Ashes

Chapter 1

Found

It was the middle of the night, the full moon was high in the sky, with clouds surrounding it. There was the scent of burning flesh in the air and I was approaching the source.

There was a girl silently crouched over ashes, weeping. "Wh...why" she studdered.

I was dressed in a black short dress that poofed and ruffled at mid-thigh. I turned onto a small back ally when I saw the girl.

"What's troubling her...and what's with the ashes...?"I silently thought as I walked towards the weeping girl.

I reached her in seconds and silently crouched beside her. "Hey, what's wrong? Did something hurt you?" I whispered trying to pay no mind to the ashes.

She turned and hissed at me, showing her teeth as the tears continued to roll down her pale cheeks.

I sighed a heavy sigh. I was tired of vampires trying to scare me. They didn't even notice that I was one of them cause mostly when I found them they were too upset to think straightly. "I'm not scared of you." I said flatly.

The girl closed her mouth. "Then you must know...If you're not afraid of me..You must know what these ashes are!"

"I don't exactly understand. Why would you cry over these ashes...?" I smiled a little in encouragement "Was It someone of importance to you?

None of my vampire family had ever been burned, and I had never known any others that had. This was different. It was either her last surviving family member or her boyfriend or husband.

The girl wiped her eyes "More than that. They were my everything... I know I'm not supposed to cry and that I'm disgracing myself, but I really don't care anymore..."

My voice turned soft "It's ok...You don't have to worry about disgracing yourself...Its only natural to cry when someone who is everything to you leaves or dies...I wouldn't really know...I've never really lost anyone..."

***************

"We've never been formally introduced. I'm Henrietta. And what's your name?" I held out my hand on a gesture to shake the girls hand

The girl took my hand "My name is...Tamiko..Thank you...My mother always told me it was a disgrace for a princess to cry."

"Don't worry about it. It's perfectly natural" *She smiled* "Hey, I'm going to a party at my friends. You wana come along?"

"A party?...I guess it couldn't hurt..." She took the ashes that were in her hand and put them in a golden locket around her neck.

"Sweet! Miyuki and the rest are going to ADORE you!" I flashed my brilliant irresistable smile to her. "Thanks for coming with me..."

"Sure...thanks for helping me." Tamiko smiled a little "Okay, let's go then."

"Ok. And, it's never a problem." *She holds her hand out for you to take so she can help you up* "I think you're going to love my friends and family"

Tamiko took my hand "You might like my father, too, though he can be strict. He...might not like me going to something like this..After all I'm his heir…"

"Heir to what?" I looked confused as I stared at her

"My father is the head of a certain section of the country, though not a lot of people seem to know about it…"

"Ahhh...I see..." I looked at her "So...what section?" I asked her eagerly

"It's about a hundred mile radius from where we're at." she said

"I see..."

"Yeah.."

"Hmm..." I mumbled to myself with a wondering look on my face

"What? Is something wrong?" She had clearly thought that she had done something wrong.

"Nope. Just wondering if you'll like my friends...They're kinda crazy" I giggled a little remembering the times that all of us spent just sitting around one of our rooms just being insane

"I'm sure I will. As long as they like me."

"That's cool."

"Yeah..."

I sighed. "I'm kinda bored actually. What would you like to know about me?" I asked as I kept walking.

"Well, do you have any fighting skills?"

"Yea. I try to avoid violence whenever possible though. But oddly enough I love to fight…"

"I see. I have a passion for fighting, though my father doesn't like that. He said it's not right for me to fight."

"I just dont want my family and friends to get hurt if something happens and they decide to go after them..."

"They? who's they?"

"The people that if I had ever got into a fight with them and they hire a gang or something to go after me or my family and friends to get back at me..." I said with little emotion in my voice. this had already happened to me once before, and I didn't plan on letting it happen again.

"Don't worry about that...I'll take care of it" Tamiko said with a little smirk

I laughed a little "I was just saying. Nothing liek that will happen if I can help it, and I can see that it wont be happening for sometime now..."

Tamiko smiled a little "Well, just in case, I'll be on the lookout."

"Well...thanks...we'er almost there...Can you hear the music?"

"Yeah, I do. It shouldn't be long, now."

I flashed a brilliant smile at her "This will be fun"

"Yeah I guess" she flatly stated.

"Cheer up a little! It's a party!" I giggled and smiled again, only this time showing her my teeth. which was unusual for me. What was happening. Was I going soft?

"Yeah, okay." She smiled too.

Judging by the look on her face she was still upset over losing them...I didnt know exactally who she had lost and I wasn't gonna ask.