Ashelyn crouched in the closet of her room, covering her mouth with her hand to keep from making any noise. She'd only been at the orphanage a few weeks, ever since her father had come home drunk and beaten her mother to death, but the twelve year old had already overheard some of the other girls talking about Brother Jerrick's night-time visits. She hadn't really believed them, neither had the headmaster since Jerrick was a friend of his, but when she'd heard something scratching at her door after lights out, she'd locked herself in her closet as her mother had taught her when father was drunk and started yelling. Peeking through the keyhole, she watched as Jerrick entered the room, pocketing a slim piece of metal as he shut and locked the door behind him. He went over to the bed and looked under it, he's looking for me, the realization that the other girls were telling the truth gave her chills and caused her breath to catch. She jerked away from the door when she saw him look at it, then start walking towards the closet. She holds her breath and puts her other hand over the one against her mouth as the knob rattles, then she hears the door to the hall open and close. She lets loose a sigh of relief as she peeks through the keyhole to make sure he's gone, then opens the door. Immediately a hand grips the door and Jerrick jerks it open, grabbing Ashelyn by her blond hair and throwing her towards the bed. She catches her arm on the frame and starts to cry out as the blood begins to flow, the older man covers her mouth. "Now, what's a sweet little thing like you doing yelling? We don't want any interruptions, now do we?" The smell of whiskey making her nauseous as he chuckles softly at her tears and lowers his hand toward the bottom of her cotton shift, neither one noticing the blood slowly making its way across the floor towards them.

"I've got to help her!" The boy screams, trying to push past the white-clad woman barring his way. He didn't know what was happening, all he knew was that his sister was terrified and hurt. She'd been so small the last time he'd seen her, all smiles and hair, but that was almost ten years ago; ten years since his father had beaten him with fists and a board for making too much noise, then the white light. The fifteen year old's emerald eyes darken to a smoky green as the shadows dance angrily around the small clearing. "Sariah, if this is his decision, then we have no right to try and stop him." They both turn to see a male figure, clad in white with a hood throwing his face into shadow, the wings and white aura showing him to be more than human. "But Azrael..." He puts a hand up and Sariah stops as he walks toward the boy and kneels in front of him, face to face, allowing him to see the ageless eyes peering from the darkness. "You are Alec." It's not a question, but Alec nods anyway. "As I said, it is not our place to decide what is right. If you believe that this must be done, then that is your choice. But the consequence will also be yours to bear. If you choose to Fall, it will be with the knowledge that you are not able to return and you will have no memory of the Silver Spire, or of your time here. Do you understand?" Alec nods without hesitation. Yes, Sir. This is what I want." He swears he can see a smile beneath the eyes. "I suppose it is, the shadows have been your friends for as long as you've been here, and shadows have never thrived in the city of Light. Farewell, Child, we will meet again." With that, he lays his hand on Alec's brown hair, causing the boy to flare with grey and white light. Sariah looks at the scorched spot in the grass, then at Azrael. "Was that really the best choice?" The white robes turn a dark shade of grey as he turns to her. "Yes, I believe it was. You and I both know that it wasn't his time, but he chose to remain here." Sariah shakes her head at the angel of Death. His next words are almost an afterthought, "Theirs is a shared fate, both with enormous potential, and both with good hearts. Whatever happens next is their story to mould. But I believe they'll both find their way back here when all is said and done." The last bit draws a look of confusion from Sariah, "But I thought you said a Fallen could never return to the city of Angels. Did you lie to him?" Death casts a glance at her, then looks up at the clear sky. "I sometimes forget that not everyone here is as old as I am. I can not lie. But I have often found that the way you phrase something can make it sound quite different. I did not say never, but he cannot return in his lifetime. When one Falls, they go from immortal to mortal. There is no bouncing back and forth at a mere whim, for him to return must be at the end of his life." With that, Azrael walks away from the clearing, leaving Sariah more confused than ever.

Alec finds himself in the fetal position in a small side street. He tries to stand and has to lean against the wall for support as the world swims around him. "Uhh, what happened." It takes him a moment, then the feeling that Ashe needs him returns. He looks around and tries to get his bearings and where to go, after a few seconds, something tells him to go to the orphanage. He makes his way through the streets, not sure why he hears whispering or where it's coming from, but his instincts tell him that he needs to follow it, and so he does. After some fairly random turns, he hears a scream that is abruptly cut off and goes sprinting toward where the sound came from, finding himself at a large, one story building that gives him the creeps, something telling him she's in there. He walks around the outside trying to look through windows, until he finds one painted red. He peers threw a small clear area in the bottom and sees a blond-haired girl rocking back and forth with blood spattered on the walls. With no other ideas, he shatters the window with his elbow, receiving cuts and even more as he breaks more glass to make an opening large enough to squeeze through. She doesn't look up until he crouches beside her and shakes her gently. "Ashe? Ashe, what happened? Are you all right?" Ashelyn hiccups, breathing in erratic gasps as she looks up at the strange boy, but makes no other sound. "Ashe, it's me, Alec." The name flashes her back to a boy, not much older than her, running around laughing while she chased him; tag. Then the day she woke up and couldn't find him, and her mother sitting her down and explaining that her brother had to go away and that he couldn't visit, she was crying. It takes a moment for that to register in her brain, and those familiar green eyes reflecting her own puffy blue ones. "Al-" A hiccup cuts her off, so she tries again. "Alec? What happened? Mamma said you had to go away and couldn't visit, then papa..." killed her. She shakes her head to clear that though. "Where'd you have to go?" Then she takes in more than his face and blushes. "And why are you naked?" The fact that the room is covered in blood is covered in blood is completely forgotten as he looks down, blushes, and frowns. "I... I don't know. I woke up in an alley and something was telling me to come here." the same something telling them to get out, to run. Ashe walks gingerly over to her closet, avoiding pools of blood, and gets him one of her shifts. As he slides it on, he notices a large slab of dressed raw beef.human The realization hits him and he leans over and throws up. He wipes his mouth with the back of his arm after he's done. "What happened here?" Ashe starts hiccuping again. "I don't know, one second he was on top of me and the next a bunch of red things were attacking him, shredding him, and they just got bigger."

They both jump as someone bangs on the door, then a gentle voice drills into both of their ears. "Ms. Flynt. Is everything all right? Some of the other children said they heard screaming." Neither one of them get a chance to answer before the door swings in and an elderly woman in nun's garb peeks through, she gasps and yells. "Call the police!" before entering and shutting the door quickly behind her, but both children see faces trying to peek in before it shuts. The matron runs quickly to the body and looks it over. "Brother Jerrick. The children have said things about you, but we trusted Headmaster Garn's judgement. God have mercy on your soul." She takes the rosary beads from her neck and touches her forehead, chest, and each shoulder before kissing them and putting them back on her neck. She turns to the siblings; one with blood on her and the other a boy not supposed to be there. "What happened, Ms. Flynt." She glares at Alec. "I do not know who you are, but I'll get to you in a moment." Ashe, for the second time that night, recounts her story, this time up until the nun came in. The old woman wipes her brow and backs to the door. "Demons. That's what you are!" She jabs a finger at Alec. "I remember you, I was at your funeral, you've been dead ten long years and you should have stayed dead!" She jabs at Ashelyn this time. "And you. You sold your soul to the Devil! That's what this is, either that or you've become possessed and drew poor Jerrick into this!" Alec quickly stands and gets between his sister and the woman, glaring with smoky emerald eyes. "Don't talk to her like that!" Her eyes widen at the soft voice, and the dancing shadows around the room. She screams and yanks the door open so she can dart out. Alec helps Ashe to her feet. "We can't stay here, you know what they'll do if they decide we're demons." She nods, not quite able to believe that the kind old woman would accuse her of such things, and lets him help her through the window. As he follows, they hear the nun's voice. "There the demons are. Kill them!" Alec puts Ashe's arm around him and runs as a gunshot rings out. Neither one notices the way that the shadows cast by the moon shift and move behind them, seemingly trying to hide the two young runners. They just keep moving, every now and then the whispers urge Alec to turn and he does, guiding Ashelyn through streets and into the trees outside of the small town they had both called home. A few times one or both of them trip, but always continuing, not knowing where they're going, just knowing they needed to go. Before long they hear dogs, but, only human, they could only do so much and both running on sheer adrenaline and fear. Alec trips and falls, for once just laying there. "Ashe... I can't..." She stops and almost collapses next to him, breathing just as heavily, just as drained as he is. They both just lay there, neither one able to garner enough energy to continue their flight as the sounds of dog and man draw closer.

The man, once human, makes his way through the trees. the smell of fear heavy in his nostrils, but another underlying scent that was his real reason for leaving his sanctuary and walking among humans, even momentarily. Even with his inhuman sight, he almost misses the two children. One near manhood, the other a girl just out of childhood. He stands there for a few moments, tracking the way each little shadow snaked its way over the two, making them blend almost into the darkness of the trees. He can hear the sounds of a hunting party coming slowly closer and chuckles. It's been a long time since my meals came to me. As for the two laying unconscious in front of him, they intrigued him. He nudges each of them with a foot. "Can either of you walk." The boy manages to get to his feet, rather unsteadily, and try to help the girl, who looks almost like death warmed over. The man picks her up like a child. "My abode isn't far from here, you can both rest there. In the meantime, tell me what is going on and why you're this far into my forest." Ashe, struggling to stay awake as she's carried, tries to recount the night's events with Alec speaking only to insert events she overlooks; both worrying that he'll do the same as the nun. But he just chuckles, "Yes, humans can be fickle creatures." As they get closer to his 'abode' he looks them both over and thinks about their story. "Child," he looks at the girl in his arms, "you said you were cut when he threw you, then the red 'things' came?" Her voice is soft, almost asleep, as she answers and her brother raises his brow. "Yeah, why?" Interesting, blood fought for her when she was afraid for her life, while her brother has some understanding of Darkness, hearing it and even subconsciously commanding it. Before he realizes her question, she's already asleep. Alec's voice breaks his reverie when his place of residence comes into view. "You live there?" There's even a hint of disbelief in the boys voice. "Welcome to Castle Dracul." The name doesn't register with him at the time, as worn in mind as in body, and he follows the lord of the castle into and through several corridors, the whispers commenting with a simple safe before going silent. They make their way to a single bedroom where Ashe is laid down. "These will be her quarters, you can have any room adjacent if you so wish, or you can share this one, as your story implies that you have a great deal of time to make up for." The boy lies down next to his sister. "Thank you, Mr..." The count chuckles. "Forgive me, I have not introduced myself yet, have I? I am Vlad." Vlad leaves the room and shuts the door as the boy whispers. "Mr. Vlad." And drifts off to sleep while the vampire makes his way to the main chambers to wait for the unsuspecting feast.