Aldon dances around Balandria's room, flapping his arms and shaking his booty. Oh, she couldn't resist making him do that. Even if no one reviewed it was still a treat for you all.

Balandria: So, would any of you like to read the disclaimer?

She meets blank stares and sighs.

Balandria: Oh, come on.

Aldon: Er, Balandria--

Balandria: It's Mother Goose, to you.

Callia chuckles and Aldon glares.

Aldon: Mother Goose, did you put us in a ghost town, or something?

Balandria: Why do you ask?

Aldon: Because, despite the fact that you say that there are numerous beings and people roaming the streets of this town, you never talk about anyone else. It's only us three--well, four, counting you, I guess.

Balandria: I suppose. (she studies her nails, superiorly)

Aldon: Does this town even have a name?

Balandria: Why, yes it does.

Aldon stares expectantly.

Balandria: It's name is Untitled. Just like your name at first because I couldn't give a flying fart about who the hell you were. Until I wrote this, of course.

Aldon: But you wrote my part in first per--!

Callia: So, you're saying that you didn't name our town.

Balandria: No, really. I named it Untitled. Catchy, ain't it?

Aldon: Oh, for the love of--.

The figure in the corner with glowing red eyes: Balandria owns nothing. Don't sue her.

Balandria: See, now he is a trooper.

Aldon rolls his eyes, and sits back to read.

--------------------

Kael, crouched in the depths of a tree, sighed. He should have gotten used to this. It wasn't like it was the first time something like this happened. In fact, it happened every time.

He watched the window with scorn. They couldn't see him but he could see them. That was the way of the world when you were a vampire looking in on the world of humans, but he was used to it. The superior feeling he'd felt so long ago dulled with experience. It was especially important every time he did this. Every time...sometimes he wondered why he did do this. Why didn't he just give up? Accept that the cycle will continue going the way it has for centuries if he intervenes. Especially because he couldn't see her die. Not again. He always thought that, thought that it was too much for him to handle each time. Yet, he kept looking and it kept happening.

Was he an idiot because of that? Sometimes, he certainly thought so. But he couldn't imagine his eternity of life without her.

It was too late to think stupid thoughts like she wouldn't die the second time around. When she died her first time, it just happened to be a fluke how she died. But it wasn't and he was ridiculous for entertaining the notion.

Kael really did want to leave this moment, though. Nothing was happening, but he might hurt someone. Most definitely not her. So it would be the blond one, then. The one who was holding her so close to him, getting to be with her when it really should have been him. It should have been him the first time.

Sighing, he left the tree. He'd come back at nightfall. He'd speak to her.

***

He followed her on her way to the store. There were many alleyways on the streets of this town, and for that, he was glad for. He needed to speak to her in private. Somehow, a quiet room didn't seem private so he needed to go with a dark alley near midnight. Every time he showed up for her, every cycle, she reacted differently. She was unpredictable and he needed all the space he could get so no one would get suspicious that, oh, someone was being murdered or something.

And he liked the circumstances. He hadn't seen her--face-to-face--in so long.

She looked absolutely breathtaking, as always. The reason why so many men, so long ago, had tried to get her for themselves. He, of course, was one of those men. And he should have been the lucky one. He was, in a way. But Kael didn't really win her. Not really.

The modern times worked for her, he decided. She wore her long naturally highlighted bronze hair almost down to her hips. He remembered her eyes, teal with flecks of silver. Her light skin the faintest shade of gold. Her small frame, with womanly curves. And her small smile that, no matter how small or quiet, lit up the room where ever she went. She was a prize, but also a person of her own. She was confident and spoke up if she needed to. While her smile was quiet the way that she acted and carried herself spoke volumes. That may have been more common in the modern times but he still respected her.

Kael was sure that that boy who was with her earlier knew what a prize she was, too, and he damn well knew that he wasn't worthy. He saw the expression on the boy's face. The boy was still in shock and awe and wonder that she was with him. Kael hoped to god that the boy didn't take her virginity. Now that would be something odd. He assumed the best and hoped that the boy hadn't, though.

He saw his oppurtunity as she walked home, a small bag of groceries in hand. She was far from people at this point. Just lone roads with deep valleys that hid everything. He couldn't believe she was out at night alone in the first place. The night was one of the most dangerous times for a human like her. He groaned inwardly. Do parents teach their kids nothing about safety these days?

Still, it was convenient for him, so he, in a blink, had her in the alley, groceries flung into the depths of the alley, forgotten.

Kael made sure not to hurt her but she reacted as if he'd slapped her. "What the hell? Get off of me!" And she started struggling with him.

Gritting his teeth, he pinned her arms to the wall, fists gripped around her wrists and body pressed close to hers. She stopped moving as much.

"Let me go." Her voice was a dead calm.

Even angry and scared, her voice was like beautiful music to him. He wondered if she felt what he felt when their skin touched. He wondered if she would know.

"Callia." Kael breathed. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't." And he couldn't. Love made him blind to reason. It had ever since he met her, all those centuries ago.

He heard her swallow thickly. "How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember me?" He released his grip on on of her wrists to reach up and brush her cheek. He felt like his whole being was being pulled by some magnetic force, like his soul wanted to mesh with hers.

She felt it, too, he arm he released she could have tried to attack him with but she stayed still, slightly quivering.

But she stubbornly shook her head slightly and tried to stay calm.

"You don't remember me, Princess?" he heard an almost inaudible intake of air--a gasp, probably. "I remember you. I remember when we first met. You danced with me, and I was so attracted to you. But, then, who isn't?" He grinned, grimly amused. Who didn't find her attractive?

"I'm sorry. You must have me mistaken for someone else. Can I go now?" She asked, trying for some kind of reprieve.

Kael just laughed. "Is there another Callia I should know about? In this town? Do you need a light to figure it out, Callia? I can give you one."

She nodded curtly. Probably just agreeing with whatever the crazy stranger wanted so she could get the hell away.

Kael dug into his pocket and emerged with a lighter. He flicked it on, between Kael and Callia and watched the shock and amazement show on her face. His mouth twisted in to a smile. A happy, bitter, longing smile.

Only a glimmer of the amazement remained on her face a moment later. He stepped a small amount away as she sunk to the ground, hands covering her face, shaking her head. "No. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I am seeing things. That's lovely. I am fucking hallucinating." Her head popped up for a moment. "Or maybe I'm asleep." She glanced warily at Kael for a brief second and shook her head. "It would make sense if I was."

"You aren't." He disagreed softly. "You aren't asleep. You're wide awake, Callia." But she just kept shaking her head.

"No, I'm asleep. You'd want me to think that I'm awake. Ugh, I didn't know that my imagination was getting that sick and twisted." Callia groaned.

Kael knelt down in front of her and took her hands away replacing them with his hands. He cupped her cheeks with his palms and smiled at her. "This isn't a dream, Callia. I promise that you're awake." He stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Please believe me. I need you to believe me."

She studied him for a few minutes, experimentally touching his face, checking if he wasn't just a hologram. She settled back into her crouching position with a frown.

Finally she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fuck it. Whatever. I believe you. But I swear to god that if I wake up in a few minutes, I'm never going to fall asleep again. I'll figure out a way to do that." She frowned defiantly even though what she was suggesting was idiotic. She probably knew it, too.

"Callia?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "What?"

"Can I hold you?"

Her eyes snapped open but she grinned. "Men are so old fashioned, sometimes. Just do what your impulse tells you to do."

Kael wasn't about to do that.

But he did pull her gently into his embrace, kissing her forehead softly and whispering things to her that only covered a small fraction of how he felt.

Callia relaxed in his arms almost immidiately. He knew that she did remember him from her dreams--like she always did.

He swept his lips across her cheeks, feeling dizzy with love and passion. Everytime he found her again, he couldn't believe that he'd lived so long without this feeling. The feeling that he belonged somewhere and that someone loved him. Even if she didn't now, she would. It was inevitable. She couldn't not fall in love with him. Just like after all this years he couldn't bear the thought of forgetting her, her sweet voice, her loving manner, and the soft eyes that watched him as much as his crimson eyes followed her.

Kael sighed dreamily, feeling so blissful, even on the dirty alley ground, with Callia cradled against them. The silver cord wrapped snuggly around them.

***

Callia tensed. Then she shot to her feet like a bullet. "No, I can't do this."

Kael narrowed his eyes and glared at the sky. This always happened and he hated every minute of it. He brought his gaze back to the lovely Callia again and he felt cold inside. Like someone had poured cold water into his bloodstream. She always had guilt because she always had someone when he found her. He was always second because of this.

"Callia," he murmured, "do you want me to leave?" Unfairly, he used reverse psychology which seemed to work on her.

"No,no. I-I'm sorry. Kael." She fixed her beautiful teal eyes with his blood-red ones. They were so different yet they belonged together. He understood. Fate worked in odd ways but she was his drug.

A chill went through him from the way she said his name.

Kael. The way she said it, so softly and quietly, she said it like a prayer. Pleading him to help her figure something out.

"Kael. I..I have a boyfriend. One who really loves me and I can't leave him." She gave a short laugh. "Especially not for you."

That hit him like a ton of bricks. "Why not me?"

"Well, if my dreams serve me right, you're a vampire." She stated, no fear in her voice any longer. She had some fear issues, obviously.

"Yes, and?"

"And, well, my boyfriend would be pissed if I left him for a vampire because I'm pretty sure one of his darkest fears--which he probably thought was the most ridiculous--is that I'd leave him for one."

"That's a fairly detailed fear." Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I, um, I'd rather not discuss it now." She said nervously and sat down again, not so close to him this time.

"Mmm? No time like the present." He persisted.

Callia huffed. "I swear. I must get the whole pouty persistent thing from spending too much time with you in my dreams. You weren't always so intruding."

Kael shrugged and watched her with a smile.

She groaned. "I'm obsessed with vampires, alright? Happy, now?"

He nodded. "Oh, yes. Indeed, I am."

Kael thought that that trait must have come from when her parents hosted a ball specifically for the vampire suitors. Or maybe she just liked vampires by coincidence.

She looked at him in wonder. "Are all the other vampires in my dreams real, too?" She asked him and he blanched. He wasn't sure if her dreams were all memory.

"It depends on who they are." He answered vaguely.

She nodded. "Right. Not important."

It was just past midnight at that moment, and Callia looked up at him solemnly. "I'm not sure what to do. I only just met you, Kael."

He moved closer and cupped her chin. "But you've known me for much longer. Longer than you've known your boy. Longer than you've known your current life."

Callia was obviously puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Those dreams weren't just dreams, Callia. They were real. They happened. It was so far back from now." He smiled. "So many centuries ago."

"I still don't get it."

"Do you want to continue discussing your lives while sitting in an alley?" He asked, unwilling to keep her here.

She glared at him.

He continued. "Which is my fault, yes, but that isn't the point."

"I should get back home--Hey! I forgot about the damn groceries!" Callia sighed. "I must have dropped my bag. Fuck it. I'll go again tomorrow."

"Alright. Would you like to return to your home, then?"

"Yeah, I'm going. But you owe me five bucks. Got it?"

He nodded with a grin. "Sure."

"You aren't following me, are you?" She asked tentatively.

"Just following my impulses."

She snorted. "Last time I give advice."

"You act like you don't want me to follow you home." Kael wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to her house.

"How do you know where my house is?" Accusations blunt on her voice.

"I've been there before. Not inside, mind you. Got a good view of your boy and you in bed this morning." He said, only half-teasingly. It still pissed him off.

"Well," Callia stated nonchalantly, "he is my boyfriend and you are not. Therefore, he is allowed in my bed. And you are not."

They walked in silence, Kael faintly amused, Callia with a bewildered look on her face. Kael could sense other night creatures prowling the streets, hidden in the shadows away from the street lamps. He made sure that he was close to Callia in case he needed to protect her. But not many creatures dared to attack him.

Kael really didn't mind it when she scurried to the door, seeming to want to get away from him. His main focus was to keep her safe. Nothing else mattered right now than her safety.

Callia pulled him upstairs to her bedroom, but pointed her to a computer chair while she rested on her bed.

"Explain." Her voice was muffled by the blankets.

Kael was slightly reluctant to tell her the truth of the cycles, but he decided that it was best. She could take it. Despite her orders, he strayed from the chair and sat down on the bed, beside her, stroking her long hair.

"Will you promise to believe me," he asked, "no matter what?"

She looked up momentarily to show a fierce glare. "Of course."

"Remember you said that." He told her.

Kael took a deep breath.

"It was very long ago, when vampires were still known in the world. We were kept separate from the humans. I suppose you could have called us upper-class, though it might have shocked you. Vampires are meant to be horrible monsters, right? Vampires can live longer and don't need much to survive, so we obviously made more money than the human entrepreneurs. In your time you were, as your dreams revealed, a princess. You grew up, of course, in a world with vampires. After a while, you were to be married. They had two separate balls for you--one for humans and the other for vampires. I was obviously a part of the latter." He smiled a little.

"You looked like you were having so much fun that night. Dancing with all your suitors, smiling and chatting with the female vampires. I'm fairly certain that only you, your parents--the King and Queen, and one other were the only humans there that night." Kael was still troubled by that fact. That one other. He hated it. "We danced, and I was taken with you. Really, and believe me that if it were any other girl than you I would never say this, but, it was love at first sight for me. For you...well, it was love at first few dances." He paused and smiled, brushing his fingers across the smooth and warm skin on the back of her neck.

"What do you mean?" Came Callia's muffled response.

This was the harder part to explain. "Why do you feel so relaxed with me? You've only met me not much longer than an hour before. And I pushed you into an alley." He was hoping she'd come to the earthshattering conclusion with just a few nudges in the right direction without having to say it himself.

Her shoulders lifted a fraction then dropped. "I don't know. Maybe it's because I believe you so far--about the dream thing. That whole alley thing, by the way? Yeah, please don't do that again. I thought I'd be mugged, raped, killed, or all of the above.

"But, I don't understand why I am...Well, to be honest, I'm not very relaxed on my own will. I'm just tired. I feel like I know you, though. And I do. Sort of, right?" Callia raised her head for a moment to get his nod and returned to the Land Of The Oxygen Deprived.

"That's the thing, though. I know you, but, I also remember feeling that way when I first met you. I remember that you in a," she paused, and Kael could feel embarrassment radiating from her like waves, "certain light. Like you were better than everyone else. That you were smarter, stronger, kinder, crueler when you needed to be, faster, better at everything than anyone else--human and vampire, alike. And if you weren't, I accepted those traits. I felt they were endearing. You didn't need to be the best, you weren't going for perfection. I just felt like you knew me too. Like you understood me like no one ever had. My dreams are pretty vivid."

Callia sighed. "I just felt like I needed to be with you. To have you with me. I felt that if I didn't, I'd be lost." She laughed. "All that in just mere hours. I'd say you made a lasting impression on my first life. In an odd way, because of these facts, I trust you. Which is weird, because, as you'd said, you did push me into that damn alley and make me waste five dollars."

Kael had listened word for word of her speech. Callia had only had four lives before this. She'd never been so honest or...detailed. But he knew that she had felt that way about him from the--almost--very beginning. She was right, he did understand her.

She laughed. "Sorry for the speech. It was just hard to explain. Why did you ask, though?"

He swallowed. "I need to tell you something important, Callia. I know that you might not believe me, but I need you to try."

"I've believed everything so far."

"I understand, but, you were there for most of the part of my story. This is...this is something very different."

"Just tell me, Kael." Callia demanded.

He hesitated but she looked up at him, interest in her eyes. There was nothing he could lose, he supposed. Except for, well, her trust maybe.

"I've told you that vampires are real. I'm here, so that's proof enough. But what I didn't tell you is that we have a sort of secret society, I guess you could call it. A world of our own, where we separate ourselves from humans but live in harmony with them at the same time." He shrugged.

"A secret society?" Inquiring, she slowly sat up and listened closely.

"Yes. But vampires aren't the only members. There are shapeshifters--creatures that can become animals, the form passed down through blood. There are witches, too. Not the kind from fairy tales, but ones that are closer to Wiccans than anything else. There are other things, unexplainable, that I'd never be able to describe to you, really. We all live around the world, though, intermingling with humans even if we are so separate from them. Some creatures stay away from humans, holding on to their beliefs that we are superior. This society that I'm telling you about--my world--is called the Night World."

-----------------------

Kael: You aren't going to crack some bad jokes, are you?

Balandria: Of course not. Of course not...

Kael settles back into his chair, looking relieved.

Balandria: I'd just like to tell you that if it weren't for the fact that you are in my Night World fanfic, I would have made you one of the gentry.

Callia nods: Your name does have a fairy-ish ring to it.

Balandria: See?

Kael glares in bafflement (is that a word?(probably not) oh well).

Callia stares through your computer screen with her large teal eyes: Please review. We'd love to know what you think of us.

Balandria: That'a girl. See Kael? She knows how to schmooze.

Kael sighs, and Balandria grins.

Balandria enjoys torturing her characters.