-Caroline-
Waking up to weak sunlight streaming in through the curtains, Caroline sat up and yawned, brushing her unruly ringlets away from her face. She padded gently out of bed, shivering in the chilly dawn air. Grabbing a small wooden comb and running it half-heartedly through her mane of curls, Caroline sat down and stared intently at herself in the cracked mirror on the windowsill. What she saw-tired eyes, caramel colored curls, and a slight build-was nothing surprising. Caroline did this every morning, assessing herself in the fractured glass. Sighing, she tied her hair back in a short ponytail and set out to get dressed.

Caroline picked out a plain pastel blue dress, tying an apron on top of it. She snatched the keys to her home and to the bakery off the scratched wooden dresser and stepped out into the crisp air. Inhaling, she closed her eyes and savored the fresh scent that comes with autumn. Closing the front door and locking it, Caroline strolled through the cobblestone streets of Ispwich at a leisurely pace, until she reached the bakery which was situated less than a minute away from her home. Entering to the smell of freshly baked bread and a tinge of something burning, Caroline rolled up her sleeves and started kneading a lump of dough, absentmindedly humming a cheery tune as she did so.

The events of the night before lingered at the front of her mind. Had it really been a vampire who was clutching at his eyes in the streets last night, or was it all a figment of an overly active imagination? Everything about the night seemed so surreal....the silver sliver of a moon shining with a metallic brilliance, the glittering stars spread out overhead, and the midnight sky impenetrable. Had there really been vampires lurking in the shadows of the buildings, waiting for unsuspecting townsfolk behind every corner, or was she just making it all up to satisfy a ghost story that Caroline's parents had been fond of telling? So many questions bubbled up into her head that Caroline almost lost track of what she was doing. She took a breath. [i]Focus,[/i] she ordered herself, and pushed the thoughts of vampires and the supernatural out of her brain. She had a job to do if she wanted to eat.