It was all Quatre's fault anyway
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cherry Blossom: ::sigh:: Why are you making me do this? You know I can't write horror.

Matteo: It's time to widen your portfolio selection. Besides, this idea has been running through your head ever since Elf made that challenge about wanting a GW vampire fic.

Cherry Blossom: Yeah but I chucked it 'cause I CAN'T WRITE HORROR!

Matteo: So what? Look, I'll help you out.

Cherry Blossom: Oh very comforting. This is gonna bomb I just know it.

Matteo: You know I won't leave you alone until you write it…

Cherry Blossom: Oh, fine. Just let me write the damn story.

Matteo: ^__^ I always get my way.

Cherry Blossom: __

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. So there.

Notes: I know absolutely nothing about vampires. I have never even set foot in the Anne Rice section. I don't know what I'm doing. Help me! Send info! Send pictures! Send ideas! Don't leave me here in my ignorance! And don't blame me if I get some things totally wrong. That being said, enjoy the fic.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wrap me up in always

your innocence is treasure

your innocence is death

your innocence is all I have

breathing under water, and living under glass

-Thru the Eyes of Ruby

Smashing Pumpkins

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shadow Embraced - Prologue

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was all Quatre's fault anyway. If he hadn't dug into my soul and found my long discarded conscience then I would never have allowed myself to become close to them…the humans. I could have just kept on living my eternal life in blissful carnage, taking my meals when I could, slipping in and out of shadows, peaceful. Well…as peaceful as my kind can get.

I've probably confused you. "My kind", "human". You're probably saying, "but aren't you human as well?"

I used to be. A very long time ago I was a girl like any other. My name was Lady Danica DeLamanka, third daughter of the house of Kesla, favorite child of Lord Ryukin DeLamanka, practically royalty. Not that that means anything to you. That girl is long dead. Her life was stolen from her centuries ago.

But there, I've confused you again. Let me put it this way; I belong to the Society of Nosferatu…what some might call "vampyres". I prefer the term "terminally undead" myself. Ah, now you understand. Nearly everyone has heard some piece of mythology about us creatures of the night. Some of the misconceptions are downright hilarious. I mean honestly, turning into ash the moment a ray of sunlight hits our skin? Ridiculous. I am perfectly capable of walking down the street on a sunny afternoon without spontaneously combusting, although I am partial to severe sunburns…I prefer the night. And as far a s I know neither crosses nor holy water can harm my person. However a well-placed stake to the heart will kill me, as will decapitation. But you would have a hard time trying it. I was trained in combat by Master Chen Ten Tsu way back in 1882. Plus, until recently, I had a whole range of nifty psychic abilities to help me out. But now my powers have receded to the point where a well-trained human could take me out. It's pathetic really. And it's all that damned blond Arabian's fault!

You see, unlike popular folklore, vampyres do have souls. I can feel guilt over the people whose lives I took, whose blood I consumed. But it's not like I could do anything about it. Vampyres need to drink the blood of a living being at least once a week or they will die. And it's not a pretty death either. Picture yourself wasting away until you look like a Holocaust victim and you might get an idea of what it's like. And all the while there's this burning thirst…

But getting back to the point, I had a soul, I just didn't have a conscience. Humans, to me, were like a very intelligent species of animal. Amusing to observe, sometimes worthy of admiration, but in the end they were just another meal. Food for thought. Not my concern. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the poor creatures. After all, I was so much stronger and they were practically helpless. But I wasn't so guilt ridden that I would stop feeding. One can admire the strength and beauty of a deer and still eat it.

Miss Relena once asked me why I enjoyed battle so much. I rattled off some speech about how "only war reveals the true glorious nature of human" or some such nonsense. But the real reason was guilt. You see I made it a habit to only take the blood of soldiers. I figured that since they were prepared to die at any given moment anyway, it was better than draining civilians. It was my way of justifying myself. And it was working too, dammit.

For over 800 years I had lived this way, taking my nourishment from, if not willing, certainly deserving soldiers, developing my abilities to the point where I would be able to protect myself against the strongest of my kind. Vampyres aren't known for their friendly natures.

There was no shortage of battles for me to pick and choose from. Life—er, death was good. Until I met him of course. Quatre Raberba Winner. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was different…special. He had an aura about him that was unlike any I had previously encountered, a beam of true kindness and love. At first I thought that he might be one of those "pure souls" I had heard so much about, a fallen angel perhaps. But no, his heart beat the same as those around him. His blood was still red.

I'm ashamed to admit it now but I've often wondered if his blood would taste somehow sweeter then that of other humans, fantasized about draining him dry to satisfy my curiosity. I would have killed him without a second thought not too long ago. Would have fed off his blood in feral, beastly hunger…feeding is a sensual experience for a vampyre. No other intimacy comes close. That's why so many victims are willing, for just an instant, to give their life a way for a taste of that pleasure. Quatre wouldn't have disappointed me. And besides, his aura would have given my powers a definite boost. I could become the most powerful being in the universe…

It was the confrontation on Libra when I discovered his true power.

Empathy, honed to the point of telepathy almost, was not a weapon I had expected to be assaulted with as we dueled. It was his concern, his desperate need to understand why I was doing this that finally opened my mind to him, opened my soul. And he saw, saw me for the monster I truly was…and then he forgave me. Told me I was kind. I thought that he was nuts.

But then something strange happened. His mind opened up to me and I could see the contents of his soul as clearly as he saw mine. And for the first time, I understood. I saw what it meant to be human. I saw the joy and pain and love that I had left behind so many years ago, the fierce beauty and fragility of life, so precious in Quatre's eyes. I caught hold of my lost humanity, and I mourned for it, the first tears I had shed since I was changed. And I knew that I could not continue to drain soldiers of their lifeblood anymore.

Oh, I still drink blood. If I didn't then I'd be dead and I'm not willing to sacrifice myself just yet. But I don't kill anymore. You'd be surprised how little blood a vampyre can survive on. Two, maybe three CCs a week. Of course, there are drawbacks to only taking the sufficient amount to live on. For instance, my psychic powers have faded into nothing now and my strength had diminished greatly. My reflexes are not as quick as they used to be and even my night vision was affected.

But I have discovered a kinship, an affection even, for the humans I once regarded as only food. I am no longer alone. I have…friends.

Hilde Shebieker was one of my best friends…

And now I regret ever seeing her face. I should have left well enough alone, should have stayed with my own kind.

What we have unleashed upon the world…

For the first time in centuries, I am afraid.

Dorothy Catalonia

February 10th, A.C. 196

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cherry Blossom: Well…that was interesting.

Matteo: Why Dorothy?

Cherry Blossom: It's the skin. No one can be that pale and not be dead.

Matteo: Hey, what's the whole Hilde thing anyway?

Cherry Blossom: For me to know and you to find out. Don't worry Elf, Duo is gonna have a big part in this series. Hilde too. That is, if you want me to continue.

Matteo: Review!

Cherry Blossom: Onegi!