Disclaimer: I don't own "Kingdom of Heaven".

Snake Charmer

The first thing that Aislinn Slane felt was warmth as awareness slowly came back. Her world was still dark, and she felt like she'd been through hell and back.

'Nguargh' She tried to stretch, but her body felt like it belonged to an old woman's, not a twenty four year old woman's.

"Shhhh, easy there now Miss."

That voice! It was musical and soothing, like velvet or honey. She wanted to see what kind of face could have such a beautiful voice.

With an effort, Aislinn wrenched her eyes opened and blinked. Once, twice, three times.

She was in an unfamiliar apartment with a stranger and panic set in. The young woman tried to sit up, but the speaker gently held her down.

"You're hurt, don't try to move so fast." Aislinn looked up to see a young man maybe a few years older then she herself. And he was drop dead gorgeous. Tall and lean, with shoulder-length blonde hair and ice-blue eyes.

Aislinn was momentarily struck dumb by his beauty. The panic grew stronger as her memories of the assult came flooding back to her and she realized she was trapped with some random stranger. Her muscles yelled in pain as she lurched unsteadily upright, trying to stand and defend herself. The handsome stranger blinked in surprise as she swatted his hand away and swayed on her feet.

"Keep away from me…or else!"

"Miss, you're hurt. Please sit down, I swear, I won't hurt you. Look." Baldwin gestured to the Motrin bottle, glass of water, and icepack he'd put on the coffee table. '

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously."W-what the hell happened to me? Was that guy on drugs or something? He had fucking fangs and he bit my wrists and shit! Was it some kinda cult thing?" She threw her questions at Baldwin, rapid-fire.

Baldwin inwardly sighed. For some reason, the vampiric powers don't work with those born with the Sight. He could either tell her the truth, or lie to her. But if he lied to her, she could still be in danger. The rebel clans would soon know that one of their own had been killed and would seek revenge on both Baldwin and this young girl. The truth had its own dangers, but Baldwin would be better equipped to protect her if she knew.

"No, no drugs or cult."

"You're shitting me. There's no natural explanation for why he had friggin' vampire fangs. And how would you know, anyway? Who the hell are you?"

"My apologies. My name is Baldwin Harrison, I'm a playwright. Currently the playwright for 'The Masked King.' "Baldwin's lips curved up in a crooked smile as he held out his hand.

"I'm Aislinn Slane, feature dancer for Café Fiagaro and currently trying to make it as an actress. Saw your show last month, thought it was great. My history buff friend was amazed at the detail you put into it." Aislinn shook it, still taking in his model-like features.

"Thank you…I try."

"But Mr. Harrison, you still didn't answer my question about the freak with the fangs or how you came to my aid so quickly." Her sharp eyes looked directly into Baldwin's own.

He sighed. Moment of truth. "You already answered it."

"Ummm, how? I just mentioned that he had like, vampire teeth…oh. Oh no. You're telling me that he was a friggin' vampire?" Aislinn started to laugh. She kept laughing for a few more minutes but stopped abruptly when she noticed he wasn't laughing.

"You're not seriously going to tell me that you believe in vampires."

"Why not? There are more things in heaven and Earth then dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio. And look at your wounds-what normal human could do that with only their bicuspids? " Baldwin hoped she wouldn't loose her mind when she realized that this was all true. That would be an utter disaster.

She snorted. "Alright Mr.Harrison. I'll play along. If he was some sort of mythical bloodsucking creature, then how could you tell? Are you some kinda modern Van Helsing?"

Baldwin's eyes glowed and his fangs descended. "Not really. I'm more like...oh, more like Edward Cullen."