Shadows of Desire

Tally's Tale

Tally sat in the cart, nestled against a bag of grain with her tiny legs stretched out and her shoes pointing towards the sky. Shoes! She giggled as she looked at them. She just couldn't believe it. She actually had shoes! Not just any old shoes, they were brand new black shoes, shiny and clean. Along with the new shoes, the elf man called Thaden had also given her a new dress. It wasn't anything fancy, not like the pretty dresses that the ladies in the big stone house had worn but that didn't matter to Tally. What mattered to her was that it was new, it was clean, it actually fit, and it was hers.

She had squealed with delight when the nice elf man had given it to her. It was a light blue, like the flowers she had seen in the fields on the way to Ansonia. The fabric was so soft she thought at first that it must have been made of clouds. The other man, Rowan, the vampire, had helped her change into it and they both laughed as he threw her old dress into the fire and they watched it burn. Tally spun around in circles, watching the hem of her dress swirl around her. She imagined herself a mermaid swimming around in a pool of beautifully clear, blue waters, and then without even thinking, she threw herself into the vampire man's arms and hugged him.

It was strange. She'd never met a vampire before but she had heard the little people in the neighboring villages talk of them. They described them as hideous monsters with pale, gray skin, sunken eyes, long, bony, claw-like fingers. They said that vampires came out at night and snatched up little children that they took back to caves in the mountains so they could feast on their blood. The little people had also said that vampires would soar through the air with bat like wings and swoop down, killing anyone or anything they could find. They ripped the throats from their victims, slaughtered their live stock, and burned their homes.

Tally had been terrified of vampires. They were like demons. Terrible, evil, demons that thirsted for blood and loved to kill. Denmari, the little old woman that had once cared for Tally told her that should she ever see a vampire, run. Run for her life. Denmari was a kind old woman and had done her best to keep Tally safe. She had given her the old, weathered, dress she had worn earlier. She brought Tally food when she could, and she had taught her many things, especially how to survive on her own. That's why she trusted what the old woman had said and never questioned her.

Denmari had told her to remember all that she had taught her and to take her warnings to heart. "I am old." Denmari told her. "Too old now to be of much use to anyone but I have done my best to prepare you, child. I shan't return to you after this day. My old body just won't allow it." She had hugged Tally then turned from her and shuffled back into the forest. True to her word, Denmari had not returned and for the first time in her life, Tally was completely alone. She had tried to seek help from the tiny villages around but the villagers had chased her away. They had called her the most horrible names and thrown rocks and old bread at her.

She wandered around for a while, hungry, cold, and frightened. That was when the traveling merchant with the funny little pointed hat had found her. He'd fed her and cleaned her up a bit then he took her the place he called Ansonia. She thought he was a kind man and that he would care for her but those hopes were soon squashed when she realized that he'd brought her there to sell her. An old woman and her husband had bought her and she thought maybe they might be kind to her. The old woman reminded her some of Denmari. Tally's heart ached when she thought of poor, old, Denmari. She missed her so.

Without protest, Tally had gone with the old couple, hopeful that they would take care of her the way Denmari had. Even if they weren't as kind as Denmari, living with them would certainly be better than being on her own, wouldn't it? She soon found out the answer to that question as she was taken to the old couples tiny cottage and they explained to her what her role in their house would be. Where she expected a soft, warm, bed of straw or grass, she was given a hard, cold floor to sleep on. When she was fed, it was only stale bread and scraps that she was given. If she wanted to eat, she had to work for it, and work she did. She would scrub the floors, sweep, dust, wash dishes, and did the laundry.