For as long as vampires have been of existence, there has always been five castes-Purebloods, nobles, middle class, peasants, and halflings. But there's a sixth that we all know but never name.

"Disabled."

Lord Dietrich's eyebrows begin to furrow as he stays in front of me. The priest is trying really hard to get me to look at the halflings standing to the side. He must be warning me to step aside. He means well, but he isn't good at reading the situation. Some of the girls do not suppress their giggles when I obviously ignore his precautions.

"And to which household's misfortune were you born to?" he asks frivolously as he turns to walk in the direction of the altar.

"The Ayers of Ashenvale, my lord," I reply while looking straight ahead, head held high.

He thinks for a moment, stops, and turns around with a new expression. "The Ayers are well respected within Ashenvale I assume. A good friend of mine talks about them constantly."

"That is our honor," I curtsy, keeping my eyes to the floor.

"You are of noble birth?" Amusement is apparent in his voice as he walks back towards me. I nod. "But your eyes..." He bends down slightly to examine the permanent blood red color of my irises. "Pitiful."

Indeed.

Vampires are hypocritical creatures.

In the beginning, all vampires possess red eyes, fangs, and pale skin due to their diet. But vampires are not immune to evolution over the millennia. Along the way, blood no longer remained a necessity for select vampires. To them, it is nothing more than taking extra vitamins. Slowly, more and more vampires outgrew their need for it. Those who share this blessing are regarded as high nobles. And although most vampires still require blood in their diet, they, in the least, can hide their eyes and fangs.

It is common knowledge that vampires are the dominant species, yet they try their best to look like humans, covering the signature red color of their eyes and shrinking their fangs when they aren't needed. Because shifting the fangs is a more painful process, many lower class vampires leave them be. Besides, they'd most likely need it to take blood from a live host. But even they make it a standard to hide their natural eye color. Red eyes are for "uncivilized" vampires. Those with deviations from the norm are taboo. Vampires who can't grow fangs, who can't stand the light, who can't hide their eyes-are deviations. But "deviations" is too plain a word, there's a fancier term: Disabled.

Disabled vampires are rare, but disabled noble vampires were even rarer than Purebloods. But unlike Purebloods, they are renown for other reasons. What a tragedy that has befallen the Ayers to have bore such a disgrace. How merciful they have been to keep it alive for seventeen torturous years. How can they stand looking at such a bestial creature?

But such thoughts are of no use. I have long outgrown them.

Lord Dietrich seems to be thinking about something as well. His eyes lose a little bit of their focus when he's deep in thought.

"Give me one good reason I should keep a Disabled?" he questions in his mellow voice.

The other girls laugh quietly. I do not understand why. Unlike the halflings, he is giving me a chance. He is kind.

"Like you, I do not crave blood," I answer easily. If anything, this trait is the sole reason my family hasn't completely abandoned me.

"A lower noble who doesn't need blood," he muses. "State your name."

"Evelyn."

He hums it a few times as he paces in the open space. "Evelyn, had your eyes been any other color, you'd easily have married into a high noble's family." He shakes his gorgeous mane before letting out a brief sigh. "Pity."

The lord seems to be waiting for a response from me. A fellow vampire once advised me to freeze my heart in hopes of earning pity points, but for some reason, my heart never ceases to beat evenly, so I face forward and stand just as tall as I usually do. He doesn't bother to wait any longer before heading up the stairs.

After reaching the top in a matter of seconds, Lord Dietrich turns around once more and graces his audience with his blue-blooded presence.

"Priest," the lord states calmly in his smooth, well-controlled voice. "Have Evelyn and the rest at my residence by morning."