“I don’t know why she’s so grumpy….what about you guys??”
Mr. Vamp gave Abigail a look that said he -clearly- knew why Momo was mad. From the crook of her other elbow, there came only a whimper.
“Oh, Benny, hush. Momo said you love this outfit! ”
She beamed happily, as she clutched the bear and whimpering puppy , leading a muttering Monica up the steps to Ysandre’s house.
“Momo! Hurry!!”
Abby spun around, animals in hand , and shot Monica an agitated glance. She wanted to show off her— well, Monica’s puppy to Ysandre.
Why was Momo moving so slow?
Being very careful, Abby tiptoed down the hall, grinning ear to ear. She held her newest masterpiece at arms length in front of her - it wasn’t dry yet.
The freshly painted picture was her first attempt at painting- and she loved it. Monica and Richard had introduced her to fingerpaints. They were amazing! Squishy, bright colored - she was ALLOWED to make a mess. It didn’t get much better than that!
“Mr. Vamp - sorry I didn’t take you with me- but Momo said the paint would be — -ah!”
Abby stopped short, the finger painting shaking a bit at the sudden stop. Carefully setting it on the table near her bed, she eyed Mr. Vamp.
He was right where she left him, sitting on the steps to her carriage bed. That wasn’t what had surprised her. It was the furry - well, thing sitting next to him.
He was a light brown and white furry thing… with dark eyes, and a pink tongue! She’d never met this little guy before, and upon seeing Abby, he started to shake, and wag his tail back and forth.
The little girls eyes widened - she’d thought this was maybe Monica’s Mr. Vamp… but Mr. Vamp didn’t act like he did! Mr. Vamp never got openly excited… he had a level head.
Abby stared in shock. walking up to Mr. Vamp carefully.
“Mr. Vamp…. who is this?!”
Tilting her head to the side, she listened to the teddy’s answer. Interesting…. he was a puppy. What’s a puppy?!
Even stranger, the ‘puppy’ didn’t answer the way that Mr. Vamp had. Instead, he made a series of yipping noises, and hopped up, placing his front paws on Abigail’s chest.
Between yips and the ‘puppy’ licking Abigail’s face, she giggled, trying to pat his head. His fur was soft- but a lot longer than Mr. Vamp’s.
“Wait- wait, what, Mr. V? Oh my GOSH, yes! I forgot! The shirt Momo gave us!”
The first night Abby had stayed with Monica, she’d given her an outfit for Mr. Vamp, since they had bought Abby so many new things. It was very nice, she meant for Mr. Vamp to not feel left out… and Abby would never tell Momo, but the bear didn’t like the color at all. And it really wasn’t his size….
But, eyeing this ‘puppy,’ the shirt was DEFINITELY his size. She ran over to her toybox where they’d hit the shirt, and started throwing things. It had to be here somewhere!! Leaning in further, her entire body from her knees up was in the box. She was practically swimming through her things - she was so excited to play dress up with her and Mr. Vamp’s new friend!
At the word ‘shirt,’ the ‘puppy’ had cocked his ears up, then just as quickly, they drooped. When Abby started digging through the box, he flattened himself on the floor, whining.
Seconds later, Abby emerged from the toybox, waving the shirt in the air. At the sight of the shirt, the despondent puppy perked up, and shot off like something was chasing him.
Cackling with glee, Abby grabbed Mr. Vamp with her free hand, and ran out the door, picture forgotten.
They had a puppy to catch…
Mr. Vamp says that you guys use this website to talk.
I….
I don’t really get it. He says you can ask me things….. so…. ask !
And…. if you have any ice cream … tell me………. I like ice cream! Do you??
Amelie nodded slowly, her hand tracing Abigail’s cheekbone. “No, you can’t,” she said softly. “And they took you because you are close to…us vampires. And they knew that you would be missed if you were taken—they wanted to try and threaten to hurt you to get me to do something, but that wouldn’t work.”Abby stared back at the Founder. That didn’t sound reassuring….but Mr. Vamp reminded her to be nice. Besides- they were hungry. Nodding, she again looked at the Founder, stomach gurgling. “I’m hungry. Can we eat lunch??”
Amelie smiled as the girl sat in her lap, and put her hand around the girl’s waist to stop her falling. However, when the girl asked the question, she sighed and the smile faded from her lips. “People…people dislike what we are, and want to leave,” she said honestly. “And I, as the ruler, cannot let that happen; not only would our existence be threatened…but my position, my power and my life would be threatened—I would lose the control I have over my race, as the oldest of us all. And I can’t let that happen—so humans are mad at me. I’m not scared, though, not really…and neither should you be.”Abby blinked, put her hands in her lap.”We can’t…leave?” It didn’t affect her much, everyone she knew and loved was already here…..but it was a scary thought nonetheless. Something else the Founder said bothered her though….. “But why did they take me? I’m not a vamp….am I??! I’m just a little girl.”
Amelie sighed and set the doll back on the floor. “What would you like to do, Abigail?” she asked, not sure what to say to a girl nowadays. Things were so different. “Would you…like to…chat?”Abby perked up, nodding enthusiastically. She MUST have answered correctly. Otherwise, she might have sent them away! She couldn’t wait to tell Eesanda.
She climbed into Amelie’s lap, telling her about her lessons with Myrnin, Ada and the stars, Eesanda having a tea party with her, and Momo rescuing her.
Fluttering eyelashes that hid two very big, very sad eyes, she softly patted Amelie’s cheek . “Why did they do that? Why did Momo tell me some people don’t understand vamps?”At the mention of her name, Monica flushed, focusing on the blocks. All things considered… She preferred being viewed as a bitch over a decent person….. This was awkward….
Abby looked at Amelie, perplexed. What did she mean?Amelie smiled at the idea that Myrnin was teaching the child. “Yes, she is to go to kindergarten when she turns six—I would also like her to begin learning French now, if that is possible,” she told Monica, turning to look at the girl. “You can accompany me if you desire; I want…
Leaning.in to Mr. Vamp, she asked him if it was a trick question. He wasn’t sure…but he thought so.
Wrinkling her nose, she thought. ” Nothing, ma’am…I…. I just met her…..” Glancing at Mono, she grinned. Momo was wide eyed. Maybe the Founder had confused her too…Amelie smiled at the idea that Myrnin was teaching the child. “Yes, she is to go to kindergarten when she turns six—I would also like her to begin learning French now, if that is possible,” she told Monica, turning to look at the girl. “You can accompany me if you desire; I want to talk to Abigail.” Amelie moved across to the girl in the corner, who was playing with a toy cooker. “Hello, Abigail,” she said again, taking the seat on the chaise lounge next to her. “Are you having fun?”Abigail looked up at the mention of her name, setting the doll she was playing with next to Mr. Vamp. She stole a glance at Momo, who winked at her from the floor near them fiddling with blocks. “Oh, yes miss Founder! These toys are so neat…different from what Eesanda and Momo have…..Thank you for letting me play!”
The Founder really was beautiful….. Like Eesanda and Michael…only …more so. She blushed, and turned back to the toys, this time picking up an antique looking porcelain doll
“I don’t know, honey.”
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Monica saw that Abby was disappointed in her answer. It pained her, to be honest. Which, was annoying. She normally didn’t give two cents about what someone else thought about her… but Abby seemed to be having some weird kryptonite effect on her — and most of the city, come to think of it. It really was amusing to see how everyone reacted around the little girl.
The Founder was not an exception. She was who they were visiting today. It was under the guise of the Founder speaking to Abby, to make sure she was okay with all of the Captain Idiot events, and to help explain a bit of the human/vampire dynamic. It was complicated, Abby had ties to both races - and cared a great deal about both of them. It would be tricky to explain to her the dangers that both humans and vampires posed, without making her terrified of everyone she knew.
Amelie was good at politics. And she seemed to have taken a liking to Abby, whether she was comfortable admitting it or not.
Hence the early morning appointment, and a very cranky Ysandre. She had answered the door to allow Monica in, but had retreated quickly, mumbling an assortment of -probably- unkind words. Monica didn’t press the issue. She’d merely gathered Abigail, the few things she liked to carry with her from home to home, then let Abby run say goodbye to Ysandre.
Pulling into Founder’s Square, Monica grabbed her “momo-bag,” and a jacket for Abby, leaving everything else in the car.
Reluctantly , she took all of the weapons out of the purse-turned-diaper-bag. It was early morning, and she’d parked close. No weapons would be needed this early, and she thought it best to not try and anger the Founder for once.
Picking up Abby, she gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and as an afterthought, added one for Mr. Vamp, which sent the girl into giggles as they walked inside.
Abby clutched Mr. Vamp, and snuggled with him against Monica. Her body wasn’t as cool as Eesanda’s, but it was comforting nonetheless. Mr. Vamp didn’t always like being squished between Abby and the older girls, but he liked being with her, so he made do.
As Monica talked with the person seated at the reception desk, she looked around the room, wide eyed. She’d been in here a few times now, but she never ran out of things to marvel at. It was so pretty! Polished surfaces, archways, the floor even shined.
“I don’t know!” She was whispering to Mr. Vamp. He’d asked her if Momo would be talking to the Founder with them. Frowning, she shook her head. Momo didn’t even know that… didn’t grown ups know everything?
Was Momo a grown up? People were so weird here… some of the grown-ups were like normal grown ups, but there were a few grown-ups that …well, they looked like Momo’s age… but Momo said they were older. Momo said Eesanda was much older too… but she looked Momo’s age… Mr. Vamp smiled at her, and told her not to worry about it. Maybe it was a vamp thing… like the sun allergy? Another something that made them “special”?
“All done! And now…. we wait.”
Abby was snapped out of her thoughts by Monica, who had finished at the desk, and was now carrying her over to the waiting area.
“Momo…. why do we always have to wait? I don’t understand. Why can’t we just go to her house, or have her come over like Michael, or Minnin do?”
“Now, now. Mr. Vamp. You can’t have tea without cream… “
Scrunching up her face, she wagged her finger at the teddy bear. Sure, you could have tea without cream and sugar…. but this was a tea party. And they had the cream and the cup full of sugar cubes… It was pretty, and proper… and it was just how Abby wanted things done. What was the point, otherwise?
Mr. Vamp obliged, taking two cubes and some cream. Abby grinned. Mr. Vamp was a good bear. He shared stories with her, and didn’t mind when she told him she was right.
Sipping her tea, she chatted the bear’s ear off. telling him how they were going to go back to Momo’s tomorrow. They talked about school with Minnin, and how she wondered why he hadn’t taught her some more “school”. and they talked about the things Ada had shown her.
Mr. Vamp agreed with her - they couldn’t wait to see more stars, and do more fun experiments. Ada was as fun as Eesanda and Momo.
Sipping their tea, her eyes glittered as she asked Mr. Vamp if he thought Ada had any ice cream. Tea was okay… but only for play. Ice cream and milkshakes were much better.
Mr. Vamp didn’t know. She’d have to ask Eesanda and Momo…..
