When the World Comes Crashing Down

Laura looked down as Red took her hand. It was s trange sensation for it had been long tim ago when someone took her hand. Maybe her mother did, but that was when Laura was a little child. Several different feelings rushed through her mind before she pulled her hand out of Red's. There was no negative feeling in that movement. It was more likely her hand slipped out of his. To mask her real reasons, Laura said: "If we would have to run I think we better run without holding hands." She said and looked around again. The tickling in her back returned and the scent grew stronger.

"We have to go now Red! Lead the way, I will follow," Laura said insistently and looked up at him. Wait...maybe he wanted to stay here. Maybe he was working with those people coming and this all was a trap. But on the other hand, how would he know that she would be coming for him? Double spies? Laura narrowed her eyes and tried to see something in the shadows of Red's hood. Without a success she shifted her gaze to her right, watching the end of the street for any signs of movements. However, she became reserved because at the moment she wasn't sure whether to believe Red or not. He might be a good actor and work for the other group. The night became still, no breeze was brushing against Laura's cheek.

Trying to let go off such a suspicious thoughts, Laura put her hand on her dagger, now regreting that she didn't take hers but there was no point in bothering herself by that either. Her senses were strained to maximum just to catch anything that would help her identify the danger. She looked up at Red once more as he asked her if she trusted him. "Well, I am not sure but you better leave explanation for later and lead the way to that hiding place. Right now!" she demanded, maybe some of her nervousness projected in her voice. But she couldn't hold it back anymore. She didn't know what was coming, when it would come and if it came how strong it would be and if she would be able to protect herself and Red at the same time. Yes, she had to protect the prince for he was her ticket for a stronger position among members of LoD. She had to get him back to the mansion alive. Maybe with few scratches but alive.
 
Red smiled slightly at Laura even though he knew she couldn't see his face, there didn't seem to be much to smile about these days and this did not seem like one but he couldn't help it her personality was kind of endearing in a way. Nodding slightly at her he said, "Come with me, and don't worry about the men coming our way that is unless they see you and if they do hopefully they are not out hunting one of us because if that is the case there may be nothing we can do." Glancing out into the street he looked both ways listing and sniffing to see how close they were. The men were getting closer but not close enough yet, at least hopefully not close enough yet. Motioning to Laura to follow him he walked out of the nook they had hidden in and started up the street in the opposite direction of the market. All he had to do was get to where the craftsmen shops were at and then he was most likely good to go.

He remembered what it felt like to be hunted and this was exactly that feeling, Red had a bad feeling about this night. He hoped Laura was following but he didn't dare look back over his shoulder to see, to find the marker he was looking for that told him he was close to his hideout he had to pay a lot of attention. He had noticed that even vampires had trouble finding the marker and for humans it was near impossible to find it. At the moment though he just might miss it, he was to busy trying to figure out the woman behind him and worrying about the men even further behind him. Turning to the right down an alleyway he stopped for a minute to go over what he remembered about the marker. He remembered that when he was little his father used to tell him about the slums and all the things that went on there, apparently trying to make him so scared of it that he would never go down there.....oh if he could see him now. During his lecture he mentioned finding a secret hideaway set up in the craftsmen district, trying to remember what his father had told him it looked like he looked towards the end of the alleyway.

Seeing a curled up form he winced in sympathy at the poor wretch, not every vampire got away from the hunters and children sadly were easier to get a hold of. Shaking his head he thought of what his friend had told him about how children were precocious to vampires since only one or two were born to a family though there had been family's known to had more. Now looked at the poor curled up form of a little girl covered in trash he felt angry and sad at the same time, if it wasn't for the fact that it might cause even more harm to more children he might just go back to where those hunters were at and let them feel what it was like to die a horribly humiliating death. Trying to get his emotions under control and remembering what he was supposed to be doing he focused even harder on remembering that marker.
 
Laura ran by Red's side, feeling more and more relieved with each step which put more distance between them and the hunters. Red himself looked very focused on something so Laura didn't dare to disturb him in his concentration. She just followed and from time to time she looked over her shoulder to see whether there was someone behind them or not. Each time she did so, her throat tightened. She expected to see dark figures running after them and the image in her head was so vivid. However, she hadn't seen anything. Only quickly passing streets, houses and some taverns. The smell, as it was distant, wasn't strong as before yet she could still feel it in the air. It was like a blanket that covered the city but the closer you got to the edge, less material was in your way.

After some time of running, which didn't tire Laura at all, they appeared in an alleyway. She could say that they were closer to the slum, closer than she got ever before, so Laura had her eyes wide open. No, not in surprise how it looked around but in cautious interest with which she wanted to remember every detail so that she could return back later and who knows, maybe do a little bit of searching herself for whatever there could be. Suddenly, her eyes set on the body of the little girl. For all the years that she was a vampire, she fed on kids just twice but every time, she let them live, knowing that they wouldn't remember. If they would, who would believe that they were bitten by a vampire? But this was horrific. Laura came closer to the body and kneeled down, puting her two fingers under the girl's jaw, hoping that she would feel any pulse of her heartbeat. Unsuccessful. Spitting on the ground, Laura got up, completely disgusted how the one who did it, could have been so cruel. The urge to look away from the dead body began to increase but for some reason the scene felt almost hypnotizing. At last and with so much effort put in the motion, Laura looked away towards Red. He was searching for something.

"What are you looking for? I can look for it too so that we would find it quickly," she said, knowing that just standing around wouldn't help at all and the two of them had to be fast, so Laura better start doing something.
 
Red looked over at Laura and sighed slightly than said, "I think I figured it out but if you happen to see a glyph very intricately designed on a wall that's what I need to find. When you look at it though, try not to look away or else you will forget what you just saw." He glanced at the little girl again than looked away and said, "The slums are definitely not the best place to be, but that work was done by hunters not by someone who lives here." It had been a shock the first time he had seen what a hunter could do, but that was what life was like right now, it was no place for children especially vampire ones. Looking around very carefully he said, "It will probably still be down a ways. The first time I found it was in the market place, the second time was in the slums, it's supposed to show up around the craftsmen district. Sometimes though it likes to play tricks and it will double back on itself, that's why I have to be careful about finding it." Taking a deep breath, wincing slightly at the smell, he glanced back the way they had come and swore he heard footsteps getting closer.

They had spent enough time just standing there and anyway there was nothing they could do for the little girl, not bury her since that was against the law only burning was now allowed and that would attract a lot of attention. Red moved slightly out of the alleyway and when he didn't feel anything hit him or anyone shouting he decided it was clear enough. He started setting a faster pace, still trying to keep it at human speed just in case. There was no reason to draw unnecessary attention and besides no one except the hunters would care about two seemingly humans running down the street. Taking a left turn in the opposite direction from the craftsmen district, he proceeded along his own personal shortcut. The entrance might be down his short cut be he doubted that, it always liked to play hide and seek and it was just to easily found if it was here in the alleyway they were currently in. Red did think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they decided to clean the slums up at least occasionally, it was ridiculous that it had to stink this bad.

Hunger was still a friend of his that was for sure, he had never gone more than a few days without blood and then the only reason he did that was because he had thought he had gotten found out. Turned out the only thing he had to show for that paranoia was that he was extremely hungry and nearly killed his meal, which would have been very bad for him and the person. He could smell the blood pumping through the hunters and how close they were at the time, he could also smell Laura's blood. Whoever she was she must have strong blood to effect another vampire like that, taking blood from another vampire wasn't all that odd but ones who had been turned cannot take blood from another one who had been turned. He couldn't conclude that she was a pureblood from this though because a lot of vampires who had been turned had strong blood, it would have been nice to finally figure out exactly who she was. After running a ways he took a right into another alleyway that came out onto another street. Stopping for a moment Red looked around to see if there was anyone who should not be there, than motioned for Laura to follow him and proceeded to walk along the street keeping a careful eye on the buildings. Sighing inwardly Red thought, 'Now things get interesting. Do we find the glyph before the hunters get us, or do they find us and kill us?'
 
Laura nodded as she was given the description of what they were looking for. She had never heard about such a thing and had no clue where it would lead them and why Red needed it but no matter what she should do her best to find it because apparently it was something crucial for their escape. She looked around the valey but the glyph didn't seem to be there and when Red took off to search somewhere else, Laura followed and looked carefully around. Even thought, the prince described her how the glyph should look like, Laura still didn't have a full image and comprehension of what she was looking for. They stopped somewhere else and the fact that she could have smelled the scent of the hunters way stronger made her feel uneasy again. She almost got the feeling that they were after them, though she could tell that she was being a little bit paranoic. Shaking her head slightly, she resumed to her calm stance.

Why can't we just head somewhere else? Do we really need to find the sign? She kept on asking herself, her eyes open and she was searching so cautiously that sooner or later her head would start to hurt. Another thought pierced her mind. If the glyph was moving around the craftsman district then it ought not to be a normal occurrence. It more likely reminded her of magic. Laura never came to experience any magic and if her theory would be right this would be the first time. But still it was hard to believe it. From the corner of her eye, she also noticed that Red, even though he tried to hide it, behaved a little bit different. Tiny fitful motions of his body told her that was something that kept on distracting him. She walked closer to Red and there was curiousness in her eyes. What was going on in his head? She hoped that she didn't miss anything that could hint a betrayl but on the other hand he didn't have a reason to betray her...at least not yet. Looking away, her eyes set on something strange. Something, that felt like it didn't belong there yet it was hard to define it. Laura walked closer and with each step she reduce her breathing that at the point when she almost touched the wall by the tip of her nose, she wasn't breathing at all.

"I found it," she told Red, not really loudly but not in whisper either. She kept her eyes set on the glyph, hypnotizing it or being hypnotized - that was hard to tell. "What comes now?" she asked still not looking away almost being scared that if she would blink the sign would be gone the moment, she would open her eyes again.
 
Red glanced in Laura's direction wondering what exactly she had found. He opened his mouth to say something than stopped himself staring at the glyph on the wall. He smiled at Laura even though he knew she couldn't see him and said, "Just don't take your eyes away from the glyph." He started to tap the wall nearby hoping to find that hollow sound when he hit the right spot on the wall. Doing this with two people was much easier that by himself, probably why he had never made this secret hideout his home it was to hard to find all the time. After a minute of tapping and getting nothing he stopped for a minute to think about where the spot might be at. 'It wouldn't have that much of a sense of humor now would it?' He wondered to himself, looking in Laura's direction. Sighing to himself he walked over and reached up over her head tapping at the spot right above her head, just to hear that hollow sound he'd been waiting for.

Red stood behind Laura's keeping his hand on the spot then said, "This is going to be tricky. Make sure you don't take your eyes from that glyph, you might have to move slightly to one side though." He sometimes hated how much of a funny personality this thing had. He started tapping along right side of the wall that Laura was facing, after hearing the hollow sound continue he finally laid his hand on the wall and started to chant lightly in a different language. "Get ready to move quickly when this thing opens." He said, pausing a moment in the chant. It was a very archaic language and one that he had drilled into him by his mother when he was younger, maybe parents making you do things you don't want to isn't always a bad thing.

The wall started to creak as his chanting continued but at the same time the wall started creaking the footsteps got louder. Wincing inwardly to himself he continued to concentrate on the task at hand trying not to think about the scent getting closer or how close to Laura he was. Her blood was starting to get to him and the longer he stayed where he was at the harder it was getting to not try and sink his teeth into her neck. He really shouldn't be thinking about it but it was hard when all his senses were trained on her and it wasn't like either one of them could move very far from the position they were in. Chanting even harder than he had before, and pushed all thoughts of the hunter's and Laura from his mind. This was going to have to be a very precise and even chant to be able to open the door with how bad it had been, though this might be its way of sensing what times were going on and that maybe there may be some guys that don't need to be let in. Shaking his head he continued to concentrate on the chant.
 
Laura kept her gaze fixed on the symbol while Red was tapping the wall around. The itchy feeling in her back only rose when she smelt the hunters getting closer and closer. Few times, she almost looked in Red's way to make sure that he progressed somehow. Obviously he was looking for a hollow sound but not even Laura could hear anything that would resemble it. Oh please, hurry up. Find it! She though pleadingly but would never say it aloud. It might sound desperate and yes, she felt that way in the moment, but she didn't want anyone else to know it. She was helpless. Having her back turned towards her surroundings and not being able to look around, she felt vulnerable. When Red talked to her, Laura got a little bit suspicious. What was his plan? Why would she have to move to a side.

In the moment, he stood behind her and tapped the wall above her head, Laura almost doubted that it would sound hollow. But it did! She smiled and resisted the urge to look at the place where the sound came from. Keep you eyes fixed on the glyph, she reminded herself and that she did. However, once again she was unsettled. That happened when Red began to chant in a language she had never heard before. Was it really magic? Her eyes widened. For some reason the situation was making her feel dizzy and anxious. Even though with Red behind her back, she felt less of that itchy feelings, the fact that Red himself probably mastered something that was suppose to be only a fairytale... Laura placed her palms on the wall and took a deep breath, always looking at the sign. This couldn't be real. It all got rather complicated, considering that they were running away from elite vampire murders and that the prince might be a magicians. Laura was sure that in some time she would be able to comprehend it all but for now, she had to push that aside. She leaned on her hand and the moment she did it, the wall disappeared and Laura fell forward.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed and tried to keep her ballance as she passed through the portal so suddenly. She looked behind her to find whether Red was still there or went through as well. She didn't know what she would do if she would end up stuck in a place she didn't know how she got in, where it was and probably how to get out if the need be. Moreover, she prayed that hunters wouldn't attack Red while she was inside. He had to get in quickly.
 
Red blinked in surprise as Laura went through the portal, it wasn't that he didn't think it would work it was just that it was a surprise to see it happen so fast. Keeping up the chant to keep the portal open he glanced behind him and cursed, the hunter were here. Looking at them he remembered why some vampires had nightmares, they looked emotionless and devoid of anything except killing. Shuddering slightly, he hurried through the portal and into the dark room on the other side. After arriving he had only enough time to look at Laura quickly before he turned and started up a different chant, this one he had to hurry though. As the hunters got closer the portal that brought them wavered, and after a minute disappeared entirely leaving just a solid wall behind. Red took a deep breath than let it out on a slight laugh, he actually had managed to outrun the hunters that was a first. He looked at Laura and smiled slightly than said, "Welcome to the safest place, currently, in Aleria. Make yourself at home, for right now at least, we will probably be here for quite a while." He looked around the room taking in how much it had changed since he had been here last.

Red wasn't sure what made the place change every time someone came back after so long but it did. He muttered a few words under his breath and the candles sprang to life. "I know we could see it in the dark, but it's always nice to have candles going it makes it feel warmer." He said, looking back at Laura with a slight smile. He knew that to others he was starting to look paler by the moment and it was also getting hard to be around Laura for any amount of time, but he wasn't done trying to figure out what this was all about. He walked over to one of the chairs in the room, the room looked very much like a small house that you would find in the more higher up districts. Sitting down on the chair he almost thought about just getting up and leaving right then and there to go find something to eat but he shook the though away, he needed to find out what was going on right now. "So while we are currently not in any danger, is there anything else I might want to know about why you need to take me back to wherever it is that your taking me to?" He asked, his head tilted back slightly to stare up at the ceiling.

On the ceiling there was a beautiful depiction of what Aleria looked like, it was almost perfectly done except for one thing. Outside the South Gate there was a black cloud that had red streaks through it and it looked like it was headed towards the city instead of away from it. He had never understood why the person who had painted this had put that on there, though he also didn't know why the person had painted words in the ancient language that said that vampires were the only way.....or close to that, it had been a while since he had read the language, there was only so many books left over from the old days. He started to look over the painting while he waited for Laura to decide to tell him or not, though he an eye on her just in case it's not that he completely mistrusted her but these were dark times they were in.
 
Laura saw the hunters behind Red. Her body tensed and if she had a fur it would be all bristled up. The sight evoked in her several feelings - the will to fight and kill, but also the urge to turn and run. Laura saw those people only once in her past and from a great distance but they hadn't changed at all. Wait...were they humans after all? She remembered the girl in the alleyway. No, they were no humans, they were monsters. At that thought the will to fight and kill grew stronger. However, the wall reappeared which was only for her own good, otherwise she might have succumb to her furiousness. Only then, when there was no sight of the hunter, Laura noticed that she drew back her lips and looked like an angry predator that was about to hiss or snarl. She might have hunched over a little bit but that might have been mistaken for her fighting stance. No matter how she looked like, Laura quickly straightened up and looked around just about the moment when Red lit up the candles. She was surprised. How could something like that exist? With each passing minute, she was more and more sure that this all was magic even though it looked like a dream.

When Red asked about her intentions she averted her eyes from the painting on the ceiling and looked at Red. Still having a hood on, it was an advantage for her eyes were cautious but piercing. Such a stare usually unsettled several vampires and that, for some reason, she didn't want to do with Red. She came closer to him, deciding where to sit, where it would be the safest. At the end, she ended up sitting in front of him on another chair. From the motion how carelessly she sat down, anyone could think that she was relaxed though Laura herself still could feel the tension inside her. This time, the reason wasn't an upcoming fight but the closeness of supernatural. "As I said before, I am from the League of the Damned and I want to take you with me to the mansion where all the members of this community live. It is a safe place for no human knows about it," she said and hoped that it would be enough for Red to believe. Intentionally, she didn't mention that she was the one who led LoD. It had to remain a secret until they would arrive into the mansion because if she would tell him now and then he would eventually get abducted by the other side, they might make him talk and then he would tell them such a delicate information which could destroy her. And Laura was as stupid as her brother was. However, there was something else nibling on her mind. Something different than the fact whether Damien believed her or not. It was the issue about magic. She looked around without moving her head. Laura didn't understand the writings even though it looked familiar but something also told her that it was a language long forgotten and not used for centuries or milleniums. She could no longer hold it inside, she had to ask.

"Did you use magic to get us here?" she asked trying to sound less curious than she really was even though Laura felt eager to know. Such a fact, that Red would be able to use magic, was exciting yet frightening at the same time and Laura couldn't decide which feeling was the stronger one. Once again, she looked at Red and in the shadows of her hood, her face became concerned.
 
Red blinked slightly in surprise, he hadn't been excepting that question the answer he had gotten yes but the question, not in a million years. Composing himself better he cleared his throat and said, "The answer to my question....I guess that I shouldn't have asked it since I knew that you most likely would not answer. As for your question about if I used magic to get us here, I shall only say that if you want to know you will have to earn my trust to get it." He knew there was a possibility that she might guess that, that was a yes to her question but his answer also meant that he would say no more on the subject until he saw fit to. Until the time he did though he decided he needed to play it a little safer and stop giving all his secrets away at once.

Damien sat up straighter, pulling the hood of his cloak even further forward to cover his face more than said, "We might be here for a couple of hours so like I said, make yourself as comfortable as you want." By this time he was holding his breath so he didn't breath in the scent of her blood, it getting almost impossible by this time to ignore the smell. Thinking about it Damien had to admit she had a very wonderful scent, not completely feminine, there was something lurking just under the surface of it that could draw a man in and make him not want to leave. Shrugging slightly to himself he decided that it would probably be a better idea to just not breath until he could get away from her and get some blood to stop the hunger pangs. He looked towards Laura thinking that maybe now would be a good idea to see if there was some way he might escape from her. It would be a nice idea if she could teach him how to fight, but the problem was what he might have to give up to have that happen, he would rather keep his more meager skills than lose his freedom in any way.

Damien smiled to himself than asked, "You seem to be young to the outside, but is it that your older than you look like most vampires, or is that you are a pureblood? And before you say anything, don't forget that you have to choose one or the other or else I will just think that your on the vampires that want to kill humans side." He hoped that there wasn't a loophole out of that, but he was sure that if there was one this woman, Laura, might just figure it out. He tugged slightly at the side of his cloak than glanced towards one of his boots than realized a little to late that he had lost his weapon. It had been a good little knife that had gotten him out of some rough situations, but apparently tonight it had decided to fail him. Shrugging the slight loss of his weapon off he decided to get a new one as soon as he could, he had saved up enough money to get a better one at least. He looked back up at Laura his eyes going black a sign that his hunger was starting to get the better of him, he was just glad that the cloak hid his eyes from Laura's view or else he might be explaining something he really didn't want to.
 
Red was cautious as well. That much was obvious from the way he spoke and the way he answered her question. Also, his posture hinted some of his thoughts. No, he didn't believe Laura yet and that's what she had to work on. There were several strategies possible so Laura had a wide variety to choose from though she knew that only few would work on Damien. She had to use some tricks because at the moment their conversation resembled a negotiation and once it reached that point, nothing could have been directly said. It didn't matter that this task looked difficult. Laura had to win, she couldn't let Red slip through her fingers. When she was told to make herself comfortable, Laura almost chuckled. How could she be? There were hunters outside, Red probably mastered magic and Laura herself was no closer to her goal. No matter her feelings of cautiousness, she leaned backwards and rested her head on the back of the chair, letting some of the candlelight to get under her hood. It illuminated just the lower part of her face, so her lips were visible and in that momnet they were curved into a light smile. It didn't change even after Red asked her whether she was a pureblood or not. It almost seemed like her grin widened a little bit.

"I'll forget about the fact that your question is quite personal, Red," she said with a hint of amusement in her voice, then lowered her head. Once again, her face was hidden in the shadows. Laura loved the play of lights and she knew how to use it to her advantage. "I think that I should be a little bit more clear with you. I am a pureblood and if I'd want to use you against humans...believe me, I wouldn't be sitting here, talking to you like that," she said evenly yet with a hint of friendliness and honest. However, a sight escaped her mouth and Laura looked around. It was true that they probably had few hours to spend together now. If she could only contact the mansion and let her second-in-command know that she was alright. Even though her second-in-command was a wise vampire, he cared about her like about his own daughter and if she wouldn't come, he might order some other vampires to go and search for her. It wouldn't be good to do that. Not with hunters out there.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Laura said out of blue and shifted her gaze back to Red. "I completely understand that, but you are crucial for the leader of LoD. With you in the organization the morality of the others would grew and along their side you and the rest could bring piece back to the kingdom. LoD doesn't fight against humans but against those whose mind is twisted. Who I am talking about is the other group of vampires who hunt down humans and kill them," she explained the basic intentions of LoD. She couldn't mention that she was the leader. The longer she would keep it a secret, the better for her. She sighed again.

"I also know that noone can build trust towards someone without knowing their proper appearance, right? I saw your face and I know who you are. I think it is my turn now," she said and pulled down her hood. It was an act of fairness. Laura was sometimes seen between the humans during the day but it didn't happen often but when she did so, she was always dressed in a cape explaining to other people that her skin was rather sensitive to the sunlight. No human had the need to mistrust for she was always fair with them and treated them well. For this mission, Laura pulled her hair back into a bun, but there was still the loose strand of hair that was tucked behind her ear. She looked at Red with neutral expression for she kept all her emotions deep inside her. However, at one point she felt that there was something bothering Red and it somehow reflected in her face. She cocked her head slightly to the right and her eyes gained sort of a concerned look. "Are you ok?"
 
Damien smiled slightly when he saw what she really looked like, she was just how he thought she would look like from that first slight sight he got of her. He made an amused sound, she had quite a spirit about her that was for sure. He pulled his own hood back so that she would be able to see his eyes and that they were now completely black with only a ring of red showing around the pupil. When he smiled slightly a hint of a fang showed, his eyes almost locking on to where Laura sat. "I'm fine, just a bit hungry nothing that a bit of blood can't take care of. I will be able to hold off feeding for another day or so before it becomes to painful to ignore." He said, a slight amused expression showing that even though his features had changed slightly he was still in control. Leaning back in the chair he said, "Though it would probably be a good idea to move a bit further away from me, your blood has a very fetching scent."

Red couldn't help but be amused at the situation they were in, a turned vampire and a pureblood vampire sitting in a room hidden from the outside world so that hunters can't find them. To make matters worse the turned vampire is hungry and the pureblood is smelling really nice at the time. It could almost be called an awkward situation, that is if it wasn't for the fact that if they stepped outside at the time they would most likely wind up injured. Running was a very hard and taxing job but it is what he had been doing for quite a bit of his life, and it did get easier with time all one had to do was not get to acquainted with anyone and not give to much away. It wasn't actually such a bad life there was plenty to do and there were even people that you could still meet and talk to, just so long as you didn't get to attached.

Damien watched Laura and thought to himself that maybe it wouldn't actually be such a bad idea as he thought it would be to go with her to the headquarters, at least it would be better than making up a new identity since the hunters must have guessed that he wasn't normal when they saw him. Smiling slightly at Laura he said, "I'm thinking it might not be such a bad idea to go with you. That doesn't mean I have completely said yes, it just means that I am leaning more towards going with you." She didn't seem like such a bad person and the fact the she was a pureblood might mean that she wasn't that old either. Another thought started to worm its way into Damien's thoughts and after a minute of thinking on it he asked, "Where did you learn to fight, and may I ask if there might be a chance for me to learn?" He might as well ask now while he was thinking about it and before the hunger started to get to him. Even though he had told her that he had another day or so before the hunger started to become painful, he was starting to feel the twinges of hunger which were starting to get more and more painful by the minute. He really hoped that they could get out in time for him to be able to hunt before the pain became worse than it was at the time.
 
Laura's lips curved into a tiny smile again. There was more into Red than you could say from the first sight. As she saw his eyes, it was obvious that he was rather hungry, yet some vampires would go mad at this stage already. He could control himself pretty well, which was good and Laura's respect towards Red only increased as she knew that mastering self-control when it came to hunger, was really hard. She had problems with it when she was younger and it took her few decades of consistent training. Only after that, she managed to control herself better. Also, to prevent a situation like that, Laura fed reguralry which eliminated the possibility for her to lose her mind. Obviously, Red underestimated his situation or just carelessly forgot about feeding. None of that would have happened in her mansion.

"Well, Red, I am older than I seem so I had quite a few centuries to train," she said and smiled slightly shrugging as if to show that it was pointless to talk about such a petty matter. Laura rested her chin on her hand whilst her elbow was resting on her knee. She gave Red an intesive look as if considering whether it would be worth trying to train him or not. In fact, she was just studying him closely, trying to guess what was he capable of at the stage he was in. Also, she was judging his physical appearance. "As for your chances to learn something, they are quite high if you come with me. I don't think that anyone from LoD would be willing to risk their life coming out from the mansion to train someone who wouldn't even be involved in the doing of the organization," Laura said in honest voice and she wasn't far from the truth either. She wouldn't send anyone to Red if he would want to be trained. It was way too risky so she would more likely train him within her own field than outside of it.

She leaned back in her chair again and looked upwards, her eyes examining the painting again. It didn't make any sense to her, nor did the writing all around it. "What does it say?" She asked curiously and pointed with her finger at one place where there were those incomprehensible signs. Laura deduced that Damien probably knew how to read it since he used that strange language to get them in here. Lowering her head, she looked at him again that spark of curiousity visible in her eyes.
 
Red shook his head slightly, he shouldn't be so surprised to learn that she was older than she appeared vampires usually were. He shrugged off what she had said about the training, if it was him that was supposed to go out and train some stranger he wouldn't want to either so he really couldn't say anything about that. He also still wasn't sure that was the greatest reason to go to this mansion of her's, it might be a plus but a reason he wasn't so sure. Smiling slightly at her question though he said, "It says that vampires are humans greatest asset and their greatest weakness at the same time. It also states that vampires are the only way, or something along those lines it has been quite awhile since I have read the ancient language." Red did still miss the library at the palace, it was not only a very beautiful place but the books in it could make even the most avid scholar green with envy. He used to spend hours in that room just reading ancient history the language and after he had become a vampire he had realized how much vampires had played a part in that history.

"Did you know that there is also an ancient language for the vampires? It is only ever spoken if there is something that just must absolutely be done in that language." He said, a slightly curious look taking over his features. He remembered when he had first come across such a language, it had been such a beautiful script and it had also been extremely hard to read. Over the few years between when he had been turned and the vampires had come out he had tried to decipher the language but only managed to get so far before the bad times started. He couldn't help but be angry with himself every time he thought of when the vampires had come out, he had had the chance to tell them no, that humans were not ready for the vampires to make themselves known. In the end though, well people could see for themselves what was going on now. He couldn't kid himself that they wouldn't have come out if he had said something, but he might have been able to help them ease into it instead of outright coming out with it.

Damien remembered the first thing he had deciphered in a book that had that archaic vampires language. It had been a very long night and the sun was starting to come up, he had been exhausted by that moment and was just about to close the book when he managed to read the first sentence and it hadn't been the most pleasant sentence either. It had said that far back in time the vampires had come out to the humans once, and it had been a slaughter fest. The vampires had started to drain their prey and the humans were butchering the vampires children. He had gotten no further than that and sometimes he wished he had instead of closing the book and thinking it was probably just fiction writing. Red shook his head slightly, it was not like he could do anything about it now, but maybe he could be of some help to Laura if he couldn't do anything else.

Looking Laura in the eye he said, "And if you do not know of it, I would like to help these LoD people with trying to find books on it. That is my only request, that I be allowed to try and find the books that have that language in them." He hoped to whatever deity that might be watching them that there would be a solution to this war that was coming, and he did not kid himself that there was no war coming he could practically feel the tension of it just waiting to burst. At least when it comes he might be helping someone to either stop it or at least win it.
 
Laura listened to Red and with his each word she became more and more surprised. She knew that there were some vampires who from time to time said something like that but she always consider it as a wish they cherished that might be true but in fact wasn't. Hearing from Red that there was a language for vampires, Laura became more curious. How was it that her parents didn't tell her about it? Sure her grandfather could have known about it, but he got lost when Laura was little and she really didn't get to talk to him. She actually couldn't even remember how he looked like. If she would try to find him now, noone would know where he went and whether he was still alive or not. She shooked her head slightly to get rid of the thoughts of her past. She should concentrate on the present as it was more important. Nevertheless, it didn't take Laura long time to consider Red's condition of coming with her.

"That can be done as I think there are few vampires who might know a little bit about it too," she said thoughtfully and nodded to herself. After her words she looked at Red without a word. It shouldn't have been an uncomfortable stare, but no matter what Laura didn't move her eyes anywhere else. With every passing moment, the fact that Red was able to sit so still, amazed Laura. He was hungry but yet, he could hold his position so precisely. Suddenly, she chuckled which wasn't something she did very often but for some reason her situation and what she was about to do, looked ridiculous to her.

"I am really surprised that you can be so calm while you are starving," she said and a fraction of the respect she held for him, reflected in her expression only to disappear in the next second. "But no matter how good your self-control is, you could do a mistake once we leave this place." Laura explained and took in a deep breath. "You can take a sip but not too much. Only to get you back to normal," she tapped her neck, hinting that she allowed Red to feed on her. He would belong to the lucky ones for Laura didn't offer her blood very often either and didn't honor commoners like that. But this was a different situation. Their lives were in danger so she couldn't let anyone or anything screw up.
 
Red blinked slightly at her than shook his head very slightly and said, "I'm not sure I should, and besides it wouldn't be a good idea for me to take from a pureblood especially one who is most likely needed by others." He smiled at her trying to figure out if really actually should or not. It wasn't that he was completely against the idea of taking blood from Laura but he wasn't sure if he would want to stop. Laura, he knew, could fend for herself enough so that he didn't kill her but just the fact that he might lose control of himself worried him. So far he had never fed so much from a human that their heart gave out, he had never really felt the urge to feed to much from them, he had always thought that maybe he just didn't like the smell of humans as much as he did the smell of other vampires. He could almost confirm that thought because of the fact he had never smelled anything better than Laura's scent, it was a worrisome problem that he sometimes wished could go away.

Damien leaned forward just a little bit but enough to bring him a lot closer than he had been to Laura. Making sure not to breath to deeply he said, "Don't worry about the fact that I might be thinking that you couldn't handle me if I don't stop, since you most likely could handle me just fine. To me though it's a matter of the utmost importance in my life that I don't lose control when feeding. Currently you smell better than any human I could probably come across, you have a very nice scent Laura." Sniffing slightly he inhaled a bit more than he should, his eyes taking on a red tinge around the pupil of his eye. Closing his eyes for a minute he tried to think of anything else at the time, including things he really didn't want to think about.....his family. Damien opened his eyes up to look Laura in the face just barely managing to say something when his fangs were pressing against his lip, "It is, I must admit getting harder to turn down your offer. I thank you for your offer, but it is like I said, I am just not sure I would want to stop whenever I start drinking your blood."

Red winced just slightly whenever he cut his lip with the tip of one fang, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to talk while your fangs are out. He wiped the blood off of his mouth and the little bit that had dripped onto his chin, this just taught him never to go to long without feeding again. He remembered what his father used to say "never put off anything for tomorrow if you can do it today" it was something he had always listened to but never lived by, he had always put things off.....guess this is what he got for it. Red touched the tip of one fang, watching when it cut his finger open slightly. He wiped the rest of the blood off on his pants then looked back at Laura. He smiled slightly, or as much as he could, and managed to say, "Hard to talk whenever your teeth are pointed and sharp." He knew he shouldn't be making light of the situation but that was just him, if he couldn't make light of a situation then he couldn't believe that this war could end, it was that simple. He knew some might say that was childish but to him it was the code by which he lived, why win a war when all you have to give the people is depression and sorry speeches, it never works out well. When this war was over and if he was still alive, he hoped to give the people something that they could be able to smile about, not crying over lost loved ones, though he knew the pain of that well enough. As he tried to distract himself he also waited for Laura to say something, wanting her to understand the dilemma he just put them in.
 
Laura listened carefully. She kept on smiling and nodded her head few times in agreement of what he had said. Red was trying to stick to his own rules, his own way of doing things, which Laura didn't blame him for, but he was working on himself way too hard. Obviously, he was slowly losing control anyway, so why should he wait to lose it completely? Not that this feeding thing would be that important to Laura, but for the sake of her own and her people, she had to make him feed on her. Also, noone ever refused her proposal so that was something new for her as well though she didn't show it on the outside. As Red leaned forward, Laura did the same.

"You say, that it is a matter of the utmost importance to you not to lose control while feeding. That I completely understand, Red. But you will never get better in something if you do not practice and do not challange yourself," she said, secretly hinting that she would undercome this little test. As for the credo she just said, it was what her parents taught her. If she wanted to be really good in something, she had to practice a lot and set herself challanges that became more and more impossible. Of course, there were failures but from those Laura learned how to do better next time. Though she wasn't crazy or naive. She wouldn't let Red drink too much to kill her and somehow she had this kind of believe in him that when he was able to hold himself back in the state he was in at the moment, he could be able to control himself even when he would fed on her.

"For this once, you have no other choice, Red. You are already slowly losing control and with every passing minute with me in the room it's going to get harder and harder to resist. You either drink now willingly, or attack me later when you step over the line," Laura added, shrugged and leaned backwards. During her speech she was using her ability of charming others which usually helped her to manipulate all human males and few weak vampires. She wondered whether it would work on Red as well. Also, sometimes she felt like Loki, insinuating ideas into others mind. Ideas that were originally hers. In humans world, it might have been called diplomacy, but for Laura she was just a manipulator. But to be honest, did she have any other choice?
 
Red sighed slightly, there was no getting away from the truth of the matter and that was that she was right if he didn't feed soon he might just lose control, and when one loses control one can never take what they do back. Damien didn't have to like it he knew, but at least he had to do it. Nodding to Laura, Damien moved in closer leaning towards her neck, before he sank his teeth into her neck though he said, "I am doing this of my own free will just so you know, anything that happens now that involves this feeding is my doing and I will try to do my best not to drink to much." After saying this, Damien leaned in closer breathing her scent in deeply. She still smelled amazing and very intoxicating, and it really didn't help that she was beautiful either, this just made it harder to convince himself that what he was doing was just trying to survive and that it wasn't also selfishness driving him to do this.

Damien looked at Laura just to make sure that she was really ok with this before he bit down on her neck. It was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life, and also probably would be the greatest thing he would ever taste again. The flavors were like nothing he had ever experianced before, it was sweet yet at the same time it tasted like fire and heat, he would never be able to explain it just right. Damien could also feel the power in the blood that he was drinking, it was almost intoxicating and enough to make him start to lose his head at the high feeling. He tried to stop at first and he was almost ready to but then he wondered about something. Would he be able to sense her emotions or thoughts through this? He had heard about something like that before but he never been curious enough to try with someone.

Damien finally dismissed the idea, that would be an invasion of someone else's most private retreat and it would also probably break the very slight trust they had begun to build. After a minute and much struggle he finally pulled away enough to be able to close the wound with his tounge. He took a deep breath to stabilize himself, or at least that's what he told himself, and sat back slightly. He smiled at Laura and said, "I apologize if I took advantage of anything or if I hurt you, this was my first time feeding from a pureblood. I also have to apologize for the fact that it wasn't quite just a sip I took, if you need anything just tell me. I guess this also means I owe you one." He smiled at her, truthfully very relieved that he hadn't kept going. "Consider me at your disposal, Laura." He said, a slight mischievous smile playing on his face. Damien had never been a subtle one, and he wasn't going to start now.

Somewhere in the castle a scream was heard and the only thing that could be figured out from the words were, "They've struck again!! What are we going to do?!" The only answer was, "Oficially go to war with them and wipe the leeches off the face of Damaskis!!"
 
Laura smiled as Red finally changed his mind. His advanced apologies only made her smile to widen. He was so careful. As he was talking, Laura inclined her head to the left making it easier for Red to bite in. When he did, Laura drew in a sharp breath. It was always strange sensation to be biten. That momentary pain and the sudden feeling that your blood is being sucked from you. Laura griped the chair she was sitting on and closed her eyes, her face lost any trace of feelings again. She let him fed but at one point she felt that he came too far. It made her feel sad for she believed she wouldn't have to push him away, that he would be able to control himself. But well, what could she expect from someone as young as him? She was just about to warn him, when Damien pulled away by himself. A chill was sent down her spine as he healed the biten marks immediately. None of the previous vampires who fed on her did that. They were all way too absorbed by the taste of her blood, but Red obviously wasn't. Even though, Laura felt a little bit weaker than she would like to, she was sure that for taking Red back to the mansion, she still had enough energy to protect both of them.

"Thanks, a lot of vampires say the same but it always nice to hear it again," Laura said and rubbed the place where Red drank from. "Well, if you are at my disposal and you owe my one as you say, then I think you need to come with me to the mansion otherwise you won't be able to pay me back," she said and the smile that disappeared during the feeding time, was once again visible on her face and it gave her some sort of victorious look which she didn't care to hold back. After all, by what Red said, he got himself into this. Not that he did a bad thing, not at all. At one point Laura's smile disappeared and she resumed her previous emotionless expression and as she was stretching her back few clicks could have been heard. She noticed throughout her conversation with Red that she was getting relaxed and it wasn't good when there was danger outside. She should get back into her cautious mood which didn't take her long.

"I don't know how about you, but I am getting stiff already. Don't you think we could leave?" she suggested and stood up, smoothing out her cape and puting her hood on. Once her face was hiden in the shadows again, Laura felt somehow relieved, like she just shielded herself from some outter pressure she didn't know about until now. Thought there was no time to thing about that matter in depth. She wanted to leave because with every passing minute the fact that she didn't come back to the mansion, increased the possibility that her second in command would send out other vampires even though her orders forbid it. From inside of her hood she watched Red and waited for him to do or say something.


Zack was sitting in the dining hall with his goblet of blood in his hand. He could sense that something was happening tonight. Something crucial and the fact that he didn't know what it was, made him feel uneasy. Did humans make any moves? He tapped his fingers on the table in a slow rythm of a melody that was in his mind. He waited for his spies to finally turn up and give him some useful information. Something that he could hold on to and present it to Xavier as useful. These past few days, they didn't tell him anything of real worth. Just some tales from pubs and borthels which were as reliable as a talking of a madman. Zack still pitied the loss of his best spy in the castle. She was very talented and told him so many things that he could be sure they were true. But someone betrayed them and one day he got to hear about an execution of a vampire. Execution held in the castle with Royals present. When the spies told him how the vampire looked like, Zack went berserk. It was an unusual state for him because he didn't give in to his emotions that easily, but this loss hurtened him more than others. That night, three humans fell due to his anger.

At this moment, when the night was growing older, Zack wished he had secured her place better. His eyes shifted to his left hand and he chuckled. On the other hand, it was better to lose a spy then lose the whole DV. Damont Vampires - that was all he lived for now. He lived for the victory of DV and he lived for his revenge which he could feel was getting closer and closer. It sent vibes down his body and he sometimes felt like being in ecstasy when he imagined what he was going to do to the traitors. But all these emotions were only in the inside of Zack. He let them out when he was sure that he was alone or when he was feeding. On the outside his face was always calm yet cautious. When he looked at people they turned their faces away for no human could endure his look for more than few seconds. It wasn't a power they were afraid of, it was the feeling of being doomed, the feeling that their life was about to come to the end.

Zack sighed, lightly hit the table with his hand that was tapping it and stood up. He wouldn't show that he was nervous but the absence of his spies was getting overwhelming and he began to worry whether they succeded or not. Whether they would return tonight or they were killed. One way or another, Zack should have known by now.

(OOC: Zack's info is in my first post ;) )
 
Red laughed slightly, it really wasn't surprising that she used what he said about being at her disposal against him but he didn't mind. He stood up and pulled his hood back into its place so that it covered his entire face in shadow. It was almost a relief when he did this, it meant that he didn't have to school his features and he had always felt better when hidden from view. Looking towards where the entrance had been at only four hours ago he sighed to himself and hoped that it had been enough time to make the door open up somewhere else, but hopefully nowhere to bad. He looked over where Laura was standing and said, "Maybe if you think about that mansion of yours the door will open up closer to it. If not at least we gave it a try." He smiled slightly to himself and hoped that she was who she said she was.

Damien didn't exactly doubt her anymore, but to become lax and trust her so much so that he would let his guard down completely was not the best of idea's. He had to admit that they probably needed to get going, he was amazed that they had managed to stay this long in the room without anything happening. Most of the time he stayed for about one or two hours and then left, the one time he had stayed longer than three hours was when he had almost wound up in the palace courtyard and if it hadn't been for his quick thinking he probably would have walked right out thinking that it was just some persons house. He put a hand briefly on his right side and winced slightly at the memory, over time he had been accumulating more and more scars and he was sure that he wasn't through getting them if this coming war had anything to say about it. He froze for a second and listened to the sounds that were starting to drift in, it sounded like the market place to him. Damien could have hugged someone at that moment and if it hadn't been for the fact that he was already at where the door was supposed to show up and that Laura was almost halfway across the room he would have hugged her.

They could not have showed up in a better place, he knew the market and the people there and he knew how to blend in with them. Having Laura along might make things more difficult but then again it might make them even easier, I mean who would really look twice at a couple strolling down the street in the middle of the night. It wasn't actually all that unusual to see a couple in the middle of the night, people would either think that one of them was having an affair or that they were just having a romantic walk by the moonlight. Damien looked back over his shoulder at Laura and said, "I don't think that you have to worry about visualizing the mansion, it seems we have wound up in the market place. For once this room is listening to me and going to the right places." He looked back towards where the door was supposed to be at and started up the chant that would make it appear again. Red made sure to pronounce every word very carefully since he didn't accidentally want the door to change its direction to another more dangerous place. He continued on with chant thinking that maybe things were starting to go their way for once.


Xavier had always loved the smell and feel of the night, or at least as much as he could love anything. He never really got tired of looking out the window of his mansion and seeing the stars and the darkness that matched his mind so well as of late. He allowed himself a slight smile before he wiped his face clean of all emotion and turned away from the window to look across his personal quarters to the door. The room was not very lavish and it really only had the bare necessities of life, other than that it was almost military in its cleanliness and sparseness. Xavier had not bothered to accumulate those things that humans loved so much, such as memorabilia and other such items, all they were was a waste of space. How amusing it was at that since to him humans themselves were just a waste of space, that was why he needed to either get rid of them or at least use them as a food source, whichever happened he did not care just so long as the humans were put in their place.

He stance was that of a general about to speak to his troops, he never let himself relax even when he was alone by himself. His hair was already in its loose braid though he had decided not to braid the black silk ribbon in, his clothes were also like that of a general. They were very neat and there was not a string out of place, he was wearing a pair of black leather pants with boots over them that went up about midway to his knees. He had a long sleeved button up shirt on that was black as well and looked like silk though it was more like body armor than for show. At the time he was currently waiting for new of any kind to show up, the waiting was almost to much and the need to go down there himself was almost overwhelming. Xavier pushed down the urge just like he did with any type of emotion that cropped up accidentally and walked towards the door with measured steps. He was not a man who just went about life like it was one happy day after another, ever since that day when he woke up all he could think about was destroying the human race in whatever way was possible.

He almost had as much hatred for turned vampires as he did for humans, but it could not be helped every race had their......problems. And that's what the turned ones were, just another problem that he had to deal with. He was not nervous, not at all, his second in command was the best as far as he was concerned, if there was anything that he couldn't do Xavier might actually show surprise on his face. He stopped walking when he was almost to the door, as he stood there though he tried remembering when it was that he had accepted Zack as his second-in-command. He wasn't even sure why he had done it, for some reason though when he had met the man and was sure of his intelligence and strength he had agreed that Zack could stay and from then on the man had never let him down. He knew that what was driving the man was most likely not loyalty, he did not need to read the man to figure that out. Xavier shrugged slightly himself and dismissed any thoughts other than what was taking his second-in-command so long.