Our horses ambled on slowly through the darkness. The slow pace was tortuous. My horse neighed and rose up on its two back legs, trying to shake me off. It had been a battle the entire ride to keep the thing from bucking me and trying to run off into the woods. I made it skittish, as if it knew what I was.

"Tell me again old friend, why we can't run?" I asked, staring down at my unwilling horse. The creature was giving me such a hard time, I had thought about killing it, just to put both of us out of our misery.

"Aren't you the one who is always prattling off about blending in with the humans? Bess doesn't know what I am yet. It's best to keep up the charade just a bit longer." John said as he led his horse just in front of me. "Besides, we are almost there."

I looked ahead and through the trees, I could see lights. I sighed. It was about time, I couldn't stand much longer on this horse. And as if the horse agreed with me, it neighed and shook its head. We rode out of the dark and into a dimly light courtyard illuminated by two burning torches. The Toads Wallop inn was quiet this time of night, all occupants inside seemingly asleep. Bess helped her father run the inn and it made them a comfortable living for the times. It was a well kept up place, the outside appeared to have been freshly whitewashed. I got down off my beast of burden and it turned its head to me and stuck out its tongue. I was awestruck for a moment and then I stuck mine back out at it and got my saddle bag off it and slapped it on the rear. It ran off towards the woods, its hooves kicking up dirt in my face.

"Why did you do that for?" Johns concerned voice reached me as he got down off his own horse.

"I don't think it liked me much." I said, watching the horse disappear into the the woods.

"Don't be crazy, animals don't know that much to care about who is riding them." John bent down and picked up a small stone from the ground. He threw it lightly at an upstairs window and waited. When nothing happened, he picked up another stone and lobbed it, it hit the window a bit harder and this time we could see the faint cast of a candle moving closer to the window. The window opened and out leaned Bess.

Her pale skin glinted in the faint light, her dark black eyes searching out the darkness before she caught sight of us. Her black curly hair tumbled loose past her shoulders and out the window, softly blowing in the wind and I detected a light scent sweeping down from her that made the back of my throat burn. She had small, delicate features set in her pale oval face and underneath her eyes, purple shadows lingered. I was taken aback by her beauty and if I hadn't know otherwise by her delectable scent I would have guessed her to be a vampire. Her simple white nightgown strained against her large bosom as she leaned out, waving to us. A large smile upon her face.

John thrust the reigns to his horse roughly at me. "Hold this for a second." He scaled up a lattice of roses that clung to the wall and was in her window in no time at all.

I watched, embarrassingly as he pushed her back against her bedroom wall and kissed her, his hand moving through her hair before he trailed it over her neck and down her chest and then down where I could not see it anymore. I sighed and turned my head to give them some privacy. I could hear my horse nearby, crunching on some grass. It hadn't ran too far off.

"I'll be back tomorrow, my love. I promise. And then we will leave to be together. I promise you that." I heard him talking to her and I was further embarrassed to have been cursed with a vampires keen hearing. This was a private moment and I couldn't help but overhear it.

I heard the rustle of leaves and old wood creaking. I turned around and I watched as John smoothly climbed back down the lattice. He was beaming.

"That, my dear friend, is Bess. The love of my life." He said as he turned to wave to her. "Isn't she beautiful? And her lips, dear God. I could spend forever kissing those lips."

I chuckled. "Well then, it's a good thing you just might have forever then, isn't it?" I patted him on the back.

"Oh Carlisle my friend, you need to find you a good woman. You've gone too long without one," he said as he mounted his horse. He held his hand out for me. "Come on, let's go to London. I've got some business affairs to carry out."

I shook my head at him, I had had enough of horses for one night. "I'll race you there." But I was already gone before the words even left my mouth, leaving behind a befuddled John. I blurred through the woods racing toward London, trying to get the way John had kissed Bess out of my mind.