Abigail's POV

　　Finally, I turned and faced a thin, ill-looking woman who looked like she had not eaten a proper meal in months. With a shrug, the stranger nodded to the door opposite, letting me know that she lived there, and held her hand out for me to shake, which after a moment I did, although inwardly saying a prayer of thanks that I could not get mortal bugs.

　　"Hi, I'm Abigail; I just moved in; this is Damien," I said, nodding to a rather pissed-off-looking Damien.

　　The neighbour's loud scoff filled the room, her dull voice declaring that she would never remember my name. With a shrug of my tiny shoulders, saying nothing, I smiled, seeing a little pair of cute chubby fingers on the side of the mother's jeans. A child! I loved children, although I never wanted any of my own. The prospect of bringing a child into this world, to expect them to live with the issues and struggles I had, too, was out of the question. Nevertheless, I truly adored children finding their innocence and sweetness infectious. Maybe it was the angel in me that called to their purity.

　　Who knows?

　　Bending down low and peering around the mother's legs, my voice lowered to a soft, gentle whisper.

　　"Hello, little one," I cooed with a friendly smile, not wanting to startle her. She was a bonny child, all dark hair and dark eyes. She couldn't have been more than six years old, but her eyes indicated she was much older than her years.

　　"She won't talk to you… she is a brat, stubborn like her Father." Looking up at her for a second, instantly taking a dislike to the woman before lowering my eyes back to the little chubby fingers, with bitten-down nails and dirt etched between the gaps of her hands.

　　"Have you been digging in the mud? Or making a mud pie? I love mud pies!" Again, I prompted gently before I was utterly taken aback seeing the biggest, darkest eyes peer at me, a chubby face to match the hands, adoring freckles, and youthful skin, framed perfectly in the most beautiful brown curls. Seeing the little clear bag of water, with flashes of orange moving inside.

　　"Fishies!" I beamed at the little innocent, my voice was as excited as possible without scaring her more.

　　"WOW, you have fish! I always wanted a pet." The little girl came out from her mother's leg and toddled to me with what I knew 100% to be her biggest smile of the day. She was sitting in my lap and showing me her fish, pointing and offering one of their names - the gold and yellow one I now knew was called Nemo. Unable to hold back, I stroked adoringly at the child's soft hair.

　　"I love the name, but you missed two. This one… What is it called?" The little girl looked at me for a moment, clearly taking in my pale skin, long red hair that almost touched my waist, and eyes that were bright and interested. Her words were clear and said with resolve as she named her fish.

　　"Abigail!"

　　Smiling down at her, I thought all children were precious, but this beautiful, clearly neglected child took the crown as 'the most adorable child' and one who had stolen my heart. With a genuine smile, the words left my mouth before I could think.

　　"I love it, I happen to know someone called Abigail, and she loves fish!" The girl chuckled and sat looking into the bag. The mother seemingly losing interest in her daughter's development, too busy on her phone.

　　"And the other one?" I coaxed softly.

　　"Mmm," She whispered, sucking on her dirty finger. "Grumpy, after him!" Pointing at Damien, who was leaning up the door frame, he looked utterly bored, but a flicker of curiosity in his eyes gave him away; He was enjoying watching me converse with the child.

　　Hiding a smile hearing Damien mumble that ‘handsome' was a better name. The smile fading abruptly when the older dirty looking mother snapped at the child sitting in my lap, telling her not to get attached, that she could not keep them, that they were won at the fair and needed to go to fishy heaven as there was no room for them.

　　The girl nodded; she was not upset. Instead, this seemed normal; she was used to having something given to her and then taken away again. Anger raced through me, wanting nothing more than to scream at the poor excuse of a mother for being so thoughtless.

　　"I have room, they can stay here, and then she has reason to visit whenever she wants." I declared with just as much resolve as the child had when she named her fish.

　　"Whatever, give the lady your fish Lizzy." Her tone bored.

　　"I promise to take good care of them, sweetheart. And you can come and visit them any time you want. Ok!"Looking at the child whose name I now knew, I smiled and held my hands out to Lizzy.

　　The chubby face lifted into a smile as she hugged me tight before frowning, looking around the room in confusion. "Where will they sleep?"

　　Wiggling my brows playfully, I leaned in and whispered in her ear playfully. "The bathtub for now, then we will go shopping for a bowl tomorrow... deal?" Another tight hug followed, and she was gone, skipping past her mother, who had not even noticed the change in her child, no longer shy and nervous but excited and happy.

　　"You are going to flush the fish right!" Damien's tone was confused as he shut the door behind her, wiping his hands on his shirt. Shaking my head, I headed through the apartment, looking for the bathroom, Damien following me.

　　Kicking off my shoes, leaving only my summer dress on, I filled the tub with water, smirking as I thought that they would find their freedom in this apartment, just like me. Unable to wait any longer, I emptied the bag into the tub, smiling enthusiastically as the fish worked their way out into the massive open space. Resting my legs over the tub carefully so as not to squish my new housemates.

　　"Are you going to join us, or are we not fancy enough for the likes of Lord Damien" I teased playfully.