A/N: This chapter itself doesn't actually contribute to the story's plot, but it does explain about the traditions and cultures of the "cat vampire." Also, I felt like doing something Halloween related, so think of this as a special or a filler chapter. Special thanks to my friend Eureka, for coming up with the name of this chapter! ;3

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MPOV:

Fall. The season where the leaves turn into beautiful shades of red and brown, the smell of pumpkin pastries and other mouthwatering foods baking fresh in the oven, friends and family gathering together to cherish life, laugh, have fun, and in my case...another reminder of the great memories I had with my parents back in Paris...

I sighed, lowering the book I was reading. I was sitting in a large velvet armchair in the castle's library. I could hear the quiet and stillness of the castle consume me, the dusty books, stacked thirty feet high on tall oak bookshelves, blurred my vision. The low light of the melting candle on the old coffee table just added insult to injury. As I rubbed my temples to subside my headache, my eye caught attention to an old painting of a family hung up in the far corner of the library...Adrien's family? I squinted at it. I swore I've examined every inch of this place, why hadn't I seen this before? I stood up, taking the candle with me, and came closer to the painting.

It was an image of three people—cat vampires. The paint itself was crumbling and fading yet, I could still tell who they were. After all, they were the parents of the one I love...

I took in the father's cold ice blue eyes, his light gray cat ears high and alert. In contrast with Adrien's father, his mother looked like a very kindhearted woman, her light blonde hair softly curled, her beige cat ears perked up cheerfully. I smiled to myself as my eyes trailed to a younger version of Adrien. His pale hair was tousled, one of his cat ears perked up in a curiously adorable way. Surely he must've only been about 10 years old.

I touched the painting gently, my fingers traveling down to some written words. "La Agreste Famille" I read out loud. The Agreste family. Hmm. There was a date written tightly right under. My eyes widened in shock. This must have been a mistake...the date clearly says this painting was made in 1689, but that was over a hundred years ago! I rubbed my eyes. Maybe I was seeing things. But then I remembered that cat vampires had more than one life, this must be Adrien's second life. "Interesting" I muttered to myself.

I jumped and let out a yelp at the sudden grasp of warm hands on my shoulder. Behind me, the voice of a boy began chortling. I didn't even hear him come in the room. I groaned, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "Really Adrien?!" I exclaimed. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop startling me like that?" He stopped laughing to lightly plant a kiss on my cheek. "I'm truly sorry purrincess, I didn't mean to startle you, I just can't help but walk really quietly sometimes." He shrugged, giving me a small smile. "I guess it's just part of my nature." Adrien looked over at the painting I was looking at. "I guess you found my family portrait" He said softly. I moved my gaze towards him. He was still smiling, but his eyes were glazed over, fresh tears pricking in them. I reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. "You must really miss your family, huh?"

He nodded, briskly wiping off the tears running down his face. "No matter...I'll see them again one day, probably in a few hundred years or so." He brushed the topic off. I stared at him, my eyes wide in concern. I never realized that he would indeed have to wait hundreds of years for his life to be over. "Uh...Adrien" I stuttered. "I've been in here millions of times before, but I have never seen this painting. Did you just hang it up or something?" He turned to me. "What day is it today, Mari?" He sounded quite serious. What did that have to do with anything? "Uh...October 31st?" I answered cautiously. "Exactly." He turned back to the painting, a satisfied expression on his face.

What the heck did that even mean?

"Care to explain?" I asked, a little annoyed. Adrien held up his hands in defense. I raised my eyebrows. He sighed dropping his hands in defeat. Taking my hand, he started pulling me toward the center of the library, away from the painting. He walked over to one of the ten huge oak bookshelves and snatched a fairly large, heavy book. The cover was encased in dust, the pages yellow and curled at the corners. He blew the dust away, causing me to sneeze. "Bless you". "Thanks" I said, sniffing. Adrien set the book on the old coffee table and began flipping through the pages, causing a satisfying sound of crinkling paper. He stopped right near the middle of the book. The title read Cattoween - The Holiday of the Cat Vampire.

"Surely you have heard about Hallows' Eve before?" He inquired, glancing at me. I slowly nodded my head. I loved to read, so I did happen to come across the fact that Hallows' Eve is an old Celtic holiday dedicated to remembering the dead and to ward off any devils and monsters. "So Cattoween is basically like Hallows' Eve?" I asked. Adrien chuckled. "Sort of, but we have a different perspective of traditions in this holiday, since you know, we are the monsters." I playfully pushed him. "Adrien, you're not a monster, you are just misunderstood." I said, laughing along with him. He gave me a genuine smile. "If only every human out there thought the same."

He turned his attention back to the book. "Anyways, Cattoween is a holiday for cat vampires to get together with their family and friends, talk about our lives, have a feast, and plan our next move." Plan our next move? "What do you mean by the last part?" I asked suspiciously. Adrien slapped his forehead. "Shit...I wasn't supposed to say that!" He muttered. Okay. Now I know for sure he was keeping something from me. He looked away guiltily. That's it, I couldn't stand these secrets anymore. "Adrien, look at ME!!!" I cried. I grabbed him by the shoulders and faced him to me. "Look. At. Me." I whisper shouted. He slowly dragged his guilt filled eyes towards mine and sighed again. "I guess it's time for you to learn the truth." He flipped a page in the book. A drawing of a cat vampire with a human stood...the cat vampire...it's fangs were bared ready to bite the human. The description read The Blood Drawl. I gasped.

"A-Adrien what i-is this?" I asked shakily. He looked at me, I can see the regretful tears forming in his eyes. He blinked, the tears ran down his face and dissolved onto the stone floor. Before I could say anything, he pulled me close, embracing me. "I should have told you the truth! You deserve the right to know..." I hugged him back, still confused. "What exactly is that picture?" He let go of me. Breathing in deeply he said, "Every Cattoween, we go into the villages of Paris disguised as our cat selves and perform a ritual called "the blood drawl". Adrien's face was paler than usual as he was saying this. "The Blood Drawal is when we take the blood of humans for an annual blood renewal. This is done by biting the neck of a human being."

I looked at him in horror. "B-But why?" He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. Shaking his head, he replied, "Us cat vampires can go savage if we don't have a little human blood running through our veins, that's the only way to put it. Also..." he said solemnly, turning to me. "Some of my kind enjoy the taste of blood." He took a moment to exhale. Wait a minute...if cat vampires can't go a full year without human blood, how is it that Adrien himself didn't go savage? He seemed to catch my confusion because he quickly mumbled, "errhmm...yeah. I sort of go to your village every Cattoween for the blood drawl." I can see him nervously rub his neck.

I was absolutely mortified. This was the reason why I never see him on the 31st! Of all the years I have lived in this castle, I still don't know many things about Adrien. What other secrets has he been hiding from me? I inhaled deeply and let it out. "How many people have you bitten" I numbly asked. He looked to the floor. "Maybe like...three people. But..." He looked up to face me. "I've never bitten you. I could have if I wanted too, but I didn't...I don't know why, but even then there was something about you that was just so innocent and pure..." He trailed off, his eyes glanced in mine expectantly.

I really didn't know what to say. I was furious at him for lying to me, especially with something as shocking as that. After a moment I spoke. Pointing a finger in his chest, I announced, "You are not going out tonight for the blood drawl." He looked at me annoyingly. "Marinette, don't you see? I have to. I don't think you can handle me being savage, and I don't think I can handle me either." I sighed for the one hundredth time that day. I know I'm going to regret this, but what other choice do I have?

"All right" I suddenly blurted out, slamming the table with my palm. The loud thump made Adrien snap up to my attention. "Here's how it goes, I want you to listen very carefully. Do not argue with me, okay?" No answer. "Okay?!" I shouted. "Okay, Okay" He grumbled. With a shaky finger, I drew it up to my neck, right under my jawline. "Bite me." Adrien stared at me like I was a maniac. "A-Are you i-insane?! There is no hell way I'm—"

"I said NO arguing" I cried out. He wouldn't budge. I grabbed his arms, clenching his wrists. He winced in pain. I gave him my death stare. "Even if I had a crappy life beforehand because of the people who live there, doesn't mean they deserve to get bitten. I'll sacrafice myself, however." I said this quietly and menacingly, so that Adrien would get the message. It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. He gulped. "I-If I do this, you need to promise me something."

"What?" I threatened. His face was turning a shade of purple because of the lack of oxygen. I've been holding his wrists too tight. I let him go. He let out a breath of relief. "Promise me that you'll NEVER ask for anything as dangerous as this again...promise me that you'll let me tend to your care after this is all over." He jittered breathlessly. He really was concerned about my welfare...what did he mean by tend to my care when it's all over? Sigh, no matter.

I nodded my head. I felt his hot breath breathing on my neck as he inched closer. His fangs were slightly bared as he lowered his head to me. I was shaking like mad and I could feel my face paling. His cat ears twitched, tickling my chin. My breath hitched as reached for my neck, he held me gently by the shoulders to make me stay still. I closed my eyes, waiting for the bite. A prickling pain shot up my neck. I felt his fangs sinking into my flesh. It was as if two tiny needles were digging into my skin. I groaned softly. My eyes lolled up and all the color drained from my face. I felt so weak...

After a few moments, I felt my body being picked up and carried to my bed. Adrien stayed close to me, sobbing. He really did care for me, and regretted every moment of doing the blood drawl and taking my blood. With agreeing to do this, I may have risked my life. I may have not cared, but Adrien did. He was lonely in this castle for a hundred years, and all that changed once he found me. Him losing me would be the worst thing to happen to him. I wanted to comfort him, tell him everything was all right, but I was too weak.

Miraculously, I felt better a couple of days later. I woke up with Adrien by my side. All this time he was making sure I got enough to eat, changed the bedsheets, and taking care of me in general. He was so happy when I woke up that one morning, he started crying. I was happy too that I was well and that he was cheered up by my awakening. He leaped onto the bed and threw his arms around me, kissing me until I had to physically stop him. "Adrien" I exclaimed through giggles. "I'm fine really...all you did was drain my energy!" He smiled and quickly kissed me again. "Yes, I know, I just...you have no idea how hard these last few days were. You almost scared me to death!" We both laughed at this joke. Caressing his face, I lightly kissed him on the cheek for him to turn a bright red. "Silly kitty."

Adrien's bite may have not caused me death or serious injury...but it did leave an imprint of teeth marks on my neck, a reminder of the first Cattoween I had with Adrien. Little did I know that something as small as this would lead into something much more...

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A/N: I hoped you like this chapter! I actually had to research the origins of Halloween for some parts, so thanks for making me research, haha. Anyways, I wish all of you a Happy Halloween!

P.S. what are you guys dressing up as? I'm going as a black cat (reasons) XD