Smalltown

The thing about small towns is everyone knows everyone.

There's no secrets. Even people who think they're good at keeping secrets don't have any secrets.

Everyone knows who's cheating on who. Everyone knows who's sick and who's pretending. Everyone knows who's got money problems and who's being stingy out of spite. Everyone knows who's going away for a 'medical procedure' and who's secretly having a baby.

Everyone knows who's blood tastes the best and who's likely to put up the most resistance and therefore isn't worth the effort.

The thing about small towns is everyone knows who the vampires are.

For What Reason A Choice

Whenever she thought about the past, a heavy sadness weighed on her. Her term as Empress had been glorious and she was widely acknowledged as the greatest monarch in living memory.

Now that the peaceful successions had ended, and the municipalities were constantly at war, she regretted not holding on to power. It was the irony of their political system that those most worthy of holding power were those least likely to retain it.

Of course, giving up power had not been her first choice. She'd done so out of spite. Anything to get back at that ex-boyfriend of hers.