First chapter, hope you like it!

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Chapter 1

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The sun's warm rays penetrated to the slightly rustling leaves on the old tree in the field, beaming down at an upturned face. It caressed the delicate flesh, turning the skin a faint pink. Amber eyes peered up, squinting at the bright light trying to make out a few shapes in the sparse clouds of the morning sky. The young girl inhaled deeply, taking in a refreshing burst of summer air. She held her breathe a moment before expelling it on a sigh of contentment, flexing her hands against the rope that held the wooden swing beneath her in suspension. She was happy to sit still within the somewhat quiet morning, soaking it all in.

It was always like this in the Underworld. Many years ago, one of our land's elders cast a charm over the whole region, making the weather here as beautiful as possible. Every day was magnificent. Azure, cloudless skies, a bright sun, and a warm summer breeze. It was truly perfect.

The golden haired girl sat in joyful silence, as she closed her eyes and took in the atmosphere around her. A soft smile graced her lips as she lost herself in thought.

"Beautiful day, isn't it."

The girl sighed, sifting on her seat to face the person fully, annoyance clearly written in her expression. She had been hoping that she would be able to spend the better part of her afternoon free of plagued thoughts. But it wasn't to be, apparently.

"Isn't it always?"

"Now Cagalli… is that anyway to greet a person?"

"Normally, no… But when it comes to you, I'll make an exception, because you're going to suggest I do something, and I'm not going to want to do it… and I'll end up hating the rest of my day. So can we get this over with. That way I can spend the rest of my evening sulking alone in my room."

"I was merely coming to inform you that Lord Uzumi requires your presence in his office right away."

Another light sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head upwards once more. Her plans of a quiet afternoon had been ruined, though truthfully she had expected it. It had been a long time since she was last able to spend time alone with her thoughts as her only company. And oh how she missed it.

"Alright."

She stood from her seat on the swing, lightly dusting off her pale sun dress. With a small yet graceful bow, the man walked away. Although his back was turned, he didn't miss the frustrated glare that he received from the disgruntled young woman.

Soon Cagalli found herself approaching an older brick building with a lot of big, evenly-spaced windows, and large French doors. The place had no decorative adornments… Nothing truly inviting a person to want to dwell within.

It was bland in design, very boxy and uniform; along with the building, the lawn was immaculately kept, but nothing extravagant was planted. Shrubs were planted to go along with preexisting trees, matching the plain tile that traveled from the grassy, dirt road towards the front doors.

The girl looked at the building with distaste. There were so many other things she'd rather do then reside inside of the building rife without imagination.

After entering the building, it was apparent that it was as bland inside as it was out. White tiled floors, beige walls, lifeless portraits of deceased elders, golden, simply carved wall fixtures, and ordinary looking green potted plants.

A long and narrow hallway led off to Lord Uzumi's office, behind the closed door. Knuckles tapped lightly on the wooden door, resulting in a muffled male's voice beckoning her inside.

She complied swiftly, entering the, once again, dull and tedious looking room. The same white tiles covered the floor, and beige paint coated the walls. There was a cream coloured sofa and two arm chairs seated in a semi-circle around an antique-looking coffee table which held more potted flowers.

Cagalli looked over to the Lord Uzumi when he called out to her, abandoning her inspection of the place. She pasted on a false smile, inquiring the reason the she had been called to his office.

"Ah yes… I was wondering, Cagalli, how is your schooling going? It seems I haven't been able to spend as much time as I'd like to with my only daughter." He returned her artificial smile with a genuine one of his own.

"I'm doing well Father, my teacher even said I'm surpassing the expectations he's holding for me."

"That's great. Are you enjoying your studying to become my apprentice?"

The honey haired girl inadvertently scowled. "Truthfully, no Father. Not at all."

The man chuckled light heartedly at the honesty his daughter held.

"That was the correct answer, Cagalli. Ruling over an entire civilization of a discarded race isn't supposed to be a joyous activity. However, I am certain you will to a marvelous job when the time comes for you to take charge."

"Thank-you Father." The girl held a light smile of her features. Though she always knew it wouldn't be blissful experience to rule the region, it had to be done, and she was the most suited person to take on the responsibility.

"You should get going Cagalli, don't waste your day off of studying."

The girl was about to bid good bye to her father, when she remembered a thought she had had earlier, while siting in the field.

"Father, if I may ask, why is it that I will be taking charge after you, and not Uncle Homura? Shouldn't he be next in line, he is, of course, more experienced then I am."

Lord Uzumi narrowed his eyes slightly at the thought of his brother being responsible for their race.

"Cagalli, your uncle would be incapable of ruling. True, he does have more experience, but it is experience in the line of war, and not anything else. He doesn't have the tolerance that you hold, if someone from outside our race attempted anything upon our people, he would overreact and we would have a full scale war on our hands. I cannot, and will not, force our people to endure that. And that is the reason why you are more suited for the job."

He watched his daughter closely, as she cocked her head to the side ever so slightly. A confused expression on her face.

"It's a common occurrence for people for the surface attempt, as well as succeed, in destroying our world bit by bit. Why is it that a war would befall?"

Uzumi's features softened, his eyes glazing over as he gazed at his daughter.

"Homura has held a grudge against humans for many centuries, because of your mother's death."

Silence engulfed the tidy office, both the occupants uncomfortable with the subject. Uzumi had never talked about his wife, Kayli's death. And though Cagalli was told what had happened, she never really knew, nor did she know the details. It wasn't something anyone was willing to discuss, for obvious reasons.

"Humans aren't the tolerant kind, for the most part anyway. They see difference as a defect and unwelcome anyone who isn't the same. That's what happened with us vampires. We were different and they felt threatened by us. So, as anyone would do, they got rid of what was frightening them. That's why we've been forced to live in the Underworld for centuries."

"I know this all, Father. Grandfather taught me the vampires' history. Since he was one of the original elders he took it as an own personal affair of his to teach me. But I still don't understand why Uncle Homura has no tolerance for humans. Not all of them are vampire hating, cold blooded, murderers. They couldn't all be like that, could they?"

Uzumi gave his daughter a warm smile, she had always been the optimistic one. The girl everyone could turn to if they needed someone to look on the bright side, even when there was no light in sight.

"Your uncle doesn't seem to think so."

The conversation ended there, as Lord Uzumi was called away to fulfill some royal duties that needed to be addressed. Cagalli couldn't figure it out, how could her uncle think that all humans where such evil monsters. That was like saying all vampires needed to drink blood in order to survive, though many stories would support that fact, it wasn't actually true. The taste was one acquired, much like the human equivalent of champagne. Even at that, many vampires refused to drink it, for if the blood was tainted by fear or lust it was no longer what they had wanted, and their efforts had gone to waste.

As she walked down the dirt road, passing by the country side on her way back to her home, she started to ponder the thought of a life as a human. The surface wasn't that scary of a place, she thought to herself. Though it wasn't anything like the Underworld, she had to admit, through the stories she had been told, the surface sounded very interesting. A busy and hectic city life was the complete opposite of what she had been living for the past hundreds of years of her life. She had forgotten long ago what life above her was really like. But from what she did remember, it wouldn't be hard for a vampire, like herself, to adapt to their surroundings.

If she were to, in theory, disguise herself as a regal human and sneak off to the surface world, she could see what all the fuss was about. She could figure out what humans where really like. No stories, just pure, plain truth. Seeing it with her own eyes would better her to understand them better. She would think of it was research for when it comes time for her to rule over the vampires. She could final understand what was going on in a human's mind, and then maybe she could find a way to finally create peace between the races.

She would definitely have to sleep on this, she though once reaching the palace she called home.

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