Hey y'all! I appreciate the reviews I have so far. I apologize for any spelling errors and lapses in updates. I have a full-time job, a husband and a two year old to keep up with. This is a down-time thing mostly. Anyways, enjoy!

The day I met him, at the college of Winterhold. I had barely made it in time for the introduction speech, and breathless, I walked inside. Onmund regarded me queitly for a moment, then returned his attention to Tolfdir. Tolfdir tried to emphasize that this was a safe environment to practice magic, and his speech fell on deaf ears. I kept quiet, not used to being around other magic users.

Then Tolfdir zeroed in on me. "What do you think?" he asked. "You've been fairly quiet."

"I, uh, I mean, I t-think..." The group of students stared at me. I could feel my tan cheeks get hot. J'zargo kept his wide cat-grin while Brelyna and Onmund glanced at each other.

"I mean, that is, uh, practical! Something we can use?"

The group voiced their agreement and Tolfdir all but rolled his eyes. "Alright." I was as eager as the rest of the students. Growing up in Skyrim, I hadn't had a great time when people learned of my ability with magicka, especially Conjuration and Destruction, so naturally the Ward spell was great.

Afterwards I went to my "room," if you could call it that. Rooms usually had doors. What if someone saw me changing? Especially...Onmund? Or a teacher? I resolved to change in the wardrobe. I hoped I could fit.

I set my pack on the bed and sat down next to it and sighed. I heard someone clear their throat and looked up and saw Onmund.

"Hi, uh, just wanted to introduce myself," he started. "I'm Onmund. And you are...?"

"Kayla." I stood up and we clasped wrists.

"Kayla? What an odd name for an-"

"An Atmer? I know. It's not my real name."

"Oh?" Onmund raised an eyebrow. I prepared for the inevitable question of how I got my name, which would lead to where I was from, where I grew up, a conversation I have had and have prepared many scripted responses for.

"Well that's interesting. What schools do you favor?"

Wow. That was unexpected. "Uhm, Destruction and Conjuration...you?"

"Destruction and, between you and me?" He leaned in a bit and whispered "I know the Invisibility spell."

"No way! I've been trying for ages to learn that spell!"

He laughed, and the edges of my vision started to take on a red tinge. I shook my head, clearing my vision. At that point I began to feel itchy, but Onmund didn't notice and continued to talk.

"Did you see that Ancano character? He actually told me I was 'dismissed.' Who talks like that?"

I started coughing violently, feeling moisture in my hand. When i drew my hand away, there was blood in my palm. "Oh gods," I moaned, shaking. "Onmund, quick, get a healer!"

Onmund simply laughed, but it sounded too wheezy to be made by a healthy person. he doubled over, and when he stood straight up again, his eyes were red, face gaunt, and skin paler than it had been before.

"My dear," he hissed, revealing fangs, "There aren't enough healers in Skyrim to heal what you have."

He pounced on me and sank his teeth into my neck.

I awoke to my own screaming and Onmund yelling in surprise at the chair next to my bed. I shot backwards into the headboard of the bed against the wall, kicking at Onmund and screaming like a madwoman. Danica Pure-Spring bolted from the other room and attempted to calm me down. When she put her hands on my shoulders I felt calmer. I burst into tears and clung to Danica.

"Vampire," I wailed into Danica's tunic, "I dreamt he was a vampire!"

"Who, my child?" cooed Danica, her strong, familiar accent soothing my ears. She stroked my(most likely) unkempt and unwashed hair as I sobbed.

"On-Onmund!" I gasped for breath. "He had red eyes, and teeth, and lunged at me! I can't...handle..." I continued to sob into Dania's shoulder, wetting it with my tears and snot. I coughed and pulled away, wiping my nose with the front of my sleeping gown that she and Onmund had most likely dressed me in. I caught Onmund's hurt expression behind Danica, and studied his face as I sniffed and regained my composure. No fangs, and the same green eyes that could demand the truth from me, but were rimmed with red from no sleep and worry.

"See?" Danica purred. "He's fine. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Yes, I'm really thirsty." I shot a panicked look at Danica. "Am-"

"No, you're not. You're needing fluids. You've been out for days. All we could do was pour some water down your throat and hope it went down right." She grinned, and I saw the mischief in her eyes. The priestess handed me a tankard from the end table to my right.

"Drink up, and try to rest. Now that we know you are alright, I can go back to my temple duties. Onmund, I need to speak to for for a moment."

I settled back in the bed, and made a small show of losing my eyes and getting comfortable, but when the door was closed, I stepped lightly onto the floor, tiptoeing to the door.

I heard Onmund's voice. "How close were we?"

Danica replied "Very. I understand she makes her fortune roaming, but she needs to be more areful. She is more than capable of taking care of herself. I heard about The Dark Brotherhood, and know she is more organized. Where were her curing potions?"

"Things aren't so cut-and-dry when you're outside of these walls, Danica. You can only prepare so much."

"I suppose. Now, what about..." she hesitated. "The vampire thing?"

Onmund sighed. "It's difficult. She was raised as a Nord, has no idea what happened to her Altmer parents. Her adopted siblings and cousins would lock her out of the house at night while their parents were sleeping. She banged on the door once but they told her it was her own fault for not being as strong as them. She slept in the stables, until she learned how to pick locks.

Before that happened, she would hide herself in the hay in case any beasts came sniffing around. One night, one of the young women in the town brought her lover, a traveler, to the hayloft where they began to bed each other. When they reached climax, the woman tore the man apart with her bare hands and ate his flesh, drank his blood, only a few feet away from Kayla.

She left the bones where they lay and the townsfolk blamed it on bears. She told her adopted mother what had happened, and, being Nords, their first reaction was fear and anger. They tried to burn the woman out of her house, but she fled."

I stopped listening to the lie I had told Onmund. The truth was much, much worse than what I had said. I downed the water and fell into bed noisily and fell asleep.