever since I had that dream. His name is…Lumiere. Who is he?"

Jacqueline turned into the next ally, momentarily distracted by the smell of a nearby drunken human. Before dealing with the drunk on the ground, she stopped walking and turned to her sister. Her voice was cold and menacing as she answered "He is no one to you Babette."