10 years later
Jasmin
Jasmin and Poppy worked together with their grandmother, mother, and aunt as seamstresses. Poppy was considered a true talent in the family. She sewed the most beautiful clothes, which they sold very expensively. Jasmin, on the other hand, was clumsy. She didn't like sewing. As part of the family, however, it was her duty to earn money as a seamstress. Her uncle had announced this when she had just finished school.
Sewing was a part of her childhood. She had learned it early. Just like embroidery. Jasmin was good at crocheting and knitting, but everything else was not easy for her. But her uncle insisted that she sew. Sometimes she wondered how he had imagined this. That she suddenly gained talent overnight? Already as a child, she proved clumsiness, and as a teenager, it was not much better. Unfortunately, the family sold very little knitwear and crochets, so she could hardly exploit her talent in this area.
Jasmin wanted to attend university and study after school. But her uncle refused to let her. And the rest of the family, as usual, complied with his decision. Jasmine did not dare to contradict him. The look in his eyes had become stricter with each passing year. And if something didn't appeal to him, he yelled or threw dishes. (Something her grandmother was less pleased about. And this, in turn, often led to further disputes)
"Jasmin! Pay attention to what you're doing!", her grandmother just shouted. "The seams are crooked!" She snatched the jacket from Jasmine, which she was mending. "We can't return the jacket to the customer like that! It looks like an infant mended it! Are you an infant?"
"No, grandmother", she murmured softly.
"Try again." Her mother took Jasmin's hands in hers. "We separate that up, and you start over."
"No way!", her aunt cried. "It's better if she sews cloth handkerchiefs! Even such a stupid thing would at least be able to do that!"
"Willow!", reprimanded Jasmin's mother quietly. "Stupid thing? My daughter is not a stupid thing."
But her grandmother cleared her throat. "No, this clumsy girl would mess that up too! Child! All the education was in vain. She can knit! What's in it for us? Especially in summer? Or crocheting? What? Potholder? We don't sell them! This is beneath our dignity. And our Jasmin also messes up the orders."
Unfortunately, that was true. Jasmin also had a hard time with the administrative peculiarities of the tailor's shop.
Poppy looked up from the ball gown she was sewing on. An order from the mayor's wife. "Jasmin wanted to study. And not sew. She's smarter than Alfie. The two should swap places."
"Poppy! Don't be silly! one student grandchild is enough for me", the old vampire grumbled. "The university costs money. All the books and what else Alfie needs. Luckily, he can borrow some things from the library. And then there's the cost of the dormitory!" Her grandmother still looked like twenty-eight, though Nima soon reached her four hundredth birthday. Like the immortals, vampires stopped aging between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. This was nothing unusual. Their life expectancy was high, but not endless. The oldest known vampire had died at four hundred and ninety.
Jasmin sighed. Her mother kissed her fleetingly on the cheek and returned to work. But Jasmin's grandmother was not finished with her lecture. "Jasmin is a shame for the family! A seamstress who can't sew! A shame. She has no future in our family. Maybe she should look for another job to bring money home. Or get married well? Do you want to get married soon, child?" She looked briskly at Jasmin.
Jasmin snorted indignantly. "Shame? I never wanted to be a seamstress! I wanted to go to university. Either to the Royal University or to the Moor University, which recently opened! And why don't we sell knitwear? And crochet goods? Wool coats, crocheted lace for beautiful dresses... You're just too stubborn to expand our offer, Grandma!"
"The university costs money!", her grandmother muttered. "We already have a child there. A child that costs us money. No respected vampire wants a dress with crocheted lace. That would be outrageous. You can knit a wool coat in autumn. Try to sell it. No one will want the coat! It's not fashionable. Stupid child. And you want to study? A child at university costs enough money."
"Well spent money!", Willow added. "Alfie will be mayor. Archie and I are convinced of this. And our family will grow in prestige. My boy is the pride of the family!"
"I'm proud of my girls", her mother said quietly. "Poppy is a jewel of talent. And my Jasmin just hasn't found the right thing yet. You are right, Mother. Maybe she needs another job. Something where she can shine."
Her grandmother just snorted. Poppy, however, smiled proudly and winked at Jasmine. That didn't cheer her up. Jasmin was jealous of her cousin. Alfie was allowed to study. Politics. And she? Her grandmother pretended to be poor. When did she become so stingy? The Städter family belonged to the upper middle class. So why wasn't she allowed to study? It could hardly be due to the money.
"The right thing is the family business", Willow grumbled. "Archie calls it the mainstay of our prosperity!"
As if called, her uncle and father came home. The two looked tired when they entered the tailor's shop. Her uncle kissed his wife and then looked at the skirt she sewed. "A beautiful job!", he announced.
Taio kissed his wife as well, then asked Poppy and Jasmin about their day.
"Successful as always", Poppy replied, stroking the shiny fabric of the ball gown.
Jasmin stayed silent.
Her grandmother gladly answered for her. "Jasmin produces nothing but crooked seams! She ruined a customer's jacket! We trust her with an order, to sew a small hole, and she disappoints us. Maybe we should let her work in the dyeing factory?"
The second part of the family business, the dyeing factory, had grown considerably in recent years. The family was particularly proud to be regarded as purveyors to the court. The court tailors bought only fabric from them. Her grandfather had taken care of the administration of the factory, but now, her uncle did. Just as her grandfather had always wanted. Shortly thereafter, her father quit his job at City Hall since her uncle had offered him the post of his assistant. But Jasmin did not want to work there. The strong smell of bleaching and some colors made her feel sick.
Her uncle looked at her angrily. "Jasmin? You should be ashamed of yourself! We give you a home! You eat at our table! Your parents did everything they could to make you grow up well. They should have left you in private lessons... I said so!", he muttered. "And how do you thank us for all the effort? With your clumsiness? If you can't bring money home, you don't deserve the food on the table. No decent vampire will want to marry you like that. Unlike your sister. Do you want to live here forever? Brat?"
"We just need to find a wealthy fool for her", her grandmother murmured quietly. "Then it could work."
Jasmin's uncle rolled his eyes. "Taio and I are hungry." He looked at his wife and Jasmine and Poppy's mother. "I hope the food will be on the table in an hour. By then, Alfie should also be back from university for the weekend. We better welcome him with a hot meal. He studies diligently for the good of our family. I take a bath. It was a long day. Taio? Don’t be lazy! The papers must be completed..."
"Of course." Sighing, Jasmin's father leaned against her mother. "I had to bring work home with me. Something is wrong with the numbers. We must have made more sales than our books say."
"Dear heaven", Lara replied. She stroked his cheek and looked shortly at Jasmin. She seemed very sad. Jasmin quickly wiped the tears from her face. She wouldn't cry. Certainly not. Not in front of her family. Poppy sighed. She went to her to hug her.
"Don't worry", she whispered softly. "I sew beautiful dresses for the two of us together. You don't have to be a good seamstress. And I didn't think the seam was badly crooked."
"Thank you Poppy!", replied Jasmin as her mother and aunt hurried into the kitchen. Their father followed them. He looked much more tired than her uncle.
"Girls? Don't be lazy!", her grandmother muttered. “Since my poor husband died, laziness reigns here!" Jasmin's grandfather had died a year ago. Since then, her grandmother was bitter and insisted on extra hard work. Jasmin's uncle liked this, and he 'encouraged' the family to take only a few breaks. "Hard work pays off!", he liked to say. Jasmin and Poppy did not dare to oppose him.
The last time Jasmin contradicted him, he had locked her up for three days in the dark cellar under the adjacent tailor's shop. Her parents were only allowed to bring her water and food. She had to stay there until she came to her senses. And her parents followed. Of course, they did. Archie made sure of it.
"Jasmin?", her grandmother addressed her in a more gracious tone now. "Please go to the blood center and buy a bottle of human blood. When Alfie comes home, we should have something to celebrate his good grades. He wrote that he is the best in all his courses. It is a real joy. Although I would prefer him to work. But a mayor? He would be the first in the family!"
"Good, grandmother", Jasmin murmured and set off.
"Don't drop the bottle! Good blood is too expensive to waste!", her grandmother shouted after her.
It was late. In a few hours, the sun would rise. The blood center would close soon. So she had to hurry. She ran along the narrow streets of the village. Briefly, Jasmin spotted a young man who looked familiar to her. A human with brown-red hair. When had she seen him?
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