Okay, thanks to the following:
Raging Raven- Glad you enjoyed it!
Sj61- Thanks, I'll definitely be continuing this one!
Dorchadas- Glad I caught your attention, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
Thanks for all who reviewed! On with the story and don't forget to please review!
3 years Later
Ten year old Lydiana stood in front of the mirror and smoothed down her pale yellow sundress, making sure that all of the creases were removed. Satisfied with how she looked, she slipped into her shoes before heading down the stairs to join the rest of her family. Isabella was the first one to turn and look at her, and as soon as she did, her face dropped into a warm smile and she stepped forward to place an arm around her shoulders. Elena was the next to see and immediately started crying deep red tears, claiming how her baby was all grown up now. Lydiana said nothing, just caught eyes with Eric, who was standing on the other side of the room and shared an eye roll with him that had them both smiling afterwards. Godric noticed this and playfully frowned at the pair of them, which only succeeded in making them smile even more, and also caused Lydiana to hide her face behind her hand as she fought not to laugh out loud at the situation. Elena noticed the interaction and was quick to gently cuff her daughter lightly on her arm. Lydiana smiled up at her and wrapped her arms round her waist in apology. Godric stepped forward and cleared his throat, signalling for everyone to listen to him.
"We will be leaving momentarily. If you could all go and wait by the door..."
He indicated with his hand, and everyone moved towards the direction. As Lydiana moved to pass him, he gently took hold of her arm, silently telling her to stay back. She nodded and stopped, and when everyone had left, she looked up at his light blue eyes with a look of curiosity shining in her own eyes. Godric said nothing, just turned her so that her back was facing him. She became more confused, but suddenly gasped when something brushed her neck. Before she had time to react, she realised that it was a necklace, and Godric had just put it on her. She looked down and smiled but then frowned as she caught the smell of something burning. She looked back at Godric just in time to see the burn marks fade from his pale skin, and her eyes widened as she realised the necklace was made of silver.
"Godric! Why did you burn yourself?"
"I wanted to put it on you. Happy birthday" he said with a soft smile on his face.
Lydiana looked down at the necklace and gently held it in between her small fingers; tracing along the delicate ivy weaved in and out to create a star shaped pendant. She blinked back tears of happiness as she stepped forwards and flung herself at him with a small squeal, hugging him as tightly as she could in thanks. Godric chuckled before gently peeling her off him.
"Let's not keep everyone waiting, shall we?"
Lydiana nodded and walked a few steps in front of him, eager to show her new necklace off to the rest of her family. Just as she reached the door that led to the hallway, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled back. She let out a small yelp, but Godric placed a hand on her mouth before bending to whisper in her ear.
"Run to your room. Do not come out until one of us comes for you. Go, now"
Not quite understanding what was happening, Lydiana nodded slightly bemusedly before running back to her bedroom. Just as she reached the door, she heard the sound of a door crashing open, and could hear people shouting and screaming. Panicking, she ran even faster and flung herself into the first door she came across, slamming the door behind her. She turned round to hide under the bed and the first thing she realised was that she was in Godric's room. She could see the gentle colours of the walls and bedding, along with one of his shirts lying on the bed. She smiled slightly but heard a noise from behind her and immediately dove under the bed, just as the door opened behind her and two pairs of legs came into view.
"No vampires in here. Check the next room." Came a deep male voice
"How many have been killed so far?" the other person responded, another male with a slightly higher voice.
"Three so far, but there are at least another twenty around from what I've been told."
Lydiana's blood ran cold hearing that. Three vampires dead, what if one was her mother? Or Isabel? Or even Godric? She covered her mouth before the two men could hear her frightened gasp, and waited silently, praying that they would leave soon. To her relief, they left shortly after, but she was still too afraid to leave her position from under the bed. She waited for a few more minutes, and froze again when the door opened and somebody else came in.
"Lydiana?"
She let out a sigh of relief. Stan. She climbed out from under the bed, running up to him and burying her head in his chest. She didn't notice the fact that he took a deep breath as she did so, making his fangs to slide out, nor did she notice the hungry look he was giving her. She did however, notice that he had fresh blood on his white shirt. She took a step back, suddenly noticing his fangs.
"You smell so delicious" he growled as his eyes darkened with bloodlust.
He lurched forward and grasped Lydiana by the neck, plunging his teeth into her neck as she let out a loud scream, but his plan didn't exactly go how he was expecting. He let out a roar of pain and released Lydiana as his mouth descended directly onto her new silver necklace. Lydiana wasted no time in racing out of the door and running towards the last place she'd seen everyone heading; the front door. She flung it open and immediately screamed as a pair of arms shot out and grasped her tightly. A silver knife shot out and cut her neck right by the bite marks left behind by Stan, causing her to cry out in pain. Tears of fear began to collect in her eyes and she screamed for help. Almost immediately, the person holding her released her and she found herself being engulfed in a pair of arms and being lifted off the ground. All she saw was a lock of blond hair fall in front of her vision and she wrapped her arms round Eric's neck, too afraid to say or do anything else. Eric held her tightly to him, not sure of what to do next. He could smell the blood on her neck, which was making his own bloodlust rage out of control. He saw Godric at a distance and ran over to him at vampire speed, handing Lydiana to him without speaking before disappearing off in the other direction.
Godric stood there with Lydiana in his arms, a startled expression on his face. He hadn' t been expecting that at all. He suddenly caught the smell of blood on her, and gently pulled her red hair away from her neck. As soon as his eyes caught sight of the two puncture wounds in her neck alongside the fresh knife wound, he started shaking with anger, furious that any member of his nest would do such a thing to the small human they all considered family, especially with the knowledge that she was directly under his protection, effectively making her his by default.
"Lydiana, look at me."
The scared child looked up at him, tears still staining her cheeks.
"Who bit you?" he asked, trying not to reveal the anger he was feeling in his tone of voice.
"Stan" she whispered timidly.
Godric turned his head away as his fangs snapped out. If Stan had've been standing in front of him at that moment in time, he wouldn't have been there for very long. Not in one piece anyway. Godric turned his attention back to Lydiana and he cradled her closely to him. Eventually, the sounds of shouting died down from the nest, and Eric called out that it was safe for him to come back. As soon as he arrived, he instantly knew that something terrible had happened. For one, Isabel was slowly healing from a particularly large wound on her front, and there was no sign of either Elena or Stan.
"Where are Elena and Stan?" he asked.
Before anyone had time to answer, a human came round the corner, holding Elena hostage with a small silver chain wrapped round her neck. He said nothing, just smirked before raising a stake above his head and plunging it into Elena's back, not even caring that less than a second later, he was lying on the floor dead as Eric slid behind him in outrage. Lydiana looked up just in time to see the look of terror appear on her mother's face. She screamed so loudly, Godric winced and accidentally let go of her, allowing her to scramble forward. She had almost reached Elena when she was pulled back by Godric, who had composed himself once again. She struggled against him, but he wasn't moving, and pulled her into him, holding her head so that she couldn't see her mother fall apart in front of her and eventually disintegrate into a grotesque mess on the floor. Lydiana began to sob hysterically, not even noticing that Godric had begun to carry her back to the nest. The next thing she knew, she had fallen into a deep sleep, her body unable to keep her awake any longer.
