Chapter One Unlikely Acquaintance
It is a dark eerie night the dogs are howling, cats are fighting and there is a tremendous storm coming this way. These are the thoughts of Miss Lily Evens. Lily a girl of twenty years of age is walking down a very narrow deserted street which was designed for horses and carriages. Lily looked at the old houses and thought about how it would have been a while after they were built. She thought all about this on her way to the castle she had recently inherited but as being a woman thus was not a common thing to do.
She came to a large steel gate with two dragons on it and a large bat in the centre of it all. Lily pushed with all her might but found it opened easily. She walked her way up the winding path over grown with weeds. She came to the stone steps she made her way up onto the porch and to the door she held out her hand to the handle and opened it up. With her duffel bag hanging off her shoulder and lay it to rest at the door. The door snapped shut behind her making her jump. Why did she choose to be defiant of her father and come at night with no escort at her side?
Slowly walking around she looked over towards the far wall and by a window there was a candle flickering but there was no breeze the window was shut and locked. Lily walked over to where the candle was and looked at it beside it was a silver ring with a gold dragon on it. She picked it up and examined it. It looked to be women's ring. Lily put it on to see how it would look on her hand. Lily scrunched up her face and shook her head as she slid it off and put it back down on the small table and picked up the candle. Lily walked around the house looking into each room. She came to the master bedroom and looked around it.
There was a very large four poster bed with silvery curtains hanging down it. On the bed it's self was black silk sheets. Lily walked over to the cupboard and had a look inside there was only male clothes in there but they were all old styles like really old. Lily looked even closer and saw a dress and wondered why it was there. She pulled the dress out and had a look at it.
It was black with purple streaks down the skirt it had lace going from the shoulders down to the wrists. Lily held the dress in front of her self and turned and looked into the mirror next to her to see how she would actually look in it. A window blew open and wind came gushing in Lily jumped and dropped the dress she calmed her self down and walked over to the window then turned around walked back to where the dress had fallen, picked it up and put it back.
"Weird" Lily thought. "That window was shut and locked" Lily looked at the window puzzled for a bit then moved on to the door on the opposite side of the room. She turned the handle but nothing happened it did not budge at all.
"I have to find the key for that door" she whispered. She turned around. Lightning flashed and there was a shadow of a figure standing two feet away from her, she Gasped and blinked it was gone.
One hour earlier.
Charles Carleton mansion
Charles a 6ft1 well built thirty year old man with jet black hair and sparking blue eyes sat in his study at his desk with his back to the incredibly beautiful girl with auburn hair which clashed greatly with her emerald green eyes on any one else with her they seemed to match perfectly the only thing that clashed was the sky blue suffocating dress she was wearing.
Lily sat in Charles' study awaiting him to speak but nothing.
"Charles?" Lily asked nervously.
"Hmmm" He murmured quietly from his desk
"Charles I'm going if you like it or not you can't stop me."
"On the contrary my dear I can you are my betrothed after all, so you can't go any where with out me." He smirked although she could not see it. "Besides if you get raped your father will ship you off to the Americas to live." He smirked again.
Lily was seething how he dare bring up her dead father.
"Oh yes that is right your father is dead is he not, if I remember he died at the point of a sword begging for his life or if not his life his youngest daughters life" He turned to face the young beauty to find her gone.
She ran down the many stairs to the main door and picked up her duffel bag and swung it onto her shoulder and walked out into the night.
She walked into the main entry area to be shocked by a sudden knock at the door.
"You better get that my dear" A voice hissed from some where in the darkness.
Gingerly she opened the door to see a scared looking boy whom she recognized immediately. "Henry? What are you here for?" She led the young boy inside.
"A letter Miss Lily" reaching into his pocket he pulled it out.
"Please Henry call me Lily" she took the letter and opened it up and read it in the dull candle light.
Lily you were not to leave my house hold with out me at your side. You have for shamed me and your family. You are not to leave that place until I come and get you tomorrow.
Yours truly, Charles
"Will Miss be replying or should I be on my way?" Henry asked timidly.
"Nay I will not be sending a reply back, but if he asks you tell him I am well and will see him tomorrow."
"Yes Miss" Lily raised an eyebrow the young boy smiled. "Yes Lily, I will be on my way now, good night" and with that he left the mansion.
Lily sighed and shut the door she turned and leaned against the wall. Pushing her self off the wall she walked up stairs and chose the bedchamber next to the master bedchamber. As soon as she was out off the suffocating dress and into her night things she slipped into the bed it was softer than it looked. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep.
Mean while.
A tall young man with amber brown eyes and very messy hair was walking around in the master bed room.
"She is so beautiful. I shall make her mine" He made a long vicious laugh that echoed through out the entire castle.
Lily sat up. "What was that?" She mumbled. She looked around her room there was not even there it was not even the room she went to sleep in, it was the master bedchamber. "Huh, how did I get in here?"
"I brought you in here." A voice said from the shadows.
Lily screamed. And the person moved fast and put their hand over her mouth. Lily blinked she did not see the person even move.
"Please do not scream no one can hear you" the voice was male.
Lily nodded her head the hand let go. "Who are you?" She whispered to him as he sat down on the bed.
"I am James and owner of this Castle. Who are you?"
"I am Lily and you are mistaken this is my castle I own it, I recently inherited it."
"But I have owned it for years. What are you planning on doing to my castle" he asked not taking his eyes of her.
"First of all I plane on making it my home second give me my night gown." He moved slightly and then had her nightgown in his hand. "Thank you" she stood and put it on and sat down again. "But first I'm going to clean out all the cob webs" Lily smiled at him. "So how long have you lived here?"
"Oh for a couple hundred years"
Lily raised her eyebrows at him "How long?"
"A couple hundred years" He repeated.
"But you don't look one hundred years old." Lily said while looking him up and down.
"Oh but I am" He smiled at her when she realized he had moved closer to her.
"But how?" she asked him.
"Well it all started in the darkness and went from there and then in the morning she was gone."
"Who?"
"My wife to be" he smiled at her.
"What happened to her?" Lily was dreading the answer that awaited her.
James smiled at the memory of the young girl with red hair a lot like Lily. "I killed her well at least I think so."
Lily put her hand to her mouth and moved away from him. "Why?" she whispered.
James moved behind her she had no time to react and he whispered to her. "Because she killed me" his smile widened as Lily gasped.
She looked closer at him and saw he had fangs coming through. "I know now how you look so young, your, you, you, your a vampire!"
"Yes my dear I am." He moved even closer to her but backed away because of the cross she was wearing around her neck.
Lily was weary of him now but had a question. "James, where do you go in the day light?" James looked at her funny. "It is not a hard question James."
"Oh I understand now I stay out in the castle all day I just stay in the shadows but you will never know I'm there unless you see me or I talk to you."
"That's good to know." Lily said. "James can I ask what is behind that door over there?" Lily pointed to the locked door.
"Oh that is my room where I keep all my belongings that I have collected over the years." He smiled at her.
"James if you will permit me I would like to hold a ball here but in the night so that you will be able to come as well"
"That would be wonderful. I can help you set it all up once this is all clean. I can even give you decorations that used to be used for balls a long time ago."
"That would be fantastic James." Lily hugged him James moaned in pain Lily leaned back. "What?" Lily asked. He pointed at the cross hanging down her front. "Oh my god I'm so sorry I did not mean to hurt you."
"It is okay it was an accident." James smiled at her.
Lily slowly took the chain of. "James can you promise me one thing?"
James looked at her. "Yes"
"Promise never to bit me and I will protect you from crosses, crucifixes and other holy items." James smiled and nodded his head Lily held out her hand not realizing she still held the cross in it. James took hold of her and gasped.
"Ouch! Well then I guess you sealed the deal right there." Lily looked guilty.
"Sorry" she threw the cross to the floor.
James just sat there and looked at it. "I know" he whispered.
Charles was pacing around the living room wondering how Lily was doing.
"I should not have let her go on her own"
"She will be fine Charles. You worry too much about her." Said a young man with black hair named Sirius, was sitting at the table eating some food.
"What would you know you're not betrothed her" Charles snapped
"So I'm not. But I want to know just like you if she is alright or not. She is my friend." Sirius smiled.
"I guess you're right Sirius." Charles finally sat down on a chair.
"You guess?" Sirius looked shocked at this.
"Yeah I do" Charles smiled at him.
"I'm shocked you think so little of me"
"Well you are shorter than me." Sirius jumped up and hit Charles on the arm. "Ouch"
Lily had fallen back to sleep and James just sat there for a long time watching her sleep. Lily woke in the morning light to see half the room was light and half was shadow. She looked down at the ground to see where her cross was. But it was not there. She looked around to see where James was she saw him in the shadows with a look of pain on his face Lily jumped out of bed and ran over to him she knelt in front of him.
"James what is wrong?" She looked all over but could not see any thing wrong. He opened his hand and gave her the cross. "James, why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted part of you on me because I can't actually have your blood cause I promised you." James smiled at her but Lily frowned.
Later that day Charles had arrived with another good friend Remus and they both were cleaning out the bed rooms. Removing broken items of no value to any one not even James. Charles came across a photo of a woman. He looked at it, it was black and white. The woman was young with long hair, dark eyes and she was wearing a black dress with markings on it. Lily was working down stairs cleaning out the main entrance. She cleaned all the candle holders and also the cutlery. The knife she was currently cleaning slipped and cut her hand and she was cut a blood drop fell to the ground.
"Ouch" she held her hand out James was fast by her side.
"Here I will clean it up"
"No biting me or I will slap you"
"Okay I promise." He held her hand up to his lips and he licked the blood away. "Now I have some of you in me." He smiled as he grabbed some cloth of the table that he was now sitting on and wrapped it around her hand.
"So you do. Thank you James." Lily smiled as James licked his lips. She giggled because he tickled her neck as he moved some of her hair out of her face.
"Lily I must say you are very beautiful in the day light" James said as he rested his hand on her check.
Lily tilted her head to the side so that his hand was on her shoulder but his palm was still on her check. He felt warm to touch. "Thank you." She smiled as James moved his thumb so it was rubbing her check. "Vampires are normally cold to touch but you are warm, Why is that?" she asked.
"I don't know" he said honestly. "I have always been warm to touch."
Lily thought for a moment, what ever doubts about James Lily had were gone.
