"Daddy, what was wrong with Stella?" Anne asked as she watched her late step-mother's body being carried out of the dark mansion in a large black coffin.

"I found evidence of her plans to overthrow me," Vincent said as he sat down on his throne, rubbing his temples warily.

"Ah," Anne grimaced "Damn it, Bella wins this round."

Having step-mothers coming and going had become a regular routine for Anne and her sisters, they decided to place bets on every woman that came to act as a mother to them and a wife for Vincent. Ever since their real step-mother died from a raid, Tseng, one of Vincent's close advisors in the Vampire Community, had insisted that if Vincent wished to keep his title as a lord, he had to have a wife. And it didn't do too well for a vampire lord to be a single parent either. Vincent and Lucrecia had three girls, if it had been three boys then the Vampire Community would have been a bit more lenient in him having a wife. But even Vincent agreed that the girls needed a mother figure while growing up, especially Cynthia, the youngest.

The sisters had mixed opinions about their step-mothers. Cynthia was always happy to have a new mother to play with, she was still very young after all. Bella, the middle child, hated any woman that dared entered the doors and would come up with different plans to get rid of her. If something smelt suspicious, she would immediately report it to Vincent in the hopes that the woman would leave. Anne didn't care that much anymore. Sure when Lucrecia died she had a bit of a tantrum when Tseng came and announced that Vincent had to remarry but as the years came and went with the step-mothers she calmed down. She had other things to think about like learning about being a lord's wife. Anne didn't really fancy becoming some lord's wife but in the Vampire Community, women weren't looked at as equals to men. Oh how Anne envied the human women that were allowed to go outside. Anne couldn't even go out to hunt down a tiny morsel! No, instead she had to make do with her blood donor like other vampire ladies.

Anne grimaced as she felt someone enter the lands and make himself perfectly clear that he had arrived.

"Tseng's here already," she announced and Vincent sighed tiredly "I win this round."

She went to stand next to Vincent as they waited for Tseng to come through the throne doors. Anne felt her spine shiver more violently than usual as she watched the vampire enter and study her with his cold brown eyes.

"Lord and Miss Valentine," he greeted with a curt nod.

Vincent and Anne nodded to greet him back. Tseng cast a look outside as the coffin disappeared into the forest.

"What was wrong with Miss Foster?" he asked Vincent even though his gaze was fixed on Anne.

Anne swallowed and Vincent snapped his fingers to grab Tseng's full attention. He held up a stack of letters bound by string.

"Stella Foster had a lover that she was plotting with to overthrow me," he explained as Tseng walked over to him to take the letters to examine with the Vampire Community.

"I see…"

Anne looked away pointedly when Tseng's gaze fell upon her again. She waited until Tseng bid his goodbye and left until she fully relaxed.

"Daddy, I don't like him," she said for the millionth time in her life and Vincent sighed.

"Neither do I," he responded for the millionth time of her lifetime "But…"

"He's a powerful ally," they said together.

Anne sat down on the floor with a tired grunt.

"So which woman are you going to pick this time?" she asked while looking up at Vincent.

Vincent sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had hosted thousands of balls to pick an eligible woman and they always ended with a massive headache. Besides, all the women he had picked by far have proved to be a hassle at the end which resulted in death. Vincent was tired of this cycle of him preparing a ball, inviting women to converse with, picking a woman, marrying her, finding a problem that might risk his or his daughters' lives then killing them. Staring at Anne for a while he realised that she was coming of age soon and looked outside.

"How about you pick one?" he suggested, making his eldest perk up with wide eyes "It will be your 1600th birthday in a few years."

"Really? You're letting me go out?"

Vincent offered a weary smile.

"You're still young and you've been keeping up with your studies and practices," he explained and Anne jumped to her feet "I'm very proud of you. Before you have to leave, I would like to see you pick your new stepmother."

"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Anne threw herself into Vincent's arms and hugged him tightly "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Vincent chuckled as he hugged Anne back, sighing and staring outside with a thoughtful look. Anne had always been a tomboy at heart, Vincent wasn't so happy to limit her happiness by telling her what kind of role female vampires played in the community. Anne of course was furious and began throwing a tantrum, screaming and wailing loudly, she even killed her first blood donor. Vincent had always been proud to see that Valentine blood lust within her, just disappointed that she had been born a girl instead of a boy. If she had been a boy, her life would have been so much happier.

As Vincent watched Anne run out of the throne room to get ready to go out to the village to choose a woman. He pulled out a letter that had arrived during the last century and looked through the contents with a small grimace.

Dear Lord Valentine

I have come to see that your eldest daughter is growing up to be a fine woman. She has another century until she has to choose a suitable partner. I confess to you now, I find her attractive and I am currently searching for a wife to bear my children. I write to you to request for her hand in marriage when she turns 1600. I assure you that if she marries me, she will be happy. I can offer a comfortable home for her to live in and she will have anything her heart desires. You will benefit from this marriage too. If I marry your daughter, we will be closer allies and business partners.

Yours sincerely,

Tseng

Vincent lowered the letter and stared ahead where Anne had disappeared into the gloomy corridors. He hadn't missed the looks Tseng had directed to Anne and he hadn't missed the way Anne had received them. Vincent hadn't replied to Tseng in case they fell out and that wouldn't have been pretty. He didn't want to give his eldest daughter to him. Vincent was pretty sure Anne would not like to be in a relationship with Tseng and she wouldn't be happy. But considering what opportunities he might have if the marriage did take place. He wouldn't have to worry about any issues that arose if Tseng was his son-in-law to help him through problems. Tseng was a good ally and the marriage would bring them closer. But then Vincent considered the age gap. Tseng was 3265 years old and he wasn't so comfortable in letting Anne marry an older man like that. Sure, a lot of vampire women married vampire men much older than them but Vincent wasn't too keen on the idea. The wives he had after Lucrecia passed away, he didn't sleep with them. The idea of bedding a woman centuries younger than him didn't approve and they were all human. Vincent really hadn't let Lucrecia go since her unfortunate passing away. As memories rose in his head, Vincent closed his eyes and relived them silently.

"Are you really going out?" Bella asked as she watched Anne put her cloak on and brush her hair.

"Yes, Daddy said I could go out and choose the next woman that he'll marry," Anne grinned at her sisters "I feel so excited!"

"Pick an easy one to scare away," Bella grinned and rubbed her hands together thoughtfully "I want to hear them scream so loudly, they won't stick around for two hours!"

"Be nice!" Cynthia whined as she sat on her bed "Pick a pretty new mother, Anne! I want her to have nice long blonde hair like our last mother!"

"Blondes are stupid," Bella sneered "Oh, choose a fat one. Fat humans have very low confidence, we'll guilt her out of the marriage!"

Anne sighed as her younger sisters argued back and forth between one another and sat down by the window, looking out wistfully. She really missed their original mother, Lucrecia. She was nice, caring, loving and most of all, beautiful. Anne hadn't thought such beauty could have existed. She loved her mother so much, they spent over six centuries together before Bella came along. Anne remembered her mother taking her out to the garden and introduce her to different types of flowers. She remembered picking the flowers and herbs with her afterwards then having an alchemy lesson. When it was the right season, Anne remembered eating the fruit from the large multi fruit tree in the centre of the garden. And Daddy was so much happier when it was just the three of them. Anne hadn't seen a proper smile from him in over a century.

"I want my new mother to tell me stories when I go to bed!" Cynthia declared as she bounced on Anne's bed.

"You have books to read," Bella argued as Anne slowly came out of her daydream to listen to them.

"But I want this new mother to tell her own stories!" Cynthia whined "Not boring old stories like Hansel and Gretel or the Three Little Pigs or Little Red Riding Hood!"

"I tell my own stories," Anne argued softly while standing up "Cynthia, why don't you tell me what you want our new mother to be like and I'll write it down so I can look for her?"

Cynthia cheered as Anne pulled out her diary and a pen and bounced up and down in front of her.

"I want her to be very pretty, I want her to be very nice, I want her to stop Bella from bullying me, I want her to be willing to give me a little bit of her own blood when it strikes my fancy, I want her to play with me every single day, I want her to love Daddy very, very much, I want her to laugh at all my jokes…"

Anne wrote down all the points that she thought would suit Cynthia's demands in her diary, smiling at her little sister's enthusiasm. Her personal views and opinions wouldn't matter, she would only know this new mother for a few years, a blink of an eye in a vampire's point of view. Anne would ask Bella for her personal opinions on what their mother should be like but decided that her views were irrelevant too because Bella didn't want to have another mother. Anne understood why but they couldn't simply bring their mother back from the dead, vampires weren't miracle makers.

Pocketing the diary, Anne pulled her hood over her head and left her room after shooing her sisters out. She walked out of the main doors and out of the main gates, pausing to take a deep breath of fresh air. She sighed happily while closing her blood red eyes contently as she smelt the fresh pine trees and the rain began falling around her.

"The last years of my freedom," she said while walking through the forest to the village on the other side "Before I'm truly imprisoned forever."

Alice Liddell had just about enough of looking after the children in Mideel's Orphanage. They were always hungry, always wanting money, always wanting a family and always demanding attention. For just five minutes, Alice just wanted to put her feet up. Even if she did scramble enough time to take a break from keeping an eye on the children, Nurse Witless would find her and take her up to the roofs to feed her bloody pigeons! The only other job Alice could possibly be able to do is to sell her body out to men. Not a pleasant thought, taking care of children seemed more appealing.

It was one day near the evening that Alice was taking a stroll around the village. There had been news that Lady Stella had been killed and Lord Valentine was looking for a new Lady Valentine. Alice couldn't care less, every ten years a woman gets needlessly killed because the vampire lord wasn't happy with them. It was stupid, why should the lord be looking for a lady when in the end he'll just kill them? Alice supposed that even a vampire lord needs sexual pleasure, like every man that walked the earth. It would be bad for his reputation and everything if he did hire a hooker, but Alice still wasn't happy about several young innocent women getting killed every decade.

Alice had seen the Valentine's mansion before, her family had lived in the same forest as them before the tragic accident of the fire. It seemed so gloomy, like the stereotypical kind of vampire lived in their. All alone with a woman to keep him company. Alice would dread to think what it would be like to live in such an awful place. All alone, far away from the village, where no-one can hear you scream for help.

Alice paused as she saw men crowding around a newcomer into the village. She narrowed her eyes to see if she could get a better look. The newcomer was a young teenage girl, dressed in a beautiful maroon dress with a cloak over it. She looked up at the men, tilting her head at them.

"Excuse me, but could you help me find someone?" she asked meekly and one beefy man chuckled.

"Sure, doll, I'll help you," he purred as he and the other men grabbed her arms "Let me show you my place, we can have a drink."

The girl struggled against the men as they jeered and laughed at her weak stature.

"Let me go!" she shouted feebly as Alice just stood and watched, not wanting to get involved.

"Come on, the more you struggle the more it's going to hurt!"

Alice grimaced as the poor girl fell to her knees and the men formed a circle around her, unzipping their pants. Alice was about to turn away to leave them until a strangled cry of agony from one of the men rang out. She turned around with wide eyes as blood dripped onto the pavement along with a large chunk of flesh. The beefy man that had grabbed her first collapsed, shouting in agony as he held his bleeding crotch as the girl got to her feet, wiping the blood off her face.

"You taste foul," she hissed.

"Why you little bitch!"

One man swung an arm into her face but the girl grabbed his arm with one tiny hand, squeezing tightly so that his wrist snapped. Alice gasped as she saw the girl bare her teeth, vampire fangs growing.

"V-V-V-V-Vampire!"

The men fled from the girl and the girl smirked maliciously, dusting her hands. Her glowing blood red eyes spotted Alice and the smirk widened as the girl made her way over to greet her.

"I see you weren't phased by that little scenario," she said and took Alice's hand with her bloodied one "I believe there is a café nearby? Let's talk there."

"W-Wait!"

The young girl gave a bright smile as they walked down the street.

"My name is Annabelle Susanna Lucrecia Rosanna Valentine, but you can call me Anne, may I know your name?"

"Um…Alice Liddell…" Alice said slowly while Anne looked around happily, commenting about how the village looked in the bleak weather "V-Valentine? Are you the new lady?"

Anne snorted and shook her head.

"No, I'm the eldest daughter, I need to marry within a few years too…" she murmured "Would you recommend any cafés here?"

"Uh…not really but the best one around is the one next to the medical centre, it's the cleanest place."

Anne hummed and shrugged.

"Meh," she hummed "Is it quiet?"

"If you ignore the screams of agony next door."

"That sounds unpleasant, choose another one."

"Um…uh…"

Anne suddenly stopped to look up at her.

"Liddell?" she repeated Alice's surname "Alice Liddell? The Alice Liddell that was saved from the house that burned down?"

"Yes," Alice sighed tiredly "Crazy Alice Liddell who's on the brink of insanity."

"Crazy?"

Anne sighed and shook her head.

"No, I'm sure you grew up to be a lovely person since I carried you out of that blaze."

"You were the one that saved me?" Alice gaped at her "But that was ten years ago, you would have been…what, a small child?"

Anne giggled and shook her head.

"Ten years ago I was 1585 years old," she explained "If you haven't gotten the idea from those men back there, I'm a vampire so we age differently from you humans."

"Huh…" Alice stared ahead thoughtfully before taking another look at Anne "Why did you only save me?"

"Well I was only on one of my walks, getting away from the ball Daddy hosted to get another wife when I saw the house on fire," Anne shrugged helplessly "By then your parents and your sister were already cooked alive and your bedroom had just caught alight. I saw your shadow waving for help and got you out. I see those burns healed up nicely."

Alice pulled her arm away as Anne examined her arms.

"There, it's small and quiet but I'm not sure about the level of privacy."

"Privacy isn't that important."

When Alice set foot in that café, she hadn't counted on coming out and leaving Mideel forever.