Ronan watched as the meeting started. Mina was talking to Mary's parents about the reevaluation of the stipend program given to the victims' families.

Mariana Tanaka sat next to her Husband, Kenta. She quickly glanced, then nervously stared at Mary. She looked like she was looking at a ghost. Her green eyes focused as she twisted the ends of her long rich brown hair. Her mouth hung open as her husband continued to talk with the Princess.

Ronan looked around the room at Aoi and ryou, who just smiled as they sat still with their eyes closed.

Mr. Tanaka was nervously talking shaking his head. Mary sat with her hands gripping the edges of the table, staring at the ground. She sniffled as the tears dripped to her skirt.

"Excuse me…" Ronan interrupted, "Mariana…"

She quickly looked over at him, "huh…yyyess..." her eyes wide and glistening.

She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and he could see her hands were trembling. Ronan looked at Kenta then to the Princess who looked annoyed, "what is it…" She glared at him.

"Did you know…?" He took a deep breath, watching her face. Her eyes glanced at Mary then to her husband. Kenta glared at Ronan as he tried to hide his nervousness.

"Don't say anything…" Kenta looked at his wife.

"He will try to trick you…" He paused, "vampires cannot be…"

"I'm a human…" Ronan smiled as he interrupted, "and Mary is mine…"

He could see the surprise look on Mariana's face. Mary's father shook his head, glaring at him, "typical… Should have known…"

Princess Mina remained quiet as she watched them.

"You didn't…" Ronan looking at Mariana, reached up stroking Mary's head. Mariana face slowly tightened as she watched he stroked her daughters hair, lowered her chin, closing her eyes.

"I… I… I…"

"Shut up…" Kenta raised his voice as he turned, glaring at his wife. Ronan slid his hand to Mary shoulder. He could feel her trembling as the tears were starting to flow.

"You didn't… Did you…" Ronan shook his head twisting his lips as he glared at Kenta. "Someone told you… She died…"

"Yes…" She whispered closing her eyes as she brought her hands up covering her mouth. She let out a small muffled cry, slowly shaking her head.

"Do not…" Kenta raised his voice reaching over grabbing her wrist.

"Shut up…" Princess Mina yelled, "Let her speak…"

He looked at her with surprise and was scared as Mina's red eyes glowed as her growl vibrated the table.

Mariana was silent for a while as the tears fell down her cheeks to her hand covering her mouth. She sniffled and her voice shuddered, "wwe had a funeral for her and I talked to her picture every day…" She continued trying to fight back the tears as the emotions inside grew. Mary raised her chin, slowly opening her eyes, "Momma..." She whispered, "I'm here…"

"Who told you…?" Mina raised her voice as she turned to look at Mariana.

"My… Husband did…" Her head fell into her hands as she cried. He sat there with his lips tight and his eyes cold.

"She might as well have been…" He was visibly upset, "she is a vampire… You couldn't see her anyway…" He paused, "you need to focus on her son…" He quickly nodded his head and raises arms pointing at Mary, "that… Is not our daughter…"

Mary sat listening as her mother cried and her father rant. She sat eyeing the floor listening to them finally taking a deep breath she shook her head, "why…" She whispered her voice becoming louder, "I did nothing wrong…" Her voice grew a little louder again, "I… I…" She opened her mouth struggling to speak, her eyes filling with tears. "I… I… Am a good girl… I did nothing wrong…"

Ronan watched and listened as Mary slowly stood up. The Princess was watching Kenta and Mariana.

"You told me… You would try to see me…" She yelled, "You said…" Kenta leaned back in his chair, "that's a lie… Vampires lie…"

"No…" She clenched her hands, the room echoed as her fist hitting the table, "I don't lie…" She looked quickly to Ronan.

"No… You don't…" He laughed, looking over at the Princess and then to her parents, "she accepts responsibility when she screws up…"

She looked at Ronan, "I don't screw up…" She tried to smile as the tears flowed, "I am just... just rambunctious… That's what my grandma told me… I need structure…" She turned towards her father " I couldn't go to the funeral… You said grandma was dead…"

"What…" Mariana's head rose looking at her husband, her eyes and cheeks red from sobbing, then to Mary, "She's alive…" Her voice was weak barely audible but to a vampire she might as well have yelled it at the top of her lungs, Mary easily heard it. Mary stopped staring at her father in dismay.

"You lied…" Her fist started to tremble and her tears increase falling to the table.

"Mary…" Ronan whispered as he tilted his head.

"No…" She cried, "He lied… He took everything from me…" She tilted her head, raising her hands up brushing back long strands of her brown hair behind her ear so she could see Ronan. "My mom… My grandma…" She put her hands on the table and her fingers turned red then the wood cracked, "I am not a bad girl… He… He…" She hesitated and then yelled, "you threw me at the vampire…" She raised her arm pointing at him. His eyes went wide in fear exposed what you've done. His wife gasped, staring at him ashamed.

She brought her fist down on the table and it exploded breaking into two pieces. She moved forward quickly staring face-to-face with him growling. She was close enough to taste his fear.

"You lied… We ran and you fell down… Screaming and yelling for me to help… I came back to help…" She was yelling, her fist clenched, "you said thank you… That I was a good girl… Then…" She hesitated trying to catch her breath, "you pick me up… I thought you would carry me because I scraped my knee when I helped you… But… But… You threw me towards it… And ran…" She stopped, her voice faded in the room but its impact was still radiating. There was silence for a moment as her chest and shoulder shuddered rising and falling rapidly.

"It bit me over and over… I screamed for my momma and daddy… But you didn't come…" Her mother was sobbing as Mary continued, her father was pushed to the wall, nowhere to go as he stared into her green eyes.

"I… I… Had to protect my family…" She stepped back, they could see the hurt in her eyes. "My son and my wife… I needed to live to protect them… You… Were always so difficult… So hard to control… Always smiling and laughing… It was unnatural…" His eyes were darting around the room as he spoke rapidly then his voice slowly dropped, "we thought medication would work but you wouldn't take it…"

"It made me tired… foggy…" She licked her lips, pulling back from him as she listened.

"Running all the time… Never slowing down…" He closed his eyes shaking his head, "the teachers always complaining…"

"I always got my work done…" She brought her hand to her chest, "I had top grades…" She whispered, "Grandma didn't mind…" She lowered her chin and turned stepping over the broken pieces of the table, "but I was your daughter…" She hesitated slipping into Ronan's arms, "I was part of your family… And you didn't protect me… You threw me at it..." Her voice became muffled as she cried into his chest, "I want to go home…" She whispered.

"Okay…" Ronan released a small breath, "but first…"

He tapped her head as she turned around in his embrace, "here…" He held out his cell phone, the Princess was watching Kenta as she glanced to mary, "what is it…" She took a cell phone putting it to her ear, "hello…" She paused, "grandma..." She took a deep breath, "don't cry…"