Blaire watched as the minutes ticked by, each one like a hundred years. The hollow dead look in Vincent’s eyes continued on as if he could see something that wasn’t there. Each moment caused Blaire to feel a bit more lost, a bit more like something had gone horribly, horribly wrong. She now had convinced herself that this was not the way it was supposed to happen, but a small voice in the back of her mind kept telling her, but you don’t know that. Unlike Warren who, she did not know, was not as calm as he looked, she was a bundle of nerves. Goosebumps ran down her arms in multitudes, and after at least ten minutes had passed she began to bite her nails in worry and nerves.

Blaire felt the tug as Vincent summoned all the magic from the room in which she stood. She closed her eyes and could feel the closeness to Vincent and to Lewis. She did not know what it all meant but she could feel the fact that Lewis was dying and knew that whatever Vincent had done, he did it right now to save Lewis. She could not, as Vincent was at the moment, see the scene as it unplaced before him, but she could hear it. Hear it through the thoughts of Vincent and of Lewis as if an invisible string held them all together.

’Keep our master safe from this woman child. Only you can save him from what she may do, you see what he cannot. Two thoughts became immediately clear to her. The first was that he loved Vincent beyond a shadow of a doubt. The second thought that occurred to her was that he was going to die and he knew it. She felt the warm tears as they flowed down her cheeks despite the fact that she was not really with him. Even if he lived out the night the damage had been too deep to turn back, it would kill him before the year was out. If a dying man’s wish was for her to protect Vincent, then she would do everything in her power to protect him. She thought a few simple thoughts to Lewis, If it is in my power to protect him, then I will not leave him. She paused for a moment, I will die before I leave him.

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Alice had felt the bond weaken around this pitiful old man but then suddenly as if by some miracle she felt the strength return to the man. He drew the strength, though there was not much strength to draw off of, to try and spit at her, the nerve of him. She let out a small growl in the back of her throat which showed the frustration she was feeling. The man should be entirely broken by now. Those who had gained the power of the Embrace, those who were blessed with power did not often feel for the humans beneath them. The prince’s will was stronger then she had anticipated, but that was no matter, no one was that strong. Everyone had a breaking point; she merely needed to find his.

“I will never bow to you lady, I have not business with you.” She could hear the strength returning in him and it caused the anger to grow within her. “you are playing with a fire you do not know how to control.” She growled again and turned her dark fast turning red eyes on him. Her anger was causing her to lose control. But then she paused in her thoughts, which where spinning out of control, if she did not calm them the whole thing would be for naught. If pain did not work then it was time for a new tactic. She took one deep calming breath and then turned to face the old man, who was still coughing up blood, and then walked towards him. She ran a finger down his cheek in a crooning rather gentle way this time, “You are suffering” she said in a cooing sort of voice, “let me take your suffering old man. Give in to me and you will no longer have to suffer so”

Warren leaned againted a stand that looked to be used to hold paint more often than the ritual items it now held. His eyes seemed to fade in color as he tried to stay standing up. He had not expected Vincent to draw from him as well as form the room its self. He had never shared his magic before like that other then with his sire and that had been so long ago he did not even think of it often. Now his body could not support its self but he was not hungry as he might have been if this weakness was from loss of blood. Worry crossed his face as he looked up at Blaire, if he fell now he might interrupt the spell and harm Vincent but if he did not he might not be able to do anything to help them latter if they needed it. He could feel himself losing ground on this fight

His hand shook as he waved for Blaire to come over and help him. He needed to stay standing but he could not do it on his own. He would have called his maid but she was out for the night getting stuff that him and his child needed for the next few weeks. They had plans which now he may have to cancel because of this. His eyes pleading for her to come over and help him without asking why.

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Vincent mantled over Lewis letting him know that there was no way he was going to suffer from her. He watched as she tried to regain control of herself, he could see the fight was harder then she wanted others to see. This plan she was working on must mean something to her if she would fight her own nature just to try to keep Lewis around. As Lewis was racked with coughs again Vincent became worried. What he had done should have healed him of any problems but he was still coughing up blood. His powers turned inward on Lewis and found that he had lung rot, something he had thought only miners got. Anger at this disease for taking Lewis before his time and at Lewis himself for not telling him flooded Vincent with more power.

Usually he would never have used the power of anger to work magic but this time he did not have a choice as she stoked Lewis’ cheeks. “Lady you don’t know what I suffer, and your kind cant take it from me. If you could without taking my life I would have asked him years ago.” His voice was a whisper as he spoke through the pain. Slowly behind Lewis Vincent’s from solidified as the magic gave his sprite substance. It would not hold for long but it would hold for long enough.

“you have taken my servant and beaten him within an inch of his life. You have harmed one of your own kind in the process and another human. These actions are againted the laws set down by the Nine so many night ago.” His sprite formed cloak hid Lewis from her view. Vincent’s eyes were dark red with anger and his fangs showed through his speech but did not effect it. “by that alone you will never have the princedom, as you can not see what you truly must. For these crimes and for trying to take what shall not belong to you I call BLOOD HUNT.” The power grew as he spoke the words that were as much a ritual as the spells he had preformed these past few nights. His voice raised and built in power as he spoke the final words, it boiled from him and wrapped around her. He could not place the mark that would let all vampires know she was huntable in his domain but he could now find her if he looked. The power fading he kissed Lewis on the cheek on last time, knowing that this may be the last time he ever saw him alive again. “go to your rest knowing you do me proud Lewis. If you fall here I will tell her you did well.”

It was an extremely odd feeling for Blaire who could still feel and who was still aware of her surroundings where she and Vincent where, but in the same breath her mind could still hear what was going on near Lewis and Vincent. She struggled with getting her thoughts together. Eventually however she was able to draw herself back to Warren’s Studio. She kept her mind on the scene with Vincent, though only a bit. Her main focus, she knew, needed to be in the present. Vincent’s body as well as the magic in the room needed her help.

She looked up to where Warren had been standing and watched as he grew weaker. Whatever Vincent had done had effected Warren as well. She could see the almost pleading in his eyes as he beckoned her to help him. She jumped down from the window seat where she sat and made her way quickly across the room. If he needed her help then in the very moment, it was all she could do. After all she could not help Vincent at the moment. Keeping her mind still slightly on Vincent she moved forward and offered her help to Warren.

She had known without knowing, perhaps it was the look in his eyes, or maybe it was the pleading weak way he had beckoned her, that he needed her help for himself and not for Vincent. She stood next to him offering help without asking, but rather awkwardly not really knowing weather he needed help to continue to stand, or weather he needed her help to lay. Whichever was the case, he looked weak. She offered him up her arms, letting him tell her without telling her, what he needed her for.

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“Lady you don’t know what I suffer, and your kind cant take it from me. If you could without taking my life I would have asked him years ago.” Something flashed in her brilliant green eyes that may have been pity, but as quickly as it was there it was gone. She turned away for a moment but then turned to him, “why are you so loyal to him” she said it with a solemn seriousness, “there is no loyalty for us. He only protects you because of our laws. I‘m sorry old man, but I do have to take your life tonight” she paused for a moment, “I’ll try to make it painless…..or not depends on how I feel”

When Vincent materialized in the room a small smile played her lips. So the game had begun. How incredibly delightful that was to her, this was the moment she had waited for. “you have taken my servant and beaten him within an inch of his life. You have harmed one of your own kind in the process and another human. These actions are againted the laws set down by the Nine so many night ago.” Her eyes started to go a twinge of red, but again she stopped them. She was going to need to feed that night, but for the moment she was not going to let to ruin her plans. She looked at him with spite, and slight amusement. He spoke of the rules she had broken, the laws she had chosen to ignore. He was hypocritical in a way, and yet he didn’t even know it.

How many months had she been creating her army under his very nose? Was it not the prince’s job to know how many where in his kingdom? She had stolen his servant from right under his nose and he had very nearly left him out to drown. No, she was not yet ready to tip her hand, but she was not all that concerned. “by that alone you will never have the princedom, as you can not see what you truly must. For these crimes and for trying to take what shall not belong to you I call BLOOD HUNT.” She felt the mark hit her. Looking up at him she did not let the smirk leave her lips, despite the fact that she knew the road ahead, even though exactly as she had wanted it, was now about to get ten times harder for her.

At least the prince hunted her, it showed he still had some control, but his control was fading, “Oh dearest prince, whatever do you mean. Was that your human?” she had a tone to her voice that was dripping with sarcasm, “I suppose the hunt begins now, I anticipated that. But I have not lost yet”

Warren watched as Blaire slowly pulled herself back to the present, he wounded if she was seeing what was happening where ever Vincent was. It would have been nice to know what was going on on the other side but he was not connected to the prince in that way. It had surprised him that Vincent could pull magic through the spell from him as he had. Never before in his unlife or life had he heard let alone see some one do that.

As Blaire walked over to him his grip slip and he barely caught himself on her arm as she held it out to him. Something that Vincent was doing was still taking from him. He slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned on her. He was not as heavy as she might have expected him to be, he also was colder then he should have been. His body temperature had dropped as the spell wore on. Now he was only a little warmer then a dead body. Though unlike Vincent when he needed blood he did not look like he was bloodless. His skin was still the same warm color it had been when he had first met her.

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Vincent did not like the way she seemed to gloat as he spoke. Whoever she was she seemed to find what he said amusing. Had her sire not taught her what she needed to know about a prince and his domain. When next he saw her if he still could not kill her he would lay the mark so all others would know that he wanted her dead. If he laid that mark she would be hunted by all the vampires of this city just for the sport. It was not often that a prince called a blood hunt, but when they did everyone was invited to kill the one who had forfeited their lives.

“Oh dearest prince, whatever do you mean. Was that your human?” her sarcasm was like nails down a chalk board to his nerves. If he had a proper body he would have killed her right then and there but he knew he did not have the strength to pull that trick off. Had she not been eating away at his strength with the harm to Lewis he would have. But now all he could do was stand there around Lewis like a dark avenging angel. His eyes were those of a hungry cat by now. “I suppose the hung begins now, I anticipated that. but I have not lost yet.” He scoffed at her statement. Did she really think that the rest of the old ones would allow her to take the thrown? If anyone was to take it it would be Warren and not her.

“Even if you could get me out of the way there is no way the elders would see you as prince. your tactics alone show your not ready for that power.” He stood tall as he spoke, the sense of age just seemed to roll off him like a mantle he wore. “Even a child of our kind can tell he is one of mine. The mark is still there for all to see.” He moved enough that Lewis could again be seen. The mark was not a physical thing to be seen but it was still plainly there to any vampire who looked. While it was only the most powerful or magically inclined that could place a mark on a human all vampires could see them. “If you kill him I will take the lives of all your childer in this city, and all of theirs.” He could feel his body drawing him back so he let the magic go and faded back to the circle in Warren’s home. He stood from the crouch he had been holding and wavered.

‘I am sorry that I can do nothing more for you my loyal servant. You mean more to me then my princedom.’ Lewis smiled as he looked up at her. His prince would have given up all the power to save him if that had been able to be done. He would have his revenge even if she killed him. His smile was one of a man that knew he had won before the battle started. “I am ready to die if that is what your plans are for me lady. But know that when I die then he will wipe your line from the world. No one will know your name when he is done, and no one will care.”

Back in Warren’s room Vincent stepped from the circle and offered his hand to Warren. “Thank you for this working you have done. I know now that I could not have done this with only her with me.” Leaning in he gently kissed Blaire on the head. “Without both of you I would be dead in my room or others would be. Her move backfired on her this time, and I shall try not to give her a next time.” Warren took his hand and gripped it. Something passed between them. Warren’s weight lifted off her shoulders as Vincent started to waver more. It was only Warren’s speed and knowledge of what just happened that saved Vincent from hitting the floor hard. Slowly Warren lowered Vincent to the ground as his mind retreated from the loss of what little magic he had had left. He was not going to be doing anything tonight other then laying there. ’ I want you to live with me in my home for now.’ even his mind voice sounded weak when he talked to Blaire. ’I think it would be safer if you stayed with me and not go out until we find her unless you’re with me or Warren.’ Vincent knew that he might be a bit over protective but if she would take Lewis she would take Blaire as well to get to him. He needed her to stay out of that woman’s hands.

As Blaire stood before him offering her help, he had obliged as she had expected. He was weak at the moment which caused her to frown slightly, something about the situation at hand was taking more from him then she thought he had expected. However she did not at the moment question it. He needed her help and it was all she could do. He was not heavy as she would have thought by looking at him which filled her with relief. She could feel the cold that radiated from him and it caused her to shiver involuntarily but she did not let him fall.

She watched as Vincent walked from the circle drawing her mind back to one place rather then two. He spoke to Warren but her mind went one last flash to Lewis, knowing that they would never be able to save him. He eyes went to the floor as to herself she said one last goodbye to the man in Lewis she never knew. She felt Vincent kiss her on the forehead and it caused her to look up. “Without both of you I would be dead in my room or others would be. Her move backfired on her this time, and I shall try not to give her a next time.” She looked up at Vincent, part of her wanted to argue with him. She had already done so much damage, but tonight at least, was not the time to argue this battle.

Vincent had taken Warren’s hand and although she knew nothing about what had happened she could tell something had passed between them because after it had happened Vincent grew weak enough to fall. Warren was faster then Vincent though and had caught him before he hit the floor and laid him down gently. ’ I want you to live with me in my home for now.’ he sounded weak, like the events of the night had finally taken their toll on him, ’I think it would be safer if you stayed with me and not go out until we find her unless you’re with me or Warren.’

She thought about this for a moment, it would make her life a bit more constricted for the time being, but she could see the merits behind it. Thinking about Lewis in the room with that woman made her able to see why Vincent was doing it. She could think about her options at the moment which to her amounted to stay with Vincent in his home, or leave. She remembered her promise to Lewis and she thought to Vincent, Alright, I’ll stay with you.

She looked up at Warren for a moment, “Do we just leave him on the floor there?”

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“Even if you could get me out of the way there is no way the elders would see you as prince. your tactics alone show your not ready for that power.” she smirked a bit as she looked at him, contemplating her next answer. “Are you so sure they would have you stay in power?” she had answered simply, and without any explanation. He proceeded to tell her that even a child could see the mark, of course she had seen it, only an idiot would have not known that Lewis was his which was precisely why he had been chosen.

She paced the room a bit in impatience, but stopped when he spoke again. “If you kill him I will take the lives of all your childer in this city, and all of theirs.” she looked at him, taking a moment to answer, by the time she did he was already gone. She didn’t care about her children, she hadn’t even chosen them. Not really. Her eyes wandered back to the old man on the floor beside her. “I am ready to die if that is what your plans are for me lady. But know that when I die then he will wipe your line from the world. No one will know your name when he is done, and no one will care.” The man had incredible loyalty to his master, she had to give him that. Part of her was jealous of the prince’s servant, and the loyalty he commanded.

She turned away from him. He had served his purpose, and she no longer needed him. She did not look at him as she said, “I have doubts that you’ll make it past my guard, but I will not be the one to kill you tonight, you may try to leave if you would” and then she walked out of the room without a second glance. Once outside the room she heaved a heavy sigh. She knew she was going to die. No one under a Blood Hunt lived to tell the tale but everything had gone exactly as they had planned it. Leaning her head against the wall she breathed heavily. “The game begins” she said softly.

A Vincent slipped into sweet darkness without pain or fear he heard her say she would stay with him. A finale sigh escaped his lips before he stopped all body control. He would know of nothing that was to happen till the next night this night had taken from him more then he would ever admit to any one. A tiny ruby tear twinkled at the corner of his eye as he lay there. Maybe it was a good thing that he was past all feeling now, he would not feel Lewis when he died, he would wake to find only one bound with Blaire. He would not need to find that which should never have been lost. This time he would keep her close till the end, and then he would never fear for her.

Warren watched as the small death took Vincent and wondered why it had taken so much from him this night. He had fed more than once this night yet still it was young and he was spent. Kneeling down he gently brushed a strand out of his face. “you know we were about the same age when he found us. Both of us lost to the winds of fate, taken in by the mage.” No one in the vampire community knew they were from the same sire. It was a well guarded secret that Vincent never wanted to tell anyone. Their sire had turned on his own children and started hunting them before they put him down. Their sire had claimed to be doing the work of the true maker when he killed his own. It had taken all the children that were left to stop him. “I was jealous of Vincent when I was taken in. he was so good and the Mage always praised him. It was not till years later that I found out he was much older than me and only just as good as me, or so they said.”

Warren’s fingers lingered on Vincent’s cheek as he thought back on the past. They had grown apart after they had taken their sire out, his death was not approved of by the elders. Holding back the tears that he knew would come he bent his head and kissed Vincent. “We should have been the most powerful team of vampires the world had ever known, him and I.” a tear escaped to fall upon Vincent’s cheek. It sat there like a jewel in snow. “We should have been feared through the entire world, hunting where we wanted and not obeying orders. But I left him, after our sire died, I left him to the wolfs.”

Looking up at Blaire Warren’s eyes were filled with longing and remorse. “He was never that good at reading humans like I was, I had been on the streets longer than him it seemed. I knew how to see the true person, but when I had the chance to protect him I left him for this.” He waved his hand around at the art in the room. His voice was filled with disgust but a touch of pride as well. “Then when next we met he seems so sure of himself. I thought that he had learned all he needed to know to keep safe. When he became prince I was surprised and happy for him, but now I know that I never should have turned down the crown. I should have taken princedom when it was offered to me.” Slowly he lifted Vincent up and carried him out of the room.

“Come I will take you both home, I think I am one of the few of our kind that know of his home.” Slowly he walked deeper into the building his body tight with worry. “I will place a ward on your home but you will need to stay in the house till he wakes tomorrow. I think you can find something to do in the time he is asleep. He has a nice place with much to look through and I don’t believe he would mind if you did. And if your bound is as strong as I think yours is you will know what he does not want you to go though.”

Blaire had been kneeling next to Vincent on the floor when she felt him slip into a deep slumber. Well at least she could feel that his mind, as well as his body where no longer fighting to keep going. A tiny ruby tear had welled up in the corner of his eye and she, as gently as her fingers would allow, wiped that tear from his eye. “Sleep well,” she said gently, “you have done so very much tonight” though she knew nothing of the trials Vincent had faced in the past, though someday she would ask him about his past, the fact that tonight had taken so much of his energy told her that tonight’s trials where above his average ones. She felt like in that moment, he deserved to sleep for as long as he wanted.

Warren spoke of the past that both he and Vincent shared and she was surprised by this revelation. Warren and Vincent were as good as brothers in their own way. She looked up at Warren but did not say anything. His reactions to this moment only confirmed what she had already deduced; this had taken more from Vincent then was usual for him. She let Warren talk without interrupting and let the thoughts of the night wash over her. “Then when next we met he seems so sure of himself. I thought that he had learned all he needed to know to keep safe. When he became prince I was surprised and happy for him, but now I know that I never should have turned down the crown. I should have taken princedom when it was offered to me.” She looked up at Warren, another revelation that added to what she had already known from earlier, Warren should be prince not Vincent.

“Come I will take you both home, I think I am one of the few of our kind that know of his home.” She nodded silently, really too lost in her own thoughts to speak much, and followed Warren in the same silence. Many thoughts from that night flooded through her mind, Vincent, and all that he had done that night, the magic circle that had taken Vincent away from his body, Warren and all the revelations that surrounded him. And Lewis, she thought to herself. The last plea that Lewis had made to her still rung through her mind with clarity. ’Keep our master safe from this woman child. Only you can save him from what she may do, you see what he can not.

It was only on the way to Vincent’s home that she found herself ready to talk again. She looked over at the lifeless form of Vincent, and also the determined form of Warren. It was Warren directly that she addressed, “I don’t know all of what happened between you in the past” she said softly, and gently, “but I do know that he trusts you. I don’t think he’s prepared for the battle ahead, at least not as much as he thinks. I know he needs you now.” She had said it with sincerity, she knew that she alone could not protect him and he needed to be protected. She had made a promise to Lewis, the dying old man with such love, and she would not break it, “Whatever happened in the past, doesn’t matter now”

Warren was happy that she had not said anything on their way to the car, he had been thinking about what he was going to do with Vincent and who he would have to hunt down to find out what was truly going on in this city. All of the elders now were younger then him, let alone Vincent. They might tell him all he wanted to know about what was going on in the city. But would they have been keeping tabs on the people here in the city as they should have or had they too become lax like Vincent had. Years ago it had been so easy to tell when one of their own kind had taken a child without the princes permission but now… now with so many people dying in the streets and disappearing there was no way of telling when it was a vampire and when it was just them dying or leaving.

As he got into the drives seat he looked back at Blaire and Vincent and wondered what was to become of them. long ago it had been said that when you met your double then one of you had to die. Now with so much travel and so many people there was less chance that one would not run into their double. As they drove down the road he watched her through the mirror Vincent never once showing up in it. He wounded if she had noticed that yet or if it would take her more time to see that they did not appear in the car mirror. “I don’t know all of what happened between you in the past” her voice was soft and gentle when she spoke. “but I do know that he trusts you. I don’t think he’s prepared for the battle ahead, at least not as much as he thinks. I know he needs you now.” It almost sounded to warren that she was worried about Vincent but trying not to show it. “what ever happened in the past, doesn’t matter now” Warren waited a bit so she could speak again but when she did not he smiled at her over his shoulder.

“What happened in the past dose matter now. Everything he and I have ever done together matters. It is because of what has happened in the past that he trusts me so much.” He turned a few streets and then through a few alleys before talking again. He watched in the mirror hoping that the enemy had not found a way of hiding a car from a vampire. He did not want to lead anyone back to Vincent’s home with him in this condition. “In fact it is unwise that he trusts me so much. Our kind is not a nice race, we hunt and kill humans for food. Some of us will do anything to gain in the ranks, even breaking the laws of our kind.”

The house they drove up to was a simple four story building with a neatly kept lawn among a sea of buildings that looked the same. The place was painted a cool cream and the windows were covered in lace. There was a low wall surrounding the property at knee height. As Warren lifted Vincent from the back seat he looked up and down the street. The only sound on the street was the sound of a dog barking a few blocks away. The only heartbeats he heard were Blaire’s and those of the sleeping people nearby. Slowly he walked up the stairs to the door and it opened. “now there is a nice spell.” Inside was a small entry way connected to a hall that ran the length of the building. Somewhere in the dark hall was the stairs up to the next floor but warren turned right to enter a simple living room and then into the kitchen. There he found a trap door under the table. Opening it he slipped down into the darkness of the room. Moments later he returned without Vincent.

“What happened in the past dose matter now. Everything he and I have ever done together matters. It is because of what has happened in the past that he trusts me so much.” She contemplated this statement as they wound down some roads in silence. She did not say anything at first. After a few more twists and turn Warren spoke again, “In fact it is unwise that he trusts me so much. Our kind is not a nice race, we hunt and kill humans for food. Some of us will do anything to gain in the ranks, even breaking the laws of our kind.”

Again she contemplated this before she spoke. She thought about the woman who she could hear with Vincent and Lewis. The one whom Vincent had claimed broke the laws. She had broken them for her own means and measures. She looked up at Warren for a moment before she spoke again, “You’re right,” she said softly, “about the fact that trusting you is dangerous, both for him and for me” she looked out the window again, “but I don’t think he’s foolish to do so”

Once again she found herself falling into silence. The events of the night were weighing heavy on her mind. The night before she remembered feeling anxious at the thought of impersonating another person, but tonight that seemed like so very far away. She no longer felt anxious at the simplicity of impersonating Vincent, she felt anxious over things that were much greater than that. She had been taken into a world of which she would never have believed existed until that night and yet here it was laid out before her so bluntly, and here she was worried about a man who, apart from being a vampire, was someone she hardly knew. She also found that in two night’s time she, the one who trusted no one, trusted not one but two Vampires. It was enough to drive a person crazy.

It wasn’t long before they reached his home. She looked up at the lovely cream colored Victorian. It was not perhaps as beautiful as Warren’s home, but it did have its own little sense of beauty. She looked up at the cream colored home and for a brief moment smiled. She could live with the fact that she had to stay here for now, it certainly would, at least she could surmise, be interesting for the time that she was had to stay. When they neared the door she had rushed forward about to open the door but it opened all on its own. She jumped back slightly startled but then she reminded herself that she needed to get used to these sorts of things.

She followed Vincent through the simple living room and into the simple kitchen. The simplicity only added to its simple beauty. Warren took Vincent down through a trap door under the table, another oddity that Blaire did not question. When he returned however it was to find her seated in one of the Kitchen chairs which she had pulled away from the trap door. She briefly wondered what was through that trap door but knew, even before Warren returned that it was where Vincent slept. The darkness, she told herself, would be absolute down there, where else would you expect a vampire to sleep.

When Warren returned without Vincent she knew her assumptions had been correct. She smiled softly, “Thank you for your help” she had said in a very genuine manner, “I…” she paused for a moment as if thoughts were running through her mind but then she shook her head and looked back up at him, “I know it meant the world to him, and to me”

Warren had been a bit to preoccupy to think of what she was saying until after he had taken Vincent down to the basement room where he slept. Even if someone ever came down into the basement by that trap door they would never find their way into his sleeping area, unless they were also vampire. The small chamber was hidden away between two walls that formed the two rooms that were not connected. One stored what one might expect to find in the basement and could be reached by the stairs under the stairs to the second story. Through the trap door was what looked to be the wine caller but it was a bit sparse of bottles at this time. He had other things in there that many would find odd but not revolting.

“to return to what you said earlier I would have to say he is foolish. If we had been living with each other for the last year or so he would not be, but as it had been only half a year since we got reacquainted then he is being foolish. He trusted me even though I could be working for the person that has Lewis and he not know it.” He closed the trapdoor and sat down in the seat acrossed from her. “I could have changed in those hundred years since he had last seen me and now he might not be able to read me. I could have fallen under the control of an older one of our kind. There are to many factors that could have happed which would place him in danger now.” Warren had picked up a glass that had been sitting on the table and was not slowly spinning it between his fingers. “I accept your thanks and the only reason I am saying this is because I want you to know the dangers he may not think of.”

The sound of a light bell could be heard from below there feet as with the sound of the front door opening. Warren looked surprised at the bell but not at the sound of the door, he stood and walked towards the front of the house leisurely. He did not get far before a young human female with dark brown curls and beautiful blue eyes appeared with her arms full of bags of food. “I got what you asked for but why you or Vincent would need them.” her voice was full of music as she spoke, her blue eyes twinkled with happiness as she looked at Blaire. “Hello Vincent, the house looks better.” She went on talking as she set the bags down and started to unload them. “I never thought that you would have it done so soon but then I guess that you did what he has a habit of doing, working fast though the night so people barely see you moving.”

Blaire considered what Warren was saying to her. She looked down at her hands for a moment and once again Lewis’s words came into her head. He had told her she could see what he could not. At the time she had thought he was referring to the vampires, as she now assumed they where, in the Train station that she could see but he could not. Now she wondered if perhaps there was more then one meaning behind these words. Where there dangers he may not think of? Could she spot dangers that even a Vampire could not spot? It was entirely possible that she would have to.

Looking up at Warren she was thought about what he had said, perhaps she too was foolish to trust him, either of them really. She thought what he said made an incredible amount of sense. She was about to tell him so when they heard the bell in the distance which caused both of them to look up and then shortly afterward Warren went to see who was at the door. She looked around the kitchen that was now, at least temporarily, part of the place she was to call home until this was over. She was just wondering if there was food fit for human consumption when Warren return, and a young female with extremely piercing and beautiful blue eyes returned with him.

“I got what you asked for but why you or Vincent would need them.” She was a happy little thing and Blaire found she could not help but smile at the happy note in her eyes or voice. She set down the bags and started to unload them. She smiled to herself at that point, her earlier inquiry seemed to now be answered, Vincent really did think of everything, she thought to herself. She was on the point of wondering who the newcomer was when the newcomer turned to her and smiled, “Hello Vincent, the house looks better.”

Blaire looked back and forth between the girl and Warren, wondering if she was to pretend she was Vincent, as she was in fact hired to do, or if this was someone she could be herself around. She thought for the moment at least, she should keep up guises unless Warren told her differently, the girl had continued to speak about the house and how she must have moved during the night. She smiled, and then spoke thinking of a response that would be both correct enough and yet still vague enough to be gotten away with, “Do you like it? Its not as beautiful as Warren’s place of course, but I like it”

As each piece of food came out of the bad she kept talking not really seeing what was before her. When Blaire spoke she stopped and looked at her more closely. “Yes I like it.” She said slowly looking quickly back at warren before looking at her again. “but your not Vincent, your close but your not him.” She sat down quickly her knees going weak. “so you’re the reason Vincent needed food.” Her eyes flickered around trying to find something that was not there. It took her a few moments before she could stand again.

Warren on the other hand stood behind her waiting for everything to sink in. he had had sasha for many years now though she only looked twinty three, the bond he had with her gave her a longer life then most humans ever would see. She was one of the few of his humans he trusted to be so close to his sleeping prince. he stepped forward to stand behind her as he laid his hands on her shoulder. “yes he is the reason Vincent needs food. This is his new apprentice, Blaire who is new to town so if you have time in the busy day that I asked for you would you see that he learned the city?”

(I may rewrite this because of the way it is written but it should be about the same things said.)

The girl was looking at her with extreme scrutiny at the very moment. She held her breath, she had not quite learned all of Vincent’s mannerisms yet. Plus, if this girl was in Vincent’s home it meant that she most likely knew Vincent quite well. She had looked at her and pegged her as not being Vincent. Damn, she needed to study harder, be better, if this was going to work. The girl’s knees had gone weak at that moment and she had sat down in a chair across from Blaire. Blaire hesitated and looked up at Warren, biting her lower lip ever so slightly, not sure how to handle the situation.

Warren had walked over and placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders, it seemed like he was going to explain the situation to her. It could have been quite awkward if he hadn’t. At the moment she wasn’t sure she could salvage the situation had she been meant to continue being Vincent. When Warren introduced her she stood and offered her hand to the girl. “I didn’t mean to deceive you” she had softly and she found herself pacing the room ever so slightly. She looked up at Warren, “Thanks for the introduction. I am thinking this girl…..” she paused for a moment, “I am sorry, I don’t think I caught your name”

“I would indeed be very obliged if you could show me the city. It seems like a lovely place” She continued to pace the room though slowly, but she did smile at the girl. She found that the addition of another new person made her rather back to her mind racing around. It was truly amazing how many people and things she had learned all in the course of one night. The early night seemed truly like days ago. Finally she took to sitting back down in the chair she had just left moments ago. She smiled at the girl who had seemed so happy moments ago, “Do you know Vincent well?” she asked with a smile.

((I tried to be Vague, I hope this will work. Let me know if not))

Sasha smiled and looked at Warren before speaking again. “it’s ok, I had just not heard that he had found a double again so quickly. I was out when I am guessing you and Vincent came over for the working. And I am Sasha by the way.” She held out her hand before going back to unpacking. “it will actually be nice to have someone who knows this world a bit to talk to. I only have the other human that Warren has to help around the house and he has little knowledge of this world. If you’re to be working with Vincent closely then you will get to know everything about him and the world.” She held out some of the food that needed to be put into the icebox. She seemed to have gotten her confidents back as she was able to place where Blaire belonged in the order of things. “To be exact you and Vincent did mean to deceive me and everyone in the world, but that is for his safety. You will want to work on your accent to pass as him, you still have a bit of a burr.”

Warren’s smile grew as he watched them talk, he had been right to think that Sasha had needed another human to spend time with and it would give Blaire a good person to help her fix her mimicry of Vincent. “if you two do not mind I will be going. There are things I need to do and only two hours to do them in before the sun comes up.” he took a little bow before turning to Sasha. “I do not expect you to come home tonight so teach our new friend a bit of what makes this city what it is and what makes Vincent.”

“As you wish.” Her voice had gone from soft to almost gruff. She winked at Blaire as she spoke as if to let Blaire in on a joke. “I was an actor before he picked me up. now I am anything he need me to be.” Her voice ran through a range of accents as she spoke never once did it seem like it was put on. “I think that Vincent would have fought over me had he also been there as I have passed for him when he needed someone.” She finished putting the last of the food away. “so what do you want to do first, learn more about your Vampire or the city?”

There was something about Sasha that Blaire immediately took a liking to. She just seemed to have that disposition that Blaire found hard not to like. She introduced herself as Sasha and Blaire smiled warmly, “Well Sasha it is defiantly a pleasure to meet you. Especially as you’re the fist….well…..human that I have met all night.” she paused for a minute thinking about this, and then looked at Sasha, “you are human, right?” she laughed just a little at this and then proceeded to help unpack the bags that Sasha was unpacking. Sasha had handed the items to go in the icebox over to her and she set to work organizing them in the icebox.

“it will actually be nice to have someone who knows this world a bit to talk to. I only have the other human that Warren has to help around the house and he has little knowledge of this world. If you’re to be working with Vincent closely then you will get to know everything about him and the world.” She looked up at Sasha for a moment, “he works around them all day and knows nothing of what he is?” she said waving a hand in gesture to Warren, “that must take some work to keep quiet yes?”

“if you two do not mind I will be going. There are things I need to do and only two hours to do them in before the sun comes up.” Blaire stopped putting things away to walk back across the room. She offered her hand to Warren, “It was a pleasure to meet you” she said in a genuine way. She looked at Sasha for just a moment before saying to Warren. “I shall have a talk with Vincent tomorrow about that conversation we had just a bit ago. He may not like it but he probably should hear it anyways”

She listened as Sasha’s voice changed accent not just once but multiple times, and with ease. She stopped what she was doing to look at her in amazement. “That’s really amazing. Someday I may ask you to teach me how to do that” she laughed rather heartily for the first time that night.

“so what do you want to do first, learn more about your Vampire or the city?” she thought about this for a moment and looked at her. Did she want to know more about Vincent, or the city. She put her hand to her chin in thought for a moment. She would eventually need to learn a bit of both, but for the moment she should probably learn more about the man whom she was to live with for the time being. “I suppose if I am to live here for any length of time I should learn more about the vampire I am to stay with. That is if you do not mind”

When Blaire had asked if she was human Sasha smiled and nodded her head. She had not expected this from Blaire most of the time people just thought that they were human if they were not recognized as vampire. “To some peoples way of thinking you and I are not human but yes I consider myself human. I was born and raised in a small town not to far from here. family is all dead now so I am not to worried.” She stopped and stood up proudly. “I am much older then I look for your information. There are advantages to being bound with one of them, there are also drawbacks. You will want to be carful about who you get to know and how close you get to know them. some vampires bound to their humans just to keep them loyle,” before Blaire could even think that this was the reason that Vincent bounded to her Sasha set to driving the thought from her mind. “don’t you worry Vincent would never force you like that. he is one of the best out there.” She avoided talking about the other human who worked for Warren in front of him.

Warren nodded to her as she spoke. “it was a pleasure to meet you too and I hope that we will enjoy many long night together once this business is over.” He walked towards the door but turned just as he got there a smile pulling at one side of his face and his eyes twinkled as he turned back to look at her. “I would expect no less from you to tell him all of what is told to you this night and many others to come. You are now his ears and eyes where ever you go.” With that he stepped from the room and was gone. Sasha looked out the door to make sure that he was gone before talking again.

“thank you.” She said in response to Blaire’s comment about her accent. “it took me a long time to learn all those different ways of talking. Vincent will teach you the same trick I know for mimicking a accent. He is a great teacher and you will learn much from him.” Her voice had finely settled into a lower Bronx accent. “I don’t really mind talking about Vincent, what little I have learned of him or of their kind in general. The only thing I cant talk about is what I know about Warren that he has asked me not to tell, but then that is not that much as you already know his main one.” She waved her hand in the air as if she was casting a spell then raised her eyebrow asking if she understood without words.

Sasha had nodded and her eyes lit up a bit in both surprise and what may have been a smile or silly laughter. “To some peoples way of thinking you and I are not human but yes I consider myself human. I was born and raised in a small town not to far from here. family is all dead now so I am not to worried.” Blaire thought this over in her head, they where marked by a Vampire and they would be separated from the world because of it. Briefly she wondered what others thought they where if not human, they where clearly not vampires. But then Vampires where not the only ‘Demons’ to the people of the world. Was she now marked as evil by the general society. Her mind wondered briefly to her broken family, she fully intended never to see them again when she left home but now the fact that it was unwise to do so made her ever so slightly sad. She frowned, but only for a moment, “I do not believe my family even miss me if truth be told”

“I would expect no less from you to tell him all of what is told to you this night and many others to come. You are now his ears and eyes where ever you go.” She thought about this as Warren left before she could say another word. About this and about the conversation they had held earlier before Sasha had come. Was she wise to trust them? Any of them? Sasha was just another human like herself, she could be trusted right? Well trusted at least enough to learn from her. But then Blaire already found she trusted her anyways, something about her made it hard not to. Perhaps it was the genuine sort of happy bubble that seemed to follow her around. “Am I right to trust them as I do?” she asked suddenly of sasha, “Either of them?”

“it took me a long time to learn all those different ways of talking. Vincent will teach you the same trick I know for mimicking a accent. He is a great teacher and you will learn much from him.” She smiled at this statement but it made her think for a moment, she truly didn’t know anything about Vincent. She knew that when she looked at him, so very strikingly like herself in appearance, she found she could not help but trust him. Maybe it was because of the bond, because of the linked thoughts, or even just the way he hadn’t demanded any of it of her. He had only asked. Even the way he cared about Lewis, enough to cry when he had left him to the wolves. She thought about those tears she had seen and had known where genuine and she knew she trusted him. “I learn knew things about him every moment it seems and each one makes him seem, almost perfect.” but he’s not perfect, she thought to herself, there are things he does not see.

“I don’t really mind talking about Vincent, what little I have learned of him or of their kind in general. The only thing I cant talk about is what I know about Warren that he has asked me not to tell, but then that is not that much as you already know his main one.” She raised her hand in the air as if casting a spell which made Blaire laughed truly out loud at this point. “Yes, that one I know about. Earlier tonight Warren really had little choice but to show me that one.” she thought about the studio and the spell and she sobered a small bit. Looking around the room she thought about the living room they had past on the way to the kitchen, and thought they may be more comfortable there. She looked at Sasha and Smiled, “I have like a dozen questions to ask you. Lets head to the living room so we may be a bit more comfortable”

Sasha watched as the thoughts of what others might have called them cross Blaire face before she nodded. It had taken her a lot longer to understand what the mark meant to the rest of the world. How long would it take before Blaire was asking what other monsters went bump in the night that were real and not created by the Grimm’s. She saw the thought did not seem to occurred to her as other thoughts forced their way in. “I do not believe my family even miss me if truth be told.”

“It’s not that they would miss you it more of you will miss them. if you don’t ask to be allowed to age as you natural would, you can stay this age for many years to come. It’s a nice thing about the marks, along with the ability to heal faster than a normal human.” She walked over and placed a tea pot full of water on the gas stove. “And no you’re not wrong in trusting them. They are some of the growing few that see us as partners not as food. Maybe one day they will be open to the world and all humans will have a choice of getting to know them. But for now we are the guardians between the living and them. We know more of how to deal with them and how to get at them then they do for us. You and I can walk in the sunlight and escape them if we need but they need us. You know where he sleeps and soon enough you will know how to get into it as well. He trusts you right now more than you do him.”

Her hands move quickly and daftly as she set up a tray of tea cups and little foods that one would take if one had high tea. There were tinned biscuits and scones, tiny little sandwiches and cuts of fruit. By the time the pot was boiling she had everything ready on the tray. The tea pot was the next thing she prepped, a will rounded scoop of tea went into the pot before the water was added. She laughed at her comment about him being perfect. “None of them are Perfect, don’t ever think that. Each one has his or her blind spots just like us humans do. They have just had a lot longer to learn how to hide them. try not to see them as all knowing beings or one of these days it will get you killed. They are just humans with little tricks.”

She was just finishing with the tea when Blaire asked if they should go to the living room. She smiled and nodded yes to it. “I will be happy to answer any of your dozen or so questions.” With that she lead them out into the living room and sat down on a cream fainting couch. She had placed the tea and food on the small table that sat between the couch and a cream chair that seemed to be of the same set. She smiled and poured out a glass of tea for each of them then held up a heaping scoop of sugar. “sugar or lemon?”

“It’s not that they would miss you it more of you will miss them. if you don’t ask to be allowed to age as you natural would, you can stay this age for many years to come. It’s a nice thing about the marks, along with the ability to heal faster than a normal human.” she thought about this. She did briefly miss them, but paired with the fact that she hadn’t seen them in a good ten years told her she didn’t miss them that much. She could live with that. She looked up at Sasha and shook her head, “I left home when I was fifteen. As much as I may or may not miss them, I can live without them” she had said it simply, and not truly unkindly. She shrugged her shoulders just ever so slightly, “I do miss them occasionally even now, but I won’t be going home any time soon so, it is what it is”

She thought about the other impacts of the things she had said. She looked up at the young girl in front of her and wondered how old she really was. Was she really old and stuck in a young body or something like that? It certainly seemed like it was. Two more questions formed themselves in her head as she thought about it. She looked around the room for a moment, as if knowing that she shouldn’t ask the question she was about to. She looked at Sasha and then spoke in what was nearly a whisper, “So how old are you really?” She laughed a bit at this, it was incredibly impertinent to ask a woman her age, but she really was curious about it.

She listened in silence as she spoke about how the two Vampire’s she had met had been ones that she could trust. Good, she thought, at least there is that to contend with. She had been really taken aback however when Sasha said that Vincent had been trusting her more then she was trusting him. It made sense when she took the time to step back and think about it, but it took an outside source for her to actually think about it like that. “Except at night” she said softly, “at night we are at their mercy, so it’s a good thing that they can be trusted.” She looked up at the girl and wondered how long she had been around Warren, and even Vincent.

“None of them are Perfect, don’t ever think that. Each one has his or her blind spots just like us humans do. They have just had a lot longer to learn how to hide them. try not to see them as all knowing beings or one of these days it will get you killed. They are just humans with little tricks.” She looked up at this point. Hadn’t she already seen bits and pieces of Vincent’s weakness? For that matter Warren’s as well. “You’re right” she said after a moment, “right now he seems almost like a character plucked right out of a fairy tale to me, but I can already see he has far to much faith in his own abilities and also too much trust in others”

They walked to the quant little living room that seemed to fit so well with the rest of the house. Blaire chose to sit in the cream colored chair that matched so well with the couch, “sugar or lemon?” Blaire smiled politely, “Sugar please” she said taking the little china cup from the girl. She mulled over all the questions in her head and tried to decide on the one that would best suit to be asked first, she decided to start basic. “How much of the rumors from” she paused for a moment and then nodded to herself, “How much of the rumors from are world are true? I mean I have already gathered that the sunlight is true, as well as the drinking blood part, but what about everything else? Can they eat regular food as well? Does a steak through the heart kill them?”

Sasha had nodded as she spoke of how she had left home at a young age and could live without her family. She understood the feelings that Blaire was having now over leaving family and not seeing them but she knew that in the years to come it may become harder to stay away and as they grew older it became too tempting to go see them. One had to be careful when one did not age like humans did. Family would remember you and know you had not aged where as some friends might not. Smiling Sasha spread her hands and did a quick turnaround. “it is not wise to ask a woman how old she is but if you had to guess what would it be.”

“it is true at night they do have the power but if we did not like them we could flee for a day and a night and then just move by day after that and they would have a hard time keeping up. And with the new airplanes maybe one day we will be able to travel the world within a day. Then the vampires would have a hard time tracking us down because we could be anywhere in the world.” The thought of Airplanes exited her beyond any other through. She had always dreamed of flying in the air where only the birds flew.

Placing the scoop of sugar in her coup she smiled before pouring herself a cup of tea and sipping from it with nothing added. She had always liked Earl Gray tea and not many people in the states like it now. She watched Blaire to see if Blaire liked it as well. “From what I have seen most if not all vampires drop into a stooped when the sun comes up. I have seen both Warren and Vincent up and walking about in a sealed room while the sun was up but I believe it was only for an hour before they too fell into the stooped. The sun its self can kill them if they are caught out to long in it, Vincent has a charm to protect him but you will know when he is trapped in the sun. The blood they don’t have to feed every night but most nights. They can take animal blood not just humans but some of them will only take human, not Vincent. I believe that he only takes human when it is offered to him by a willing donor.” She nibbled dantily at one of the scones after buttering it heavily. “I have only once known of a vampire eating regular food and that was with a very powerful spell. Not one that Vincent would be casting. If he has a night meeting that is a dinner he will have you attend it and then just tell you want to say.” She stopped and gave Blaire a stern look. “you do not want to see what happends if they eat or DRINK anything that is not blood.”

Looking around the room she stopped talking and just listened for a bit. After a time she smiled and continued as if she had not stopped. “The Stake through the heart will hold them in place but not kill them. But it had to be made of wood, a stake of anything else won’t harm them.” she stopped and wobbled her head as if weighing something. “Well that is not completely true, it dose hurt them but will not harm them. Just like a bullet will hurt but not harm. If there is gun fire going on, don’t be the hero just get out of the line of fire.” Again she seemed to stop and listen to something before looking back at Blaire. “also the line that Vincent comes from needs their home earth, I don’t know how Vincent keeps it with him but he can just keep a small pillow with him that has it in it and he won’t have a problem. If he does not he will face a full day of knowing what is happening around him mixed with nightmares. Not something they like to deal with. And you may also get overflow of those dreams when you’re going around town if he has them.” right now all that Blaire was getting from Vincent was a connection but no thoughts or feelings.

“it is not wise to ask a woman how old she is but if you had to guess what would it be.” Blaire threw up her hands in a way of mock surrender. She knew she shouldn’t have asked the question, it was totally indignant. She merely wondered what having the bond meant. She looked Sasha up and down as if studying her to wager her age. After a moment she said with a slight laugh, and then a genuine smile, “I’m sure however old you are you certainly look good for your age, you don’t look a day over 23”

“it is true at night they do have the power but if we did not like them we could flee for a day and a night and then just move by day after that and they would have a hard time keeping up. And with the new airplanes maybe one day we will be able to travel the world within a day. Then the vampires would have a hard time tracking us down because we could be anywhere in the world.” Blaire let this mull over in her head and it brought her a small comfort. She didn’t foresee herself wanting to run, the truth was she intended to stay. The thought however didn’t make her feel boxed in, like staying was her only option. This caused her to smile, in a very distant sort of way. She thought about the new airplanes however and shivered, “no thank you” she said softly, “I don’t think its natural for them things to be staying in the air like that. I’ll keep both feet firmly on the ground”

Blaire took a sip of the tea that she had taken from the girl. It was not at all your usual brand of American tea which caused her to wrinkle her nose in surprise at first, but after the second sip she decided it was not so bad after all. She looked up at Sasha, “What sort of tea is this” she asked in a casual sort of manner, “Its got a rather good taste once you get past the first bit of unexpected.” She continued to sip at the tea as Sasha spoke of the Vampires in sunlight. So sunlight did not immediately burn them to death, she buried the thought within the back of her head. Sasha looked at Blaire seriously at that moment she started to talked about food however, “you do not want to see what happens if they eat or DRINK anything that is not blood.”

Blaire looked at her with a raised eyebrow. It had been so fierce and serious that Blaire had been completely taken aback by it. She sat there for a moment in stunned silence. Sitting back in the chair she mulled this over for a moment but did not say anything more on the subject, something in the back of her head told he she simply did not want to know. She made another mental note to add to the list, don’t offer Vincent food. The two of them sat for a few moments in silence before Sasha picked up as if she had never stopped. She spoke about the stake through the heart and also about bullets and something about Blaire not trying to play hero. She looked up at Sasha, “Protect him from the sidelines in other words. I understand that”

She continued on to talk about their home earth and the effects it could have on the, not only for Vincent but possibly for Blaire as well if Vincent was not able to control it. She closed her eyes and shivered again. The thought of it seemed a bit spooky and it was her hope that Vincent always remembered to carry it with him. Her mind wondered again as she thought about this, Vaguely she wondered where Vincent had originally called home. He was good with accents so even that could be superficial, there was no way to know without asking directly, “Where is Vincent’s home” she said softly.

She mulled over the information she had learned that night already in her head. Everything she had ever believed to be true had seemed to be shattered in just one night. If she knew any of these people well enough she may have suspected it all to be one big joke, and yet through all of it she couldn’t help but believe it was all true. She looked up at Sasha knowing dozens of questions still whirled around in her head and yet one very specific question pulled at her relentlessly. She looked up at Sasha knowing it was a rather personal question, but one that was important to her. She would not blame Sasha however, if she chose not to answer, “Do you ever regret staying with them? Being marked as different from everything you ever knew?”

Sasha smiled a knowing smile then nodded. “thank you for the complement, I was 26 when I first met Warren and we hit it off. It took me three more years before he let me know what he was. By that time I had a shaky idea as I had noticed things that he did not think I would. Since that day I have seen many things change.” She let the subject drop without any more comment. She did not need to go into any detail of how many different things had changed for Blaire to know that she was much older than her twenty nine years. She kept her eyes demurely down as she changed the subject.

This tea is one of my favorites, I found it when we went to England not to long ago. They sever it over there like it is the only drink to be consumed. They call it earl gray, I call it heaven.” She almost purred as she spoke of the tea. “I like to take mine without any thing as I feel it shows the way the world is. But most people enjoy it was honey, sugar or lemon.” Slowly she dipped a scone into the tea and then daintily nibbled at the end of it. At first when she did it, the thought of scone in the tea did not sound so good but as she kept doing it the combination sounded better.

“I really don’t know where Vincent’s home is, they don’t talk about it much other then it is nothing like what it was when he was a boy. But then what place would be the same after so many years of being alive.” She sounded sad as she spoke about the loss of the places one knew in childhood had how there was never a way to turn back the clock to change it. “but even though I do miss my old home and the people I knew, I would never give up this live. The wonders I have seen with Warren and the things I have done. When I was a child the things you take as common today were just whispered of as fantasy. One day your going to wake up and see all these new wonders that you never thought was going to happen and then you will see the world as I do.”

“thank you for the complement, I was 26 when I first met Warren and we hit it off. It took me three more years before he let me know what he was. By that time I had a shaky idea as I had noticed things that he did not think I would. Since that day I have seen many things change.” She looked at her and smiled, she would have aged gracefully if she had chosen to age at a normal pace, she looked younger then even her outward age would have let gather. Blaire looked up however when the girl said she’d been given three years before she was told about this world. By that time she would have already trusted Warren. Blaire could not help but to laugh just a tad, “Three years huh” she said with a jovial smile, but her expression soon sobered slightly. “I met Vincent only yesterday. I don‘t think he meant it all to play out the way it did…..but…well…it just sort of happened that way.”

Blaire watched at she talked about the tea in a loving manner, like it was a long lost child or something but Blaire admired her for it. She smiled softly, “I admire you for your strong tastes, but I’ll stick to the sugar” she said with a bit of a laugh in her tone. She watched as Sasha dipped a scone in her tea and at first thought that this sounded, well, dreadful. However the more Sasha did this the more it seemed like it may not be a terrible idea after all. She picked up a scone and broke off a small piece of it, placing the rest on the saucer her tea cup had been sitting on. She dipped the piece in the tea and gave it a hesitant try, Closing her eyes she thought about the flavor, “That’s better then I initially thought it would be”


She listened about how things changed over time, both for Vincent and for herself. Blaire’s thought was that Sasha must be even older then her initial thoughts but she smiled politely. One thing she made absolutely and most certainly clear was that she would not give the life she lived with Warren for anything and this was enough to put Blaire’s mind more at ease. She didn’t speak at first but when she did a few moments later it was simply to say, “Thank you, you’ve given me a sense of ease about the whole thing”

Sun crept low at first across the cream colored rug on the floor and Blaire found herself without meaning to suppressing a yawn, or rather trying to hide a yawn and failing miserably at it. She looked up at Sasha with a bit of a embarrassed smile, “Do excuse me, I feel the events of the night are finally catching up to me” she said it with a good natured smile and a bit of a laugh.

“I thought that you had only met him yesterday, I keep track of most of the humans that know of the vampires in the city. That way I can keep my eyes on them if need be while Vincent and Warren are asleep. But it will be nice to have someone else that can keep an eye on some of them if need be.” She smiled and looked out the window behind her to see the first rays of the morning sun braking over the house acrossed from them. “to be exact it is your job to keep track of those that may be a danger to us. I have only been filling in on that job because Lewis could not keep up with it then he was to leave.”

She smiled and nodded at her when she tried the tea and scone. “I always pick the ones that will tasted good with each other, some think that I don’t understand what should be served with what tea but I do it by taste not by tradition.”

Somewhere out there in the dawn light Blaire could feel Lewis moving to leave where they held him. He knew that he would most likely die trying but he had to try and this was the best time to make the move. Those that had been on duty were now tired and those that would be on had not come yet. He had waited the full night through for this time. It was now or never for his escape. His legs were wobbly but his spirit was strong and willing.

“I am glad that I could put your mind at rest for a bit, and if there is anything you need just give me a ring. I will leave a number where you can reach me by your phone.” She watched as Blaire tried to hide her yawn but failed. “Don’t you worry about being tired, you have gone through a lot. A lot more then I think I ever have done after having a full days worth of work on top of it. You just go up stairs and pick one of the bedrooms. None of them are in use right now so any should do. The rooms on the floor above that are not for you to be sleeping in but you will know which ones not to go into.” With that she picked up the tray of left over tea cakes and sandwiches and carried it to the kitchen. “I hope you can cook, because you will need to cook for yourself.”

Blaire listened as Sasha told her that she had already suspected it had only been a day since she had met Vincent, which only brought more questions to light for her. Sasha also told her that it was now her job to foresee any dangerous individuals who might be out to harm them, any of them she presumed. She wondered for a moment how Sasha had known she met Vincent the night before, and thought it an extremely pertinent question to ask if she was to be keeping tabs on people in her own time. She looked up at Sasha for a moment but there was a soft smile in her eyes, “How is it that you keep tabs on people?” she said softly, “I mean, for instance, how was it that you had known I only met him yesterday?”

She listened as Sasha spoke about tea almost as if it was a passion of hers. To Blaire the idea of putting Scones in tea had been a strange one but one that came out tasting exceedingly good to her after the second or third bite. Had she been bogged down by tradition? She looked up at Sasha at that point, doing things by taste seemed to make a hell of a lot more sense than doing things by tradition alone. “I entirely see your point, I never would have thought to try things in that manner, simply because tradition states otherwise, but I shall try to branch out more” she laughed a bit at her own daftness.

“I am glad that I could put your mind at rest for a bit, and if there is anything you need just give me a ring. I will leave a number where you can reach me by your phone.” Blaire smiled at this point and stood up to offer both her hand to Sasha and also to take care of the tea tray. She thought about the night and all the things she had learned even over the course of one night. She looked at Sasha, “you have been beyond helpful tonight, thank you” she said in a very genuine way. “I think I will be picking at your brain for some time when we meet again in the future. I’m sure, with our rather unique position that we will meet again”

“I hope you can cook, because you will need to cook for yourself.” Blaire really did laugh out loud at this statement. After ten years of fending for oneself you learned to cook or you starved. Though she did have to admit it had been some time since she had had anything decent to cook with, more than one night she had found herself living off of rats and peoples food scraps but she wasn’t about to tell Sasha this, instead she simply said, “I’ll have to cook for you sometime and let you judge for yourself”

She held out her hand to the small, but exceedingly cheery Sasha, happy for the first time in as long as she could remember that she felt at home with the people around her. “It was incredibly nice to meet you, I hope we may have many more nights to sit around and have perhaps less serious talks.” After she had seen to it that Sasha was going to be alright to make it home for the night she made her way up the staircase to the next floor. Looking up the stairs toward the third floor she remembered what Sasha had said about none of those rooms being for her and nodded to herself. Although she was curious she did not head in that direction but instead took to exploring the second floor.

She found that there were four decent sized bedrooms located on the second floor and that each of them was furnished much like the rest of the house, simple but elegant. After taking a moment to look at each room individually she settled on one of the rooms towards the side of the house where the rising sun would not bother her in the mornings. By the time she would have sun leaking into her room it would probably be time to be awake at that point anyways, that was if she found much time to sleep, she reminded herself. She would need to steal cat naps here and there for the time being.

She looked around the room she had chosen. It was the simplest room of the four, but also the one that suited her the best. Four pieces of furniture lined the walls of the room. A bed, which was nicely adorned with a beautiful olive green colored quilt, a polished wooden desk, a polished wooden table, which sat beside the bed, and a polished wooden set of drawers. Quietly she made her way across the room and sat down on the bed which was a nice quality of softness and found herself drifting off to sleep just about as soon as her head hit the pillow.

That night her dreams carried her far away, at least far away to her. She dreamed of cold laughter in a pit of darkness. It caused shivers up her spine that she could not even begin to shake. Something about the cold laughter was familiar to her. She could not place, at the moment at least, where she had heard the laughter from before. It caused her to wake in a cold sweat not moments after she had fallen into the deep slumber. Lying awake in bed she tried not to think about the cold cruel laugh and eventually, she managed to lull herself back into a dreamless sleep. It would be hours before she would awaken again, and by the time she did the dream and the laughter would no longer even be a fleeting thought to her.

When she awoke hours later the sun was still shinning high in the sky. She stretched for a moment and looked around the room which was foreign to her. Moments passed by as she tried to remember where it was she had spent the night at. It only took her a few sleepy moments for the memories of the night before to hit her in full force. She was sleeping in a bed that was in a house belonging to none other than the Vampire named Vincent. If she would have told herself all of this two nights ago she would have thought herself going barking mad, and yet here she was. She decided for the moment at least that she would rather be no place else.

She forced herself, despite still having the will to go back to sleep, out of bed. The next few moments where spent making sure the room was, in its entirety, exactly as she had found it in the first place. She made the bed without a wrinkle on it. After a look around and a satisfied nod to herself she made her way down the stairs towards the floor she had only partially gotten acquainted with the night before. In the daylight it had an even more charming feel to it with the light that shone brightly through the windows. She made her way to the kitchen and, after pulling a few things out of the icebox, proceeded to make herself something to eat. After all the last thing she had eaten where a few scones the night before and her stomach was now loudly protesting.

Blaire spent the rest of the Afternoon exploring the downstairs. Eventually she found herself in the library much to her surprise. Taking down a book from one of the shelves she found her way back to the living room area and curled up on the sofa to read the book, which ironically, was about Vampires.

__________________________________________________ ___________

Alice heard the old man leave and heaved a sighed to herself, she had needed to use excessive force on that one, and he had really tried her patience. Leaning against a wall in a neighboring room she knew the sun must be coming up, despite the inherent lack of windows in the room to which she stood. Her eyes grew droopy as she listened and yet she muttered so that no one could hear, “Good Luck old man” before heading towards her bed to sleep for the night. She didn’t know why she was rooting for the man, after all to her humans where generally nothing more than food to be eaten and thrown out to the wind. Something about Lewis struck her however, and part of her had hoped he would escape.

As Lewis Crept closer to the exit of the hideout he would have known that the Vampires would need to sleep soon. What he would not have expected, was that she had day guards of an entirely different sort to watch over her front doors during the morning. What he would come to face when he reached the front door was what would appear to be a man, although close inspections would tell you something was off about the man. Coming face to face with the 6’5” man would have anyone scared, but especially if that man happened to be holding and old fashioned sword. The large man looked down at the old man, with a grin, which only made his scarred face more horrifying. “So then we do have a death wish don’t we” he said with a small laugh. His voice was deep and intimidating, “I’ll happily oblige then”

It only took a moment for the man to kill the old man, but at least, for Lewis at least, the death was not painful. The giant of a man who had taken Lewis’s life looked down at the man with pity. Unlike the Vampires he did not like taking lives if it could be helped, but he worked for the mistress now and after all orders where orders. All orders had been issued, if the prisoner tried to escape then no other option but death was left to him.