I gazed in the mirror, but felt like I hated the creature before me. My mother often told me that I looked like the mountain elves that she grew up so close to. So white they seemed to blend in with the icy mountains. Once, I had thought it to be a compliment. The elves were supposedly beautiful, with high cheekbones and wide eyes. Delicate and feminine in a way that most humans could not obtain.

Now when I saw my almost-white hair and sharp green eyes, I could only wonder if that was what drew the vampire to me that night. Was it my beauty? Was it my scent? Was it the paleness of my skin, he thought perhaps I was sickly or maybe that I was going to freeze to death that night anyway? It could have been twisted into an act of kindness then.

I had this godsforsaken white dress, too. Over the years, I had owned a few. They had needed to be replaced after being stained with blood or being shredded, but they were all equally terrible as far as I was concerned. This one had puffy sleeves more suited to a princess than a peasant and was constructed of the thinnest material. I was already being sacrificed to vampires; didn't I deserve to be kept a little warm from the cold?

But no, gifts for demons did not even get that kind of grace.

My father appeared in the reflection of the glass. His brow was drawn low and I could swear that he had earned a few more grey hairs in the last couple of days.

"You don't have to do this, Lark," he said. "We will pay the additional taxes. We will do what we have to. And when your sister comes of age, we will do the same for her. We will manage. Do not think that you have to carry this burden for us."

I turned around and did my best to give him a genuine smile. At the very least, his conviction and his willingness were heartwarming. I knew that he would protect me. I knew that if the jarl or his son came knocking on the door and demanded that he hand me over, my father would spit in their faces, regardless of the consequences. He had always been like that, would always be.

But behind my father, above my head, all around me, was reality. Our tiny home that needed repairs badly, bellies that needed filling, bodies that needed clothing. If pride and stubbornness could be traded for coin, this family would be rich. But our crops were nowhere near as strong, our plot of land too small and our weather too unpredictable. We were lucky to be able to pay our dues without having any additional challenges overhead.

"I am going tonight and I will return to you just as I have always returned to you," I assured.

"Lark--"

"You know that there is no other option."

"I know that we will figure it out," he insisted.

"I will be just fine," I promised.

He didn't believe me. Neither did my little sister when I told her the same thing and I couldn't even get the words out to my mother before she burst into tears. I hated that I was doing this to them. But it was just one night. When I came home, everything would turn back to normal for a short while before I was whisked off to be married. My family would be safe and I will have done my duty. I gave them each tight hugs and kisses on their cheeks.

Before too long there was a knock on the door. I expected the guards like always, but I did not anticipate that the betrothed would be behind the door.

"Sampson," I blurted.

"Lark," he said with a soft smile.

He was a dashing man and I can admit to being soft for men in uniforms. He wore the uniform of his father well and his smile could brighten even some of the darkest rooms. So why did something knot in my stomach when he held out his arm for me to take? Perhaps it was just the oddity of the man I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life leading me towards an event where death was not uncommon.

"How many girls did we lose last year?" I asked as we walked, the spring chill nipping at my bare forearms.

"Out of the thirty girls in our village, we only lost one," Sampson assured, patting my hand that rested in the crook of his arm.

One out of thirty was not terrible. But one life lost impacted hundreds. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, pets. Loss was not felt exclusively by the sufferer.

"How many in the province?" I pushed, though part of me really didn't want to know. The same part of me that saw the other women in the clearing, wearing similar white dresses, waiting to be bound. Would one of them be the victim we mourned tomorrow?

"About fifty women total." Sampson stopped walking, pulling me to a halt. His blue eyes were steady as he looked at me. "But none of them were you. And you will come home to me again after this Bloodletting. You have nothing to worry about."

"That is very easy to say when you are not the one being left out in the forest, waiting for some parasite to come find you," I said, allowing a little bit of the hotness I felt to trickle into my voice.

"I am the one who will come find you tomorrow. No matter what. But you will be fine, my dear." He looked so certain of himself, even looked a little peeved that I dared to raise my voice around his peers. But again, he wasn't being tied to this tree and neither were his darling sisters. I was all he had to lose and before the wedding, I was still considered replaceable.

"I know that face," Sampson said, catching my chin with his forefinger. "You are going to be fine. Trust me, Lark."

How was I supposed to trust a man that was going to leave me here?

But I kept my mouth shut. As stressed as I was, I could not risk him reconsidering our marriage. Then this whole awful process of trying to find a decent suitor would restart, but it would be worse, already being left by the jarl's son. I did my best to appear unbothered when he indicated that I should lean against a tree. The ropes he used were slightly frayed, but I knew they would hold. They always did. I just wished that the forest – which looked so beautiful and peaceful now – wouldn't turn into the devil's playground in just a few short hours.

"Alright my dear, the sun is setting," Sampson said as if my own eyes couldn't catch the way the world was darkening so quickly.

"Yes."

"I need to go back to town, but I will see you tomorrow."

"I know." All I could think was that if my father could see this, he would demand I cut off the wedding. He would pack me a bag, give me all the money he had, and tell me to go find a new life, a better life.

Sampson ran a thick chunk of silk between his fingers before holding it up to my eyes. He tied a secure knot at the back of my head.

"I will see you tomorrow, my love."

With my arms bound down and my eyes covered, he pressed a kiss to my lips. I jerked back in surprise. Like every woman, I had romanticized my first kiss, thought it would be magical. But now, it had just been...taken.

I heard some of the other men whistle or congratulate him as they walked away together.

Then there was nothing but the silence as we waited for the vampires to come.

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What is your favorite male name?