Welcome to a new story of mine which I'm writing on right now. It had all started as an idea from a book but I only took the beginning and formed the story the way I needed.

As you can see the chapter is a little bit longer than my usual ones so don't expect a chapter so long every time, okay? My normal length is about 3 WORD pages, this one actually has 5. Yeah, I'm so proud of myself.

LOVER AND GUARDIAN

Summary: England, 14th century: the young Rose lives in a small village together with her mother. They live together in a small hut and life had been good so for to them. But all will change when suddenly the village gets attacked by a group of Strigoi. Rose is the only survivor and now has to face a threat she had never imagined possible. Can the dark and handsome foreigner with the Russian accent help her to survive? And what will happen when new threats arise – will he stay with her or leave her forever?

AU - Alternative Universe

Genre: Romance / Adventure

Rating: K for the beginning, might change later on

Warnings: mentioned / described death / attempted death

Disclaimer: The characters unfortunately do not belong to me, but to the wonderful and skilled Richelle Mead. I have added some though they unfortunately don't survive for long. Well, we shall see.

CHAPTER 1

The world was small. At least it was for Rose. It reached just as far as you could walk in one day from the village she had been born in. It wasn't big but it was enough for her and her mother. Together they lived in a small hut in a village of about fifty people. Rose couldn't count that far, but that was the number her mother always told her.

The hut they lived in was small. Its walls had been made out of strong tree trunks, covered with a thatched roof. Inside they had one room, which was lit and heated by a small fire in the fireplace. When there was a strong wind or storm outside, the smoke couldn't get out and the small hut quickly filled up with the gray fog and caused both of them coughing fits. Rose and her mother shared the small bad, secluded in one corner and separated by a hanging blanket to give them some privacy. Other belongings than that they didn't own apart from daily cooking and eating utilities.

The living had not always been that easy for them. They mainly lived from the fruits and animals of the wood. Sometimes the other villagers would bring them freshly made bread and from time to time they would even share a mall cake. Seeing as the other villagers also didn't have much and barely made a living, it was even more gracious of them to share.

Today was a mild summer day. Rose was sitting in a small clearing in the woods, her filled basket with fruits beside her. The sun was about to set and this meant for her to head back home. If she wouldn't be home before nightfall, her mother would be worried and displeased and Rose would surely count on getting a hit or two. Her mother wasn't a stern woman, but there were certain rules Rose had to obey, and being home before nightfall was one of them.

Sighing deeply, Rose took one more glance around this quiet and peaceful clearing hidden in the depth of the woods. She was sure that no one else in her village new about this and it made her happy to call something her own in a community where they shared nearly everything.

The sun was already set when Rose got up, picked up her basket and walked in the direction of her home with quick strides. She would be late anyway but she hoped that the richly filled basket would soften the sure reprimand of her mother. She could already hear the words her mother would tell her. It wouldn't be the first time she told Rose about the dangers of the night which waited hidden in the deep woods during day. But what these dangers exactly where, nobody had told her and she had never really dared to ask. Every time one of the villagers would tell stories of the past about these dangers, a chill went around the listeners. Husbands would pull their wives close and children would cuddle up to their parents.

It got darker faster than Rose had expected. Autumn was close and therefore the change from day to night was shorter than during summer. Striding out more, Rose hoped to reach the village before the night had put its dark veil over the world. The reprimand of her mother would come no matter what, but now that the darkness was creeping up on her from every direction, as Rose's mind suddenly started to picture all those stories she had heard about the threat lurking in the darkness.

An uneasy feeling started to settle in her stomach, telling her of something was bound to happen soon. And it wasn't something good, she was sure of. The feeling grew stronger with each step she came closer to the village, nearly forcing her to bend over and empty her stomach. Biting down hard, Rose tried to force her stomach to calm down and started to run.

She forced her legs to run even faster when she heard screams in the distance. She didn't hear who was screaming, but it could have only be one of the other people living in their village as it was the only one in a day's walking distance. And it wasn't situated on a frequently used travelling and trading route so not many strangers found their way into her village.

Panting strongly, Rose came closer to the border of their village. A scary gleam lay over the wooden houses, telling that there was a big fire. When she rounded the last corner, she stood on top of a small hill, watching as a big fire was eating at the village. People were running around, screaming. Some were already laying face down in the mud, not moving.

Wondering briefly why nobody took care of the fire eating their homes, when Rose saw a figure walking slowly into the glow of the fire. Something strange was in the behaviour of this person as it was creeping up onto Bred, the village's baker. He obviously hadn't seen it as he turned around and his face froze into a mask of horror. No scream made it from his lips, as the person suddenly bent forward and bit down on his cervical artery vigorously. After a few moments Bred fell down lifeless.

Horror was taking a tight grip on Rose watching this. She had never heard of anything like this, drinking from humans as a cow was drinking water from the river. As if it needed it for dear life. It was a creature straight from hell, Rose was sure of it and suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle she had been trying to work out over the years formed a picture. It had been these creatures everybody had warned her about. The creatures of the darkness.

Heart still pounding in her chest, Rose turned around to look at the place where her small hut was situated. It burned also as all the other buildings meanwhile. Some had broken down already. The strong smell of the fire was warning her off, but Rose couldn't just stand around and watch. She needed to find her mother so they could run away. Somewhere where it would be safer for them to last the night. In the morning they could come back and look for any survivors and their home.

Rose made her way around the back of some houses, trying to keep out of the light the fires brought into the darkness of the night. The uneasy feeling had never really left her, but now that she was on her way towards the only home she had known, the feeling grew stronger again. These creatures wouldn't be the only bad thing happening this night, she was sure.

Quickening her steps to get to her home faster, Rose made her way downhill when she was safely hidden in the shadows of the burning houses. As soon as she could see the door of her house, her heart stopped and she dripped down on her knees. There, on the threshold lay her mother in a puddle of blood. It looked as if she had wanted to retreat into the safety of their house but couldn't make it. Her throat had been ripped open and her eyes stared back at Rose lifeless. She was too late.

Rose could not move, though her mind was urging her on, but only stare at the dead body laying in front of their home. The horror was still etched into her mother's features. It had been the last thing she had seen.

If Rose would have been here earlier would she have been able to escape or would she lay here, beside her mother now, also with a ripped open throat? It was impossible to tell for Rose, but still the guilt started to eat away at her.

Steps, coming closer to where she was hiding in the shadows, alarmed her of the presence of another person. It seemed as if the person was running, running away from something, so it could only be a person from her village. Trying to see through the darkness, Ross watched as Kim, one of the daughters of Bred came running towards her, horror written all over her face. She was looking backwards, as if she was looking for someone to follow her. When she reached the bushes just a few meters away from where Rose was hiding, Kim hid behind them, trying to slow her breath.

Rose wanted to call out for her, when suddenly one of the attackers retreated behind Kim, grabbed her neck and twisted it. The snap of her neck nearly made Rose whimper but she closed her mouth tightly to not make any sound. The creature bent its head over Kim's now bare neck, slurping sound filling the night.

Now that the creature was so close, Rose could take a closer look at it for the first time and was astonished. The creature didn't look any different than she did. It had dark blonde hair, cut shortly, and wore dirty clothes. Rose had always imagined the creatures of the stories to look like animals, with fangs as large as her forearms. Maybe it had been too much of her imagination, but the similar look to any other human startled and frightened her. How would she be able to differ between these creatures and an ordinary human being?

Suddenly a branch snapped under her right foot. The creature lifted its head, looking into the direction where Rose was hiding behind a bush. Though being sure the creature wasn't able to see her, Rose quickly jumped up and started to run into the depth of the wood. It would be her only possible way to survive. She had grown up in the woods and knew all the good hiding places.

When she looked back she saw the blonde creature following her, coming closer and closer. Rose had always been a fast and persistent runner, outrunning nearly everybody from her village. But the creature was faster than her. Realizing that, the horror came back, making its way into the pit of her stomach. Picturing her mother, lying on the threshold and being covered in blood, gave her the strength to quicken her steps further.

The silence of the woods engulfed Rose. Her breath was loud in her ears and the frantic beating of her heart sounded like drum. After a while Rose turned around and saw that she was almost through the forest. She could make out Stonehall Castle, the castle of their land lord. Hopefully she would be able to find shelter there, as it was their lord's responsibility to guarantee safety to his peoples. Though Rose had never really seen their landlord, she had heard things about him that gave her the impression of a man that knew how to cope with such a threat.

Hoping to be close to safety, Rose slowed her steps to get some breath. She hadn't seen the creature following and hoped that it had given up the chase. Being only a few meters away from the edge of the wood, she slowly walked into the only place that would be able to keep her safe.

But before she could reach the clearing, a hand grabbed her neck and forcefully pulled her back into the darkness of the woods. Screaming out, Rose dashed around. Recognizing the blonde creature, she started to hit at its face, hoping to distract it long enough to make a run to the castle. The grip on her only tightened, the hits seemingly not affecting it at all.

Its mouth was set in a snarl, sharp looking white teeth smeared with blood shone in the night. Its eyes where a dark green colour, rimmed by a deep red glow. Other than that it looked exactly like any other human, just as Rose had feared. All the while taking in the look if this creature, Rose kept hitting and kicking in hopes of a short release. But nothing happened; the creature only seemed to enjoy her fidgeting.

"You're a wildcat, aren't you?" The voice was deep and snarled at her. Cold shivers ran down her spine, her heart starting to beat frantically again in fear.

"What do you want?" Rose asked, still trying feebly to get out of the deathly grip on her neck.

The creature looked at her more closely, drinking in her features. Suddenly reorganisation dawned in its eyes, quickly replaced by satisfaction. "You're the daughter of that woman!" he laughed at her coldly. "Well your mother didn't make it, now did she? She wanted to safe the village, that stupid woman. ."

Rose didn't know what this meant. Her mother wanted to save the village? How would she ever do this as she was only a single mother with a big knowledge of plants and herbs? They didn't own any weapons, at least none other than their eating knifes.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, hoping to get it distracted.

Green eyes bore themselves into hers questioningly. "You don't know?"

Shaking her head, Rose got intrigued with the idea knowing something her mother had obviously kept away from her. She felt a little betrayed as this creature knew more than her, but deep in her mind she still hoped for a chance to run to the castle looming only a few meters away.

"She was trained as a Guardian. It's said that she even wasn't that bad, for a woman that is."

Rose had never heard of a Guardian, but before she could think about this more, the cold sneer returned to the creature's features, telling her that her life would end within the next minutes. Was she afraid of death? Rose didn't know but she was about to find out.

Opening its mouth, the creature slowly bent down on her neck. Though Rose kept on hitting and kicking, the creature seemingly didn't feel any of her feeble attempts to escape. Biting down on her neck hard, Rose heard a scream. Realizing it was her that screamed, she stopped, knowing that nobody could hear her out here.

Hearing every deep slurp of the creature on her neck, Rose felt her mind slowly slipping away. She felt no pain at all, only a weird feeling of happiness. When dying felt like this, Rose didn't mind at all. It wasn't nearly as painful as she had thought.

Suddenly she felt the creature stiffen and releasing her neck from its tight grip. Looking at its face, Rose saw the change into fear when it looked down onto its chest, now being covered with blood itself. A silver pike stuck out of its chest, exactly where its heart would be. Crumbling down slowly, Rose watched the life slipping out of the deep green eyes, the red rimming disappearing just as the large teeth.

Feeling lightheaded, Rose looked back up into the deep brown eyes of an angel. She was sure it must have been one as he looked just too perfect for a creature living on this earth. Concern showed in its eyes when the angel took in her dishevelled state of clothing. Seeing the wound on her neck and the stream of blood, still running down her neck, the handsome face of the angel contorted into one of hatred, so deep that it frightened her. Could an angel really look so full of hatred?

Rose wanted to say something, but she couldn't muster the strength as the corners of her mind already started to blacken, pulling her into the comfort of unconsciousness. But before everything faded, she felt the angel putting its strong arms around her frame, carrying her off into heaven.

So, tell me if you liked this or if you beg me to put it to the trash as quickly as possible!

Thanks.

Lilian85