Sakura Rose was feeling guilty as well, but she would not let that stop her, not just yet anyways. "We were not warned of the danger in the Wine Room" the girl said, practically with a hiss, "yet the catacombs... 'if we survive' have an exit. There is something that you don't want us to see in the other room, isn't there?"

Despite how tired she is, Sakura Rose manage to put enough force into each footfall to make a very pissed off stomping sound resonate from her tiny shoes as she reached the West doorway. Sticking her arm with the candle in first, and seeing nothing moving, she cast a glance back to the other two. "Who is coming with me, and who will keep an eye on 'bloody mary'?"

Kataro gave it some thought then shrugged; he had only really seen the two girls whilst in the room. “I do apologize, Miss Dawson, I am but a little bit stressed by this entire situation.” A lie he wasn’t stressed at all he didn’t know the missing girl or artist, no-one here was a friend yet so it didn’t stress him out to find them missing. As long as he was alive, “Perhaps the plant got her.” He glanced at Apple. She seemed to have bat her eyelids at him. He shrugged it off and stared at the creepy girl. “Who is next? What do you mean who is next?” He remembered hearing the question as he had entered then it finally clicked. “Wait. You want us to leave someone behind again?!” He glanced between the two girls. He seemed to be thinking, he glanced at Sakura and then at the Drunk Apple. He glanced at apple, “okay this is an obvious choice, you have to stay here but don’t let ‘lil miss creepy’ near you like sit in a corner away from her or something, me and Miss Dawson will try that door.” He was not about to offer himself up like some hero or martyr. HE chuckled as Sakura took the lead and headed after her. He wasn't feeling any guilt over the matter.

Sakura Rose was the first to enter the room, holding her halfway burnt taper candle in her left hand, her fingernails having dug a strong hold into the wax base. Before her were shelves containing rows and rows of a liquid. "What is this?" she muttered as she leaned in closely to examine the bottles.

Moving her gaze from the immediate nearsighted scrutiny and changing her focus to that in the distance, she saw somebody eating at a table and drinking from of the strange bottles, as if having dinner down here in the creepy room with no exits next to bloody mary was a perfectly normal thing to do. "Hello! You there! Who are you? Have you seen Merrick or Faith... other teenagers? Do you need help out of here, too?"

HE cussed softly and turned once he heard the screams."you think it is really wise in this place to gain something's attention?" He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the young sakura. He thought back to the screams and sighed, it was better her then him. He chuckled softly and went to take one of the bottles off the wall. He was hoping to figure out what the odd liquid was He allowed Sakura to approach the figure at the the end of the table alone, he was not about to join her, it was very likely to be a death trap. This house had him on edge and he just wanted out right now. He couldn't help but cuss again. He thought back to apple. it really was a shame, if sakura hadn't crossed the threshold before him he might have traded the two, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to who didn't try to trust everything. There was still no guilt no he was just annoyed that the one he picked to not throw to the lions was throwing herself there, she was an awful meat shield for him.

Sakura Rose's visit to the vitae room was about 1/100th of the time she had spent trying to prepare provisions and supplies for everyone in the wine room. Why had they not listened to her?!

At the resounding scream of fear, agony, and desperation Sakura Rose turned 180 degrees to find herself holding her candle to Kataro, with nothing but pitch darkness coming from behind him. "APPLE!" she screamed and ran around him back into the circular room, holding both the candle and her broken bottle before her. Convinced now that bloody mary here was definately the cause of all their problems, she hotly ranted, "きさま！ざけんなよ！どこ。　は。　わたし　の。　ともだち？！"

Gui cleared his throat and looked up at Sakura Rose, chewing, rather loudly, a very big piece of steak. He chuckled and choked on his food, coughed and then said, still chewing, "Other teenagers? This look like a fuckin' movie house to you?"

He was about to answer her question, when she suddenly ran backwards and started yelling about fruit, thus ending her foray into the vitae room. The other boy had grabbed a bottle of the liquid for himself, and Gui supposed it would certainly be funny to see him drink the stuff, and so he didn't say a thing. Instead he laughed at the two and continued with his meal, secretly hoping he'd get to see the boy take a drink. He looked at the boy, smiled, poured himself some in his own glass and drank it down. God Vampire blood went down smooth.

Hannah didn't much react to the harangue that the small and generally defenseless little girl gave her. It was of some small pleasure to know that she was in pain, but she was far too well trained to react to her taunts... as much as she would have loved to have twisted her face across her head with a meat hook or maybe disembowel her alive, such things would have to remain fantasies... for now...

Kataro couldn't help but almost jump when Sakura suddenly turned to face him. She yelled the other girls name and ran past him leaving him alone in the room. Great, now they were both alone that was pratically asking for whatever was killing off the others to kill them off too. He turned as the guy at the table spoke. He stared down at him seemingly shocked. "who are you?" It was both stupid and irrelevant but it sure as hell beat going back to go see lil miss murder. He sighed softly. "and i wish this was some god awful movie..." the last part was more to himself then anyone in particular as he glanced back towards the doorway. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't leave so he might as well stay put. His imminent doom was approaching, now he definitely felt like he was in some movie. Like one of the poor unfortunate people who got locked in the house on haunted hill. He chuckled slightly and gestured to the bottles. "whats in them?" he had more questions but a name and the bottle's contents was good enough for him now.

Alfred's eyes slowly opened as he stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to piece together what happened when he suddenly remembered. He bolted up... but fell back, clutching his head and groan/shouting out a scream of explitives that would make a scotsman gasp. When he was done he, slowly, sat back up and grabbed the drink wondering, "Could that... could that have been a dream?"

Gui pushed a chair out from under the table for the boy to sit down on and laughed at his comment about wishing it was a movie. He tossed him a piece of bread and cheese and said, "Name's Gui. It means Stone Man. And that there in the bottle's the last drug you'll ever take. Sit down. Stay a while."

He couldn't help but chuckle at his own cleverness and then said, "You'll find out why that's funny later. Trust me."

Sakura Rose finally hit her breaking point. She has tried to be intelligent and strong for her friends and aquaintances, testing her endurance this horrible night, trying to be good and get everyone regrouped to safety before The Marques, doing him a favour and bringing honour to her parents.

She dropped both the candle and her broken wine bottle weapon, sending a shower of glass shards out in a circular direction. The candle rolled and burnt awkwardly, casting very little light. Tears began to run down her face. "I failed." came a whisper through gritted teeth. "failed my friends. Failed The Marques. Failed my Parents." before she knew it she had sunk down and was beating her fists on the stone floor and broken glass while the sobs continued to wrack her tiny body. Failure. the voice inside her head whispered. "No!" she screached, shaking her head back and forth. Bad Girl. Failure.. A whimper that might have been "Please..." escaped her lips. Can't even carry out a simple task. Worthless. More angry pounding and thrashing and kicking as the girl seems to have wigged out You don't deserve your kind and forgiving parents! You don't deserve the prestige and nobility that comes in your blood!. Her cries seemed to echo on and on, as endless as the ceiling that had no end...

Kataro wouldn't seem to be convinced and his eyes would seem harsh has holding the bottle he gave a downward swing the bottle and its contents spreading across the floor. "I bet you poisoned it, this is probably some sort of sick trap to get me to drink and eat and then ill die like the rest of those idiots..." It then seemed to register how many bottles were lined up on the walls. Now he felt slightly stupid,who would poison that many bottles of any beverage. Sighing he got another bottle and sat down. "sorry im not sure what came over me that was, rude... but i insist you drink from the bottle first just in case my theory is right..." He said gesturing to the one he had picked out now. He didn't really know the guy well but he would not except anything thathadn't been taste-tested by Gui first.

Hannah laughed softly as Sakura Rose began to break down. It was just so... it was just so human of her... human and wrong. Failed? She'd done her duty to a T. If he was here, he couldn't have been any prouder of her performance... The stupid human. She stood and walked away, disappearing into the darkness, leaving Sakura Rose alone.

The Marques's voice suddenly came through the darkness, cutting through like a ray of light, "What's wrong, my little lamb? Why are you weeping?"

A blanket of warmth fell over Sakura Rose. Even though it was pitch black, it was almost like golden sunshine. The Marques approached quietly. There would be no more sound coming from this room. There was nothing but the Marques and the little girl. He became suddenly illuminated, and so did she and it felt as if they were floating over a great lake reflecting the sky on a starry night, only there were no stars, only an endless black mirror reflecting the abyss.

The Marques stood several meters away, and his face was so kind, so full of concern. He seemed to be feeling every pain in her heart, even the ones that she did not say... wordlessly, he told her own story with his eyes.

Gui got up out of his chair slowly, walked up to the boy rather calmly and slapped the back of his head, "What are you doing wasting the stuff?"

He stared at him hard and then snatched the bottle from his hand, popped the cork with his fingers and took a swig directly from the bottle.

"What are you crazy, Holy Damnit Christmas", said Gui, visibly ruffled by the sight of the precious liquid on the floor.

Overwhelmed suddenly by... comfort... and warmth of all things, Sakura Rose's tear filled eyes looked up at The Marques.

She found it easy to stop crying, though she remained on all fours, below him, "But My Lord... I failed you... forgi... no... I deserve to be punished." she said in a very meek voice.

Nothing mattered right now more than The Marques's judgement of her.

His initial reaction was one of shock. He glared up he seemed angry. "How dare you hit me?!" he tried to recompose himself but seemed both angry and shaken. With a sigh he watched him swig the bottles contents. He nod as though content with the actions and bored himself a glass he stared at the liquid he sighed slightly and began to drink. It tasted different. There was a sweet edge to it all but after the first sip he was unable to stop until he had drunk every last drop in the glass. He placed the glass down and felt his cheeks flush as his body rushed with adrenaline and pleasure on all levels. He placed the glass down. He felt light headed from it all not use to it in any way. "what the..."

"You haven't failed me", said the Marques, stepping towards his future child, "you've delivered each of your friends to me, safe and sound. I have them. They are resting under my protection, and soon they will not only be well, but rewarded for their bravery."

He approached Sakura Rose and knelt down next to her, putting his arm around her and lifting her seamlessly off the floor and into his arms. He cradled her so lovingly, it was difficult to imagine what he had in store for her... and yet...

"You too are to be rewarded. You've done even more than I could have asked of you and you have done it well."

He pulled her neck to his mouth and uttered softly, "And now I bless you as my child", and bit down into the soft tissue of her neck. It pinched but for a moment before she would find herself experiencing something altogether new, an awakening to feelings she did not know could exist and ecstasy beyond the beyond.

"Hahahaha", Gui laughed and leaned over the table and said, "told you. Nothing better on planet Earth."

He leaned in even closer and said, "but don't drink too much. Wouldn't want you to get too far gone on your first time out with Vampire blood."

He paused for a moment to wait for the questioning face, and then the knowing face, and exactly a second later, he would punch the boy squarely in the face, knocking him out cold.

Every single word that The Marques had to say to her seemed to lift a few pounds of burden off of her weary body. She knows how wonderful it feels to be with the Marques, so if she says her friends are safe and under his protection, they must be comfortable and doing well. The nightmares of the past couple of hours now seem rather dreamlike, disjointed and hard to grab on to in any coherent matter. What mattered now was the elation she felt with the Honourable Marques cradled her small frame against his own, as if she was in fact a precious treasure.

She didn't even notice the pain only some sort of bliss that she might have had a fraction of in her best of dreams. She knew of no greater pleasure than making the Marques happy. With this thought, with a smile on her lips, her very life was being drained from her. My friends are safe, I pleased the Marques and brought honour to my parents. Before she realised that her heartbeat and breathing was becoming laboured, it didn't matter... knowing what a good girl she was, Sakura Rose could die in peace, with a smile on her childlike countenance.

Kataro stared in disbelief at Gui, he wanted to hit him so bad bu that would not do. Instead he remained seated as the words floated into his brain. "vampires blood." he repeated out loud. He chuckled. "Don't be stupid....such things...such.... couldn't possibly exist." but then there was that plant and the girl. Everything began to fall into place. As muchas one part kept telling him it wasn't possible on any possibility. The other had already accepted it. "you...you son of..." before he could finish he was knocked over and out by the punch not use to such direct force.

The Marques licked her neck wound shut and then bit his own wrist and held it to his new progeny's mouth and said, "drink, my pretty pet. You need to be strong for me. Blood is life. And now your life is mine and so your life will not end."

He stroked her hair and looked into her weak eyes. In a few moments, the light would be gone, and she would be moved to a stone slab with the others in the catacombs.

Gui continued to eat his steak and bread, completely undisturbed by the slack body on the floor in front of him. Soon enough someone would take him somewhere he could be embraced, and in the meanwhile, it wasn't exactly a thing to be put off one's meal about.

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Alfred grabbed the drink, downing it in one gulp and shuddered, he wasn't a fan of schnapps, but it cleared his head. After giving the room a quick once over he thought to himself, "I must've passed out and the servants brought me here... but... at what point did the dream begin?" He shook his head as he left the room and stepped out into the hall.

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• ALL PLAYERS Please Read the OOC Thread (click me!) For Important Information BEFORE POSTING

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Dear Diary,
Last night's dinner party marked the day as both the luckiest and unluckiest day of the year at once! I was so happy to attend with my parents in my new two-piece chiffon dress. I was even happier to run into a Japanese-American girl. She understands the language but does not understand the intricicies of her place. There was also a really funny older girl who lied to be called Apple. I think she's silly and mischevious but not a bad person. I did run into Merrick who was being himself mostly. He did confide in me, in an odd way, it seemed more like a rant before I left him to his own accord in the garden.

I don't know how many stars I could have wished on to have the tremendous fortune of running into The Marques himself. Dignified. Calm. Powerful. Wonderful. I can't seem to think of enough words to describe him or how he made me feel. When I told him that my friends had scattered he charged me with finding them. In retrospect I see that I should have told my Parents first, but I was in such a frenzy, such a haste. For some reason ALL of the teenagers except for Alessia, the lawyer's daughter, and the youngest Miss Bard who is only twelve were playing downstiars. I must have found them because I was with them but my small body was taken over by the gas leak before I could do anything.

I do hope I can articulate well enough to my parents that by doing a personal favour to the Marques I was being a help to our gracious host, caring for my friends, and if I had suceeded I would have brought even more honour to the Dawson name.

I still feel a little strange, but that is to be expected. After all, I can't get last night out of my head. At least things will return to normal, now.

- 桜　Rose

Journal Entry #5230

It's been almost ten years since my last entry, nothing really worth noting since then. However, I believe that today is certainly worth noting. A few days ago I had received an invitation from the newcomer of New Haven, the Marques Phillipe, to attend a party that was held today. Well, I attended of course, but it seemed to nothing more than the usual drivel one was to expect from such an occasion until... this could have been when the dream began, but Count Escobar started behaving eratically, waving about a sword and breaking down doors. I chased after him and instead found the Marques. Everything after that is... hazy. I awoke in what must have been a guest room on his estate with a splitting hangover. I must have had a few drinks and hallucinated the whole affair with the Count and the Marques. At least... I think it was... something happened but I can't remember quite what it was except for the fact that it was very important... my head is still spinning, I'm going find a way out so that I may find the Marques, apologize for becoming so shit-faced, and hopefully find out what happened last night, find out what was a dream and what wasn't.