Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, obviously...or Matt and Mello would have lived...

- Russia, 1769

The room was brightly lit. People in fancy clothes were scattered around the grand ball room, of the large mansion. Outside the wind was blowing the brown leaves off the trees, fluttering them about and scattering them out along the stretch of green grass, almost as if to mimic the people inside. The ground lay covered in a thin layer of ice. Winter was fast approaching.

A young blond boy slowly crossed the dance floor, dodging in between couples until he reached a woman who was standing in a small group of other women. He gently tugged at the back of the woman's dress. " Mother.." He whispered. The woman turned around, and looked down at her son. " Darling..I thought you were in bed. Whats wrong? " The boy looked at her, but only pulled at the back of her dress again. She smiled, understanding and turned to excuse herself from the group. She took hold of her sons hand, and led him out of the room, and over to the spiral staircase that led upstairs, separating into two separate wings. " Now..will you tell me whats wrong? " She said smiling, as she took a seat on one of the steps. The Young blond climbed onto his mothers lap. " Mother I couldn't sleep.." he said quietly. The woman smiled, and kissed the top of his head. " Are you afraid? "

The boy, now resting his head lightly on her shoulder gave a quick nod. " There was someone in my room " His mother started, at hearing this. " Mihael...darling, who was in your room? " Mihael stayed quiet for a second before answering. " I don't know, but they were standing outside my window, I got scared " By this time Mihael was starting to fall asleep, he was lazily curling a lock of his mothers golden hair.

She didn't know what to say. Mihael was never one to make things like that up. It was too childish, as he would say. ' Maybe..it was just a dream ' she thought to herself. " Mihael " she whispered quietly. " Hm?.." came the blondes' sleepy answer. " You probably had a nightmare. Lets go back to bed? " " OK mother.."

She stood, with him in her arms, his arms were loosely wrapped around her neck. She walked up the long spiral staircase, silently humming a lullaby as she made her way down a dark hallway and up another flight of stairs. There was only one door in the hall that was completely swung open. The light from inside cast itself against the wall and floor of that portion of the hall. She walked inside and lay the half asleep Mihael down on his bed. " Mother wait! " he had sat bolt upright just as she was going to turn the lights off. " What?..whats wrong? "

" Will you...um " he blushed slightly, and fiddled with his hair, which was kept long, up to his shoulders. She smiled, she knew what he wanted, but being eight years old, he thought himself too old for such childish things. " Would you like me to sing for you? " Mihael nodded, not looking up. " If you insist.." he added, with a quick grin. She laughed slightly at this, and went over to sit beside him in bed. " Well then...what would you like me to sing for you? " Mihael thought her question over for a few seconds before answering. He smiled. " Mother..can you sing me the song from my favorite musical? "

" Once Upon a December? "(1) she asked, smiling, tucking a strand of blond hair, behind his ear. Mihael nodded, smiling, and laying back down, getting comfortable under the covers. " Hm..well I think I remember it..will you forgive me if I don't? " " Of course mother.." he said, smiling up at her. She couldn't help but smile back. " OK darling.." She gently caressed his cheek, as she began to sing the song that Mihael had requested. " Dancing Bears...Painted Wings, Hear this song and, remember..and A song, someone sings..Once Upon a December.." Mihael had closed his eyes, a small smile played across his lips as he leaned into his mothers touch. She smiled, and gently stroked his hair. " Someone holds me safe and warm...Horses prance through a silver storm.
figures dancing gracefully across my memories. Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully across my memories.." she paused to smile, as the boys breathing started to slow, meaning he was almost asleep. " Far away, long ago...glowing dim as an ember...Things my heart use to know, Things it yerns to remember..." her voice was now almost as quiet as a whisper. She again paused to stand, and tuck Mihael in properly. " And a song someone sings..." she kissed his forehead lightly, before making her way towards the door, turning off the gas lamp as she went. She turned from the doorway her hand on the door knob. " Once Upon a December..." she whispered, smiling before walking out the door, closing it gently behind her.

--

The next morning, was a beautiful day. The wind was cool, the sun partly hidden behind white clouds. A perfect day in Mihaels' eyes. " Mother..can I go play by the pond? " He asked, looking up at his mother with the biggest smile he could muster. The woman looked down at her son, from her place on the sofa, a book in hand. " Certainly...your father is out there as well, maybe he would like to play with you " Mihael's eyes widened with excitement at hearing this. " OK!..bye mother! " the small boy, bound out the back door of the large house and out into the backyard. The sun shone dimly over the dew covered grass. Red and White roses littered almost every corner of the large garden.
Mihael had helped his mother plant a few of them. His favorites were the Red Roses. To him, the color red was the most beautiful thing on the face of the planet. He smiled to himself, content now after admiring his surroundings, and went over to the large pond that was set under the cool shade of a large tree.

The pond water was clear, and was stocked with lots of colorful fish. Mihael smiled, and folded his pant legs up to his knees so he could sit and place his legs into the cool water. He lightly swung his legs back and forth, scaring the small fish that came toward his legs. " Mihael.." The blond jumped, at the sound of his name being called.
He looked over his shoulder, to see his father watching him from the small bench that was set up against the tree. " Father..you scared me.." He smiled, and went back to looking down at the fish in the pond. The blond haired man smiled, and stood. He went and crouched beside him. " Mihael, can I ask you something? " The man asked quietly. The boy nodded. " Well..your mother told me, that you saw someone in your room...do you know who that was? "

Mihael stayed quiet for a while, silently playing with the water with his legs. " I didn't see their face..it was a man though. He spoke to me " he replied after a while. " Oh?..what did they say? " Mihael stiffened at this question. He looked up at his father. " He said..." He paused, biting his lip in thought.

"Do you remember what he said?" His father prompted.

Mihael closed his eyes, straining to remember the exact words of the strange man outside his window the previous night. He stayed that way for a few seconds before his eyes snapped open. "Now I remember!"

His father nodded patiently. "Well?"

The young blond cleared his throat as if he were going to give a very important speech. "I shall quote..." he said in a very business like tone. " 'He who easily strays from the path before him, shall find himself in a strange town not his own' " Mihael smiled, not really knowing what it meant, but that was exactly what he had heard in his head when the man was at his window. He looked up at his father, his smile faltering slightly at seeing the look of udder horror on his pale face.

"Father?...Did I say something wrong?," he said in a panicked voice.

A riddle. A hidden threat. To him, and his family. Why? Why now of all times! He was snapped out of his thoughts by soft fingers.

"Father, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to anger you-"

"No son," His father interrupted, cutting off his apology. "I am not angry," He gave the blond a smile, in turn making the young boy smile as well.

Mihael turned his attention to the water, where a few fish were tickling his feet with their mouths. He giggled, and turned back to his father. "Are you going to play with me?" he asked, a hopeful glint in his blue eyes.

The man ruffled Mihaels hair before getting to his feet. "No son, I have business to attend to. Some other time, yes?"

The boy nodded, giving his father an understanding smile. His father returned it, giving him another pat on the head before walking back towards the house.
Leaving Mihael only to smile and stare after him, the smile slowly fading as his father walked the door, out of sight.

--

" Vladimir, you can't honestly believe that they're after us.." Mihael's mother was staring at her husband in shock.

Vladimir sighed as he paced the living room. " Esme..you heard what he said"

She sighed. " Mihael is only a boy..for all he knows he probably read that somewhere. Its been years, there is no way that he is suddenly going to come back "

"No!..." he ran a hand through his blond hair. "You heard what he said that night. He said he would be back, he would wait until we let our guard down, lead us into a false sense of security," he paused, turning to face his wife. "And strike when we least expect it..."

"All of us, Esme. All the Keehls. He swore it on his fallen mate's grave..." Vladimir continued. He drew in a quick breath, letting it out slowly. "Its revenge he's after And he's going to stop at nothing, until he sees the whole lot of us dead and rotting under six feet of packed earth!"

"Then why didn't he kill Mihael?!" Esme shouted. Tears were threatening to spill over. "Answer me that, Vladimir! If he wants us all dead, then why hasn't he killed him?! Obviously he could have! But he didn't, do you honestly think he'd spare him just because he's a child?!"

Vladimir stared at his wife. Honestly, he didn't know why the man hadn't killed his only son. Maybe he needed someone to pass along the threat? Possibly. The man was twisted. Using a child to deliver his threats. In riddle, Mihael wouldn't have a clue as to what the meaning of the simple sentence meant. Easy.

He sighed after a few long seconds. "He was probably using Mihael as a messenger..."

Esme choked on a sob. She brought her hands up to her eyes, covering them with her palms. "Oh, god!...it really is h-him!"

Vladimir wrapped his arms around his sobbing wife, pulling her in close. He kissed her forehead, and let his chin rest on top of her head. "We killed his mate. Did you expect him to just let this slide?" he whispered.

"No.." she managed to say between sobs. "Filthy Vampires(2)...w-why now?!...why did he choose now to make his move? I don't want Mihael to be hurt..."

The blond man ran his hands soothingly up and down his wife's back. "I do not know why he chose now to move...But I do have a plan"

Esme pulled back sharply staring at her husband expectantly. "A p-plan?...What plan?"

"A plan that will guarantee to spare at least two Keehls" he replied, eyes blank, all signs of fear, and emotion were gone. "I know for a fact that he has all this planned out. He won't strike until we are all gathered together in one place. What he doesn't know, is that we will be one step ahead of him. "

To his surprise, Esme smiled knowingly. "I see...So, we will plan this out accordingly as well?"

Vladimir nodded, returning the smile. "We shall wait until Mihael's fourteenth birthday. Knowing him, he will wait this out, gathering as many of those blood sucking leeches as he can before striking. This will be perfect for him. "

"And we can make sure Mihael is out of the house with someone we can trust..." Esme whispered. Sounding almost excited about the idea.

The blond haired man nodded again. "I know who we can trust...my youngest nephew. He will be a most suitable guardian."

Esme hugged her husband to herself, all traces of tears gone. She would be able to protect her son, and have him carry on the Keehl name. She was happy.

Vladimir placed a kiss to his wife's forehead. " So, you know what we have to do?"

She nodded, smile still in place. " Plan a party..."

--

1. - The song "Once Upon a December" is from the movie Anastasia, the setting of the movie centered around Russia, so I figured it would fit perfectly as a musical of sorts.

2. - If you can guess who the Vampire they're talking about is, kudos to you. It is one of the characters of Death Note. Here's a hint. "He has everything planned out" Three guesses who?

--

A/N: So this is the first chapter of Blood and Chocolate. Its a bit necessary to tell Mello's side of the story first so things make sense later.

I'm not a hundred percent sure if someone has done something like this already, if so, i'm sorry. I just had this idea of doing something like this after reading the Twilight series. Sooo...I hope you like it so far, The second chapter will be up fairly soon. Review plz, and tell me if I should continue or not. Cause if you guys don't like it, then I don't see the point in continuing.

Thanks for reading! - Review plz, yes?