Sitting up, he looked at her curiously. “I do it to project those who can’t protect themselves. You know, I don’t know how many times I’ve seen you guys trying to attack kids. That’s just not right.” Falling back onto the bed, Adrien fiddled with his guns. “Born human?” he asked, glancing at her, “That’s possible?”

The older twin looked at the younger with a predatory smile on her face. “Hungry?’ she asked, eyes glinting. There was a moment of silence as he managed pathetically, “B-but we can’t leave her alone. And if we feed in front of her it’ll probably scare her to death.” Rolling her eyes, Charlené was gone, following the scent of blood. Turning to Candy, Charles asked, “You still haven’t answered my question. What would you do if one of us bit you?”

Julietta turned to face him and nodded. "Contrary to belief it is very possible." Glancing out the window, she shut the curtains and looked at him. "My little sister was born human, when she was about maybe...I don't know, eleven or so, she saw my father feeding and ran off because of it. We haven't seen her since. She'd be about sixteen now, she's two years younger than I am after all." Turning her back on him a small sigh escaped her lips and she frowned. "Knowing her she probably is still alive, but God only knows what she's up to."

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][/ Candy frowned as she looked at him, "I don't know....." She said quietly, "I haven't really ever thought about that or I have, but I don't know what I would do..." COLOR]

(Sorry, I have the urge to add another pair of characters. ^^; I'll still be able to keep track of them all though.)

Andrew Vale grimaced as he looked around the bar, it was too crowded for his liking and the scent of vampires coated the place. The hunter of course, was human however he had learned how to identify vampire hang-outs long ago.

As he looked at the teenager next to him he smirked. This girl, he had married only as a convinence was only sixteen but more useful than she knew. Not only did she keep him satisfied at night, she was directly related to royal family. She was the human daughter of the vampires.

Kathryn Nikolaus, he had tooken her in when she was only eleven, after she had run into him on the streets, face white and looking utterly terrified. She was a pretty enough girl with shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes and she was beautiful in a cute way. Brushing his dark hair out of his face he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

“Is that so? I never knew,” his voice was dripping with sarcasm, but a smile adorned his face. “What’s past is past, there’s only so much someone can do about it. But some things should and could have been avoided.” He sounded as though he was trying to console, but his eyes were still on the ceiling and his guns.

“Ne, they were just inexperienced little boys trying to play hero after all…” Charlené said, kicking two corpses away from her, gray eyes slanted and bright after the meal. Wiping blood off her chin, she was ready to go back until another scent caught her nose. It was another hunter; this one she supposed was much more experienced, cloaked by the heavy scent of vampires. He was around someone. Shifting into a black cat, the girl bounded off, still following the scent. And then there was another scent, it wasn’t quite human, but not quite vampire either, it was confusing her.

Taking a good look at Candy, he said nothing before sitting down in the doorway. The scent of blood was thick; presumably Charlené had already made her kill. Shuddering at a thought, Charles lay down, looking at her just like that. “You need to start thinking about that. Living under the household of the Royals doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be bitten at all. Didn’t you hear Her Majesty say? Bloodlust controls most of our actions if we smell blood… Like Circean poison, I suppose.”

Julietta frowned even more and walked away from the window, sitting down in the chair she had seated herself before. "I suppose you're right." She said quietly, closing her eyes she leaned her head back against the chair and opened them once more. "But I suppose some things can't be avoided," She paused before continuing, "Most vampires are ruled by their bloodlust, its something that can't avoided. It can be restrained but ultimately, well no vampire can go without biting a human."

Andrew looked at Kathryn for a moment before glancing around. He knew that they ought to get going, but he wasn't done drinking yet. Taking another sip of his beer, he watched the other occupants of the bar with a look of disgust.

Kathryn stayed silent as Andrew drank, she often was silent, mosty thinking about her life and the path she had strayed down. She wondered if it was a mistake but shrugged it off as Andrew was the only thing she had left in her life, after all there was no way that she could go back to her family. Not after running off and definitely not after what she had seen. Since she had seen her father bote that girl, she had been terrified of vampires and being in a bar full of them. It was pure loyalty that caused her to join Andrew on his hunts, though she had never actually killed a vampire.

Candy sat down next to Charles and looked at him for a moment, "I know that." She said as she looked at the ground, "And I know that if anything I should let somebody turn me, but in all honesty the idea terrifies me." She looked up at him and watched him for a moment. "I guess I've just been hoping that it won't ever happen."

“I don’t understand, then. Your mother, she made all of this, she should have known it would be painful for everyone. Why?” he asked, though more to himself than to her, twirling his guns around. Noire slid out of his hand and hit the floor with a heavy thud as he gazed at Blanc still, the white gun shining in the light. “If bloodlust rulesa vampire, we do it for revenge. Most hunters seek it.”

Stopping in front of the town bar, she changed back before opening the door, taking a deep breath of all the scents inside. Mostly vampires, all of whom were previously human since none smelled like that of a Noble, one human, the hunter, and the scent that had confused her so much, the scent smelled like, like… Taking a seat a chair away from the hunter, she smiled at the bartender before ordering a Bloody Mary. Taking a quick look around the bar to find the confusing scent, her gaze rested on the girl next to the hunter, and her eyes immediately narrowed. It couldn’t be, no, was that Lady Kathryn? Swirling the Bloody Mary with one hand, Charlené looked around to find some eyes on her. Taking a sip, she closed her eyes and bared her fangs slightly, warning them to back off.

Poking at her cheek, Charles smiled slightly. “You have to be strong. We’re predators,” he admitted quietly, “We are there to weed out the weak.”

Julietta watched as his gaze rested upon the gun and she walked over to him, when she was standing next to him, her gaze rested upon the gun. "Nobody really knows why my mother does anything." She said quietly as she watched him. Her eyes strayed from him to the window even though the curtains were closed, "That's........." Her voice trailed off, she didn't have a word for it.

Kathryn stood up and looked around. "I'm going outside." She told Andrew before heading out of the bar, she stopped for a moment seeing an all too familiar face. Charlene? There was no way it could be the same, she knew vampires sometimes moved and the twins had seemed like the type to do so. Continuing, she hurried out the door.

Candy smiled weakly and nodded. "That's great." Looking at him, she sighed. "Do you think it would be wrong for a human to like a vampire?"

“We all have our reasons,” Adrien finished for her, following her gaze out to the window, “Good… Bad…” The hand holding Blanc landed down on the bed as his eyes danced from Julietta to the sleeping Victoria. “Why did you… kiss me?” He sounded so unsure of himself as he asked the vampire, feeling himself suddenly want to touch her face. Resisting the strange urge, he looked away from her.

Watching as the girl, she thought it was Kathryn, stand up and leave, then a few vampires look at her before daring to stand up and wanting to follow her. Tossing the bartender the money, Charlené hurried to the door, taking one last glance over the crowd of vampires before hissing, eyes turning red in another warning. Slamming the door close, the vampire followed Kathryn. “Lady Kathryn… This is a pleasant surprise,” the normally cold or shrill voice Charlené had was gone, replaced by a tone that reminiscent a mother looking at a long lost child.

Sitting up, Charles supped her face with his hands. “That’s not the question you’re supposed to be asking, idiot…” He brought her face up to his, “It’s whether you the vampire loves you or not. Many love vampires for their inhuman beauty, but when a vampire loves a human, that is a different story.”

Julietta looked at him for a moment before sighing. "You know, that's a good question." She paused, "I suppose you could say you caught my eye and I like to play with my food for awhile. Though of course, you saw how that went." Looking away, she sat down in the chair once more. "Though there is no denying that I've lost that kind of interest in you." She frowned before continuing and head rested on one hand. "But there is still something about you........I don't know what it is..."

Kathryn turned to the vampiress. So it had been Charlene after all. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and nodded. "Hello Charlene," She said quietly, her voice was timid unlike her sister's playful cocky voice. "Yeah, it's.............nice to see you." She looked around before continuing, a look of pleading in her eyes. "Please don't tell anybody else that I'm here! I didn't want to come back but I had to!"

[COLOR="Royalblue
Candy blushed, as she listened to him speak, one of her hands rested on his chest while the other was in her lap. "Well...........how's it a different story then?" She asled him. "Isn't it the same in a way, if the human doesn't love the vampire only for their appearance?" [/COLOR]

“You failed miserably at that, by the way,” Adrien commented, laughing at Julietta. Yes, laughing. Shitfing to his side again, he resumed playing with Blanc. “What? Finally fallen for me?” he said, sound full of himself. However, his eyes now left his gun and were resting on her, filled with amusement.

With a soft smile, Charlené curtsied slightly. “Of course…” she whispered softly, the smile leaving her lips as quickly as it had come. “That hunter… Are you two…?” the brunette questioned, taking a few steps away from the bar door and watching it just in case.

Kissing her forehead, Charles laughed. “No it isn’t. No one loves a vampire, not even their own kind. Our marriages are for convenience means and to produce more of those from Noble lines. There is no alternate reason for most of our marriages…” he trailed off, suddenly letting Candy go and looking at the sky. “They’ve found her for me; I don’t know what to do.”

She watched him increduously. He was actually laughing. Looking flustered, she toyed with a strand of hair and stood up before hurrying over to the window where she opened the curtaun and stood looking out it. "Well..........." She clearly wasn't sure of what to say. "I never said that." She glanced toward him and frowned, "So don't go getting that idea!" She turned her back on him and continued watching out the window, finding it hard to believe she was here in a hotel room having an actual conversation with a hunter of all the possible people in the world. It made no sense to her. She had been ready to get rid of him only hours before. [//color]

[color="purple"Kathryn nodded, "He married me a year ago," She glanced up and down the street before continuing, "He's taken care of me for years, its the least I could do...." Running a hand through her hair she added, "He isn't that old either. He's only twenty-two after all..." Smiling nervously she watched the vampiress, and stood at least five feet away, "I've been with him since I ran off..."

[color="royalblue"Candy watched Charles with an expression that was a mix of melancholy and curiosity. By her she assumed that he meant a marriage. She looked at the ground and said nothing for a few moments, thinking it over. Her idea was stupid, there was no denying but it was all she could think of. "Well......you could always run off with me..." She said quietly, she became silence once more but a moment later before he could reply she asked, "Charles...." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Will you turn me? Please?" [/color]

“You’re all flustered and blushing…” he murmured quietly, returning Blanc to its holster and walking over, grabbing the vampiress by the waist. “I think you like me…” he whispered into her ear before letting go, going back to the bed and sitting back down, acting as though nothing had happened. Adrien leaned back on the pillow, wondering why in the world he did that in the first place. With soft laugh, his dismissed the thought as something absurd, Adrien leaned over to Victoria’s bed and poking her. “Oi, wake up. Shift’s over. I’m tired.”

There was no reply from Charlené as she lit up a fire just above her fingers, looking at Kathryn. “You’re going to have to answer to the Queen if you bite her, Philippe,” the brunette narrowed her eyes at the figure Kathryn couldn’t see. “Either that or I’ll burn you to stake.” With a smile, she extinguished the flame. “You shouldn’t be running around like this. Go back to your hunter,” she growled the word out in distaste, “The chance travelers get bitten in a vampire town is much higher.”

Looking at Candy with disbelief, Charles shook his head. ”Stupid, I just can’t go around biting people and running away with you. The Queen’ll have my head on a spike for sure.” He paused and smile before saying, “I’ll figure out…something.” He quieted, standing back up and eyes gazed up at the top of the staircase.

“You may leave now, Charles,” Helen managed a smile and shooed the younger twin away, looking at Candy. “There are things we have to discuss.”

Victoria groaned and rolled over. "It's too early," She mumbled, sounding irritated. Sitting up a moment later she grimaced as she looked over at Julietta whom was still looking out the window, looking flustered with an unreadable expression. "I'm starting to think it may be easier to just go ahead and kill her...." If it was done for sleep, anything was okay in her book.

Kathryn glanced behind her shoulder nervously before turning her gaze back to Charlene. "I want to go and see what Andrew's plans are first," She began, glancing back at the bar, "He'll be unhappy if I just disappear so I need an excuse to leave, but after I do check in, can you please take me home?" She frowned slightly and leaned against the wall of the bar, crossing her arms. "I think I ought to go back there.......to at least see how everybody is. I know I shouldn't have run off when I was eleven, but being the only human member of a vampire family terrified me....." She stopped there, not wanting to ramble as she often did when she felt she needed to explain her actions.

Well Candy had tried, it had been a stupid suggestion, but at least she had tried. Jumping up when the queen entered, she curtsied before looking at her. "Yes ma'am." She looked at the queen nervously, and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "What would you like to discuss first?" There were quite a few things the queen could discuss with her and as she waited she silently hoped that she hadn't screwed up somehow during the past few days.

Rolling his eyes at Victoria, Adrien said, “Do what you will with her. Not my shift, don’t really care. Just don’t stain anything and keep it clean, okay?” Reaching down for the ebony gun he had dropped on the floor, he smiled slightly. “Well, if you need me, wake me up. Just don’t sneak up on me since I might shoot you for self defense reasons. Same thing applies to you, princess.” Pulling the covers over his head, he closed his eyes, thinking things over.

Charlené looked at Kathryn curiously, but nodded. “It would be wise to greet the Queen, however, your hunter…” She turned her gaze away, never finishing her sentence. “Go then, hurry.”

“Elizabeth, this is concerning your employment here,” she spoke with a mixed expression, since the Queen usually referred Candy by her nickname. “Although it is not uncommon for vampires to employ humans, it is uncommon for us to have you here for such a long time.

Kathryn hurried into the bar and found Andrew sitting in the same place as before. "Andrew," She whispered. "I'm going to check out a lead, I'll be back later ok?"

"Where at?"

"At a farm about half a mile North of here. Apparently they're is another vampire there."

Andrew watched her carefully and when his next drink arrived, he took a sip. He nodded and frowned slightly. "Be back in a couple of hours. We're planning a rendevous with a few others."

She nodded and hurried back outside to Charlotte. "All right.." She said quickly, "He gave me a couple of hours."

Candy looked nervous and grimaced hearing the queen address her Elizabeth, she never had been fond of her name. "Um...all right." She said calmly as she watched that queen. Great, now she was most likely going to lose her job. "That's.....very true..."

Victoria sat down watching Julietta out of the corner of her eye. Maybe the princess would go to sleep, and then maybe she could. Odd, she hadn't been this tired earlier. Shrugging it off, she yawned and began going through one of her bags. Pulling out a silver hair brush she began to brush her hair and thought about her day. Things hadn't even come close to going the way that she had wanted them to.

With a small, rather innocent smile, Julietta looked at Victoria and she saw the other vampiress roll her eyes. She had the feeling that she wasn't really liked. Oh well. There were worse things in life after all. As she looked around the room, her smile faltered and she closed her eyes as she sat on the desk. Sleep would be nice, but she couldn't trust either of the hunters, so that would have to wait until she could get out.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Miss, but since you are affiliated with a hunter, I cannot let you out of my sight now. We had a minor raid earlier on today, we can’t risk any chances. They took Lady Julietta with them…” Charlené explained, glancing at Kathryn. ‘Many things have happened in your absence, but I am quite sure that your presence will be most welcome.” With a polite nod, Charlené walked ahead of Kathryn, alert.
Smiling, Helen placed a hand on Cand’y shoulder. “I suppose, it’s better if I told you that we might have found a relation. Vale is an unusual last name around these parts. Andrew Vale, does the name ring any bells? Though I suppose he isn’t the wisest choice, being a hunter…”

Adrien had a feeling that Victoria wasn’t going to last very long, but sleep eventually claimed him and he drifted in and out of a fitful sleep, trying to keep in touch with his surroundings.

Candy looked thoughtful for a moment. Andrew........she had come from a large family so it was hard to place all of her relatives unless of course, they lived in the same area or were a close relative. Though she never had met any Andrew's. She continued to think until the name finally rang a bell.

"I have a cousin Andrew.....or second cousin, something like that. My grandmother used to mention him."

Kathryn nodded and looked a little disturbed at the idea of her sister's capture. "That's understandable." She said as she glanced behind her. She wasn't sure why she had decided she needed to go home, but part of her kept telling her that it was absolutely necessary. As she walked down the familiar path, she watched Charlene's footsteps and smiled weakly.

"Has it really been five years?"

“We plan on letting you leave, since it is dangerous for you to be around now. According to my sources your cousin is in town. Perhaps this Andrew can direct you to your closest of kin besides him, an uncle or an aunt, or something. Just as long as you are not to be involved in this,” Helen spoke, and smiled again “We thank you for your services over the years.”

Charlené walked ahead, occasionally glancing around to make sure Kathryn was alright. Not really necessarily needed seeing her heightened senses, but just in case. Turning back, she nodded. “Five years is nothing, Miss. You know that our lives are long, not necessarily immortal, but we are immune to most things. Five years is a short period of time. But I assume you have been doing well? Following that hunter, does it not make you uncomfortable when he…?”

Candy nodded, "Yeah, no problem, its the least I could do." Looking around, she sighed. "I'll see if I can meet up with him sometime during the week. If he's a hunter, I suppose he'll be here for awhile," She paused, "And I guess he might be able to tell me where my aunt or uncle is." Her face was expressionless as she watched the queen and brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

Kathryn frowned slightly, as she continued to follow Charlene silently for a moment. "It's more than a little uncomfortable to be around, but with him, its either go along or be left somewhere," She paused, "Andrew's rather unpredictable, it doesn't take him long to just up and leave without telling anybody." She added with a hint of irritation.

As Victoria had dozed off, Julietta crept across the room and opened the door as quietly as possible. Looking back at the sleeping forms of the two hunters, she took a deep breath before slipping out of the room, hoping that they would at least stay asleep long enough for her to get home. Then again, that would be the first place they would look if they decided she was worth the effort. So, instead of heading towards the forest, she headed the opposite direction. Towards the fields that led to more urbanized cities. She knew it was much harded to track down vampires in heavily populated areas after all.

Helen took a deep breath. “You do not mention that you know us, nor can you keep contact with any of us. It is for your own safety means. Now shoo, go home for the day, I think my work here is done.”

“Come home then,” Charlené stated simply, closing her eyes. “The path you chose, it was a strange one…” Without further ado, the Victorian houe came into view. “Welcome home, Miss.”

His mind vaguely registered the door clicking shut as Adrien sat up, looking around the room. Victoria had fallen asleep, and the heiress was nowhere to be seen. Growling, he threw on his coat and stalked out. God, can’t a person get some sleep in peace?

ooc//
It would be longer, but I suddenly got writer's block. >.<

[That's all right. ^^;]

Candy said nothing more and hurried out of the house, her eyes trained on some point ahead of her. She couldn't believe this. She could live with not mentioning them, though it would be hard to explain to her relatives what she had been doing for the past several years. But no contact with any of them? She had to be kidding. She said nothing as she left the yard and paid no attention to Charlene or the girl who was walking behind her.

Kathryn smiled weakly and hurried into the yard, past the maid who had left the house. She didn't bother to knock, after all she had spent eleven years in the house, and entering the living room. She looked around and sighed, well five years wasn't a long time to vampires but to her it was. Still everything seemed the same. Spying her mother, she didn't really know what to say. After all the last time she had seen her family, she had said they were all a bunch of freaks... When she spoke, her voice was even quieter than usual.

"Um........hi......"

Julietta walked down the street in silence. As she looked around she thought about what she was doing. She found it highly unlikely that the hunters would really care enough to come after her, especially when they were so near a town full of vampires. Still she was the heir to the throne, so you never knew what might happen. Glancing behind her once more, she turned down a side street and continued walking.

Helen sat up as she saw who entered the house, a shocked look etched on her face before she shifted her expression again. “Kathryn, it’s a surprise to see you here,” the Queen stated simply, “Take a seat.” It was an order as her hazel eyes looked at her daughter. Crossing one leg on top of the other, Helen sighed. “How have you been doing all these years?” The air around them was unusually frigid and cold as the Queen folded her hands over her lap, looking at Kathryn.

Bursting into a run once he was in the streets, Adrien glanced all around. Where could that girl have gone? He couldn’t lose her, not after all he and Victoria had gone through to get their hands on her. Cursing, he just followed his instincts and turned down the end of the street.

Kathryn did as she was told, and folded her hands in her lap. "I've been........all right...." She said quietly, not looking at her mother. Brushing a strand of hair out of her face she glanced up before looking down once more. "My husband and I were in the area, so I figured I ought to come back." She kicked herself mentally for that sentence. Sixteen years old and married to a vampire hunter. That was what every Vampire Queen wanted to hear from her daughter. Though of course, there was always a chance Charlene could mention it even if she had kept her mouth shut.

Julietta grimaced as she glanced behind her. The hunter wasn't too far behind her. She hoped that he wouldn't recognize her as she was a good hundred feet ahead of him or so. Quickening her pace, she turned down yet another street, which led back to the Inn. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was better than nothing.

Helen paused, looking at Kathryn even harder. “Sixteen and married? What have you gotten yourself into?” she sighed, and continued, “Whoever it may be, I have to meet him.” Without hesitant, Helen reached out and forced Kathryn to look up at her, “What are you hiding from me?”

Recognizing the familiar aura a vampire had and the flash of red hair, Adrien took out Noire and aimed for the shoulder. The bullet wouldn’t and shouldn’t be fatal if aimed somewhere other than the vital organs. He aimed and pulled the trigger before running even faster to the girl.

Kathryn didn't know if she really wanted to tell Helen but she had a feeling the Queen would find out anyway. "After I ran off, I met Andrew, and he took me in. He proposed to me about a year ago and he married me not long after that." Closing her eyes she sighed before re-opening them, "He's a vampire hunter...." She added as she lowered her voice even more.

Julietta yelped and stopped running when the bullet hit her in the shoulder. Swearing under her breath, with her right hand she felt where he had shot her, and the hand came away bloody. Of course, the bodies of vampires didn't actually create blood anymore, but they could still bleed. She figured the wound wouldn't be painful however there was no denying it was painful.

Andrew smirked as he looked around the room in the inn. The door had been open and he had sensed a vampire's aura within it. So he had entered, and lo and behold, there had been a vampiress fast asleep. Well the stake with the silver core had been more than enough to kill her quickly. She had practically had a peaceful death. He looked around the room with a slight frown, as he collected a small pile of ashes and added them to the small glass container he wore. He always took pride in his targets and was sure to show their ashes in the container.

He looked around the room for a hint as to the identity of the. Rummaging through her bag, he pulled out a car and read the name aloud.

"Victoria Lee." [Oh my!]

Dropping the card, he exited the room, still smirking and headed out of the inn. He'd check out his room later. He needed to share this news at the bar.

Candy entered the bar with a sigh. She had heard that Andrew had been here but looking around she didn't see anybody that fit his description. Sitting down at the bar, she looked depressed as she ordered a Bloody Mary.