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picked up the bowl and began to eat ravenously. Within minutes she put the empty bowl on the ground and gulped down the mug of water. Wiping her chin with what appeared to be a less soiled portion of her sleeve, Anna was again overcome by an odd sensation.
    As if a thousand daggers had been trust into her gut, Anna doubled over in pain again as her stomach began to knot. Spasms, of the like that none could even imagine formed in the pit of Anna’s belly as she cried out in pain. Toppling over to curl upon the floor like a whipped dog, tears streamed from Anna’s eyes as her insides felt like they were rearranging themselves. Unable to breathe momentarily, Anna lay, mouth open, sight blurred, for what felt like an eternity as those in the room with her came to tend to her again. After many more long moments she began to reclaim control of her body and her ability to take a breath was restored. She began sobbing uncontrollably like a child waking from a nightmare. A moment later she continued to sob as she felt herself pulled into the arms of someone soft but strong. It would be that singular act of kindness that would shape the rest of Anna’s life, for in the moments that followed, her future was rewritten across the flow of time, and possibilities blossomed where before there had been none. A meager role upon Thurr had changed in an instant to one of substance, one of notice. Who would have ever imagined that one act of kindness would lead to such misery?
    Snuggling into the warm body that held her, Anna began to calm herself. Working hard to steady her breathing, she forced herself to inhale through her nose and was immediately overcome by the scents carried by the woman who held her tightly to her chest. Though she could not see her face, Anna knew the woman to be Hilda, one of the tavern’s cooks. She smelled of spices and smoke, but more than that, she smelled of children. The sweet scent of a young babe had somehow managed to extract itself from the many others upon the woman’s clothing and Anna found herself lost in it for an instant, wondering what it would be like to birth a child and love it unconditionally.
    Then the reverie was gone, replaced by another thought-inducing scent. This one hinted of salt and iron and was more than a bit familiar to the clumsy adolescent. Anna knew in an instant that the scent belonged to blood, and although it was not out of place upon the clothing of a cook, Anna was overcome by it. By the second the scent grew stronger and stronger, enveloping everything. No longer could Anna find the scent of the newborn babe. No longer could she even sniff the spices that just moments before were prevalent upon the woman. Anna began to panic as the scent grew so strong that she began to taste it. Looking up to ensure herself that the woman who held her to comfort her had not become injured, she found her true calling in life.
    Tilting her head back, Anna’s cheek brushed against Hilda’s neck and as their flesh slid, one beneath the other, Anna felt the older woman’s heart beat beneath her flesh. Without thought Anna reacted to the sensation and exploded into motion. Twisting her body within the confines of the woman’s arms, Anna wrapped her legs about Hilda’s waist. Crossing them behind the woman’s back she secured herself to the new mother. Reaching up, as if to hug the woman in thanks for her comfort, Anna slipped one hand around Hilda’s neck grasping the back of her head and a fistful of hair. At the same time, Anna reached under one arm of the woman and then up to grasp her shoulder as well. Wrenching her hands away from one another, Anna caught the woman off guard as she used her newfound strength to cling to her. Like a wild animal, Anna brought fang to flesh as she tore into Hilda’s neck ferociously with her teeth, letting the hot blood spew into her mouth and run down her chin. So overcome was her prey that not a sound escaped her lips. Anna was lost in the joyous