Okay, so I am giving you this chapter even before you guys get ten reviews. Consider it my making up for the last chapter being slightly dull. For this chapter I am going to get through the basic points that need to be covered. Like who the male and female vampires really are, and what Mara is going to do about her dreams.

Mara's POV

I stared down at the rich silk of the dress that Destiny was fitting on me. We had been at this all day, choosing random dresses, seeing how they looked on me, and then throwing them back in the closet to hunt out another one. Right now I was wearing a Japanese style dress, the silk heavy but soft against my skin. Where Destiny got her clothes was a wonder to me, but she had so many from so many different places that she must have traveled all over the world.

The silk was rich vibrant colors that were just, well, eye catching. The sash we used was a dark midnight blue, the right side of the dress displaying the side of a mountain with a river running along the bottom. Flowers bloomed near the river, in red and purple, the grass a soft green. That was all I knew, considering she would not let me look down long enough to observe the rest of it. The wedding was now merely a week away, and it had been a month and a half since Destiny had come here. I saw her with that male a lot of the time when she did not know I was around, but I did not know their relationship, and I didn't want too. He was not nice, you could see that in the plain way he walked, the way he held himself, and the way he looked at you with those coal black-piercing eyes. The female and me had already gone at war with each other; almost ending is us both trying to kill one another.

"How does this one feel on you?" Destiny asked me for maybe the gazillionth time in a row. She had asked me this with each of the hundreds of dresses, and I was not willing to go through with another wardrobe change.

"I love it," I said with a bright smile. And I did love it, true it was heavy and would slow me down when I walked, but hey, it was a wedding, it should be going slow and smooth. She studied my face to see if I was lying to her, which on some level I was but I had it in the back of my mind. I did not care what dress I had anymore, I just felt lucky I was allowed to even attend the wedding. Sasha and me were still not speaking, and I was lucky Oscuridad did not lean in her favor just to make sure she did not get to stressed out and get cold feet on the wedding. But Sasha wanted this too badly; I mean she was willing to do this around hundreds and hundreds of vampire strangers. Since I was a kid she would often times use taking care of me as an excuse to get out it without seeming rude. I mean, how many of them could object to her taking care of her kid?

"Well, I guess we will try on a few more, and if you still like this one so much then you can wear it." I groaned, and she crossed her arms over her chest, seeming slightly irritated. "Oh come on, Mara. You were the one who asked me to help you find a dress. And I want you to find you are comfortable with, that way you will be able to wear it again, instead of just a one-time thing. This does not have to be a horrible thing, you just make it so." I scowled, and a smile broke out on her face. The smile she used when she knew she was right and knew that I could not worm my way out of it.

"Fine, I will just wear something of Zoë's." I concluded, stepping down from the chair she had me standing on. The dress moved against my skin with each move and I shivered at the light caress. And just as I knew she would, she stopped me like a pouting look.

"Alright, fine! We won't go through another one, and I will let you wear that dress to the wedding. Besides, you look good in foreign clothes." She smiled brightly again and began putting away the makeup and other crap she had been using on me. Finally I was able to get out of the dress and into my regular comfortable clothes. This was sort of a long process, so I decided I could get a few answers while I was here.

"So, I see you hang out a lot with that male vampire." I started casually, staring down at me feet. She did not even pause at the question, but kept to undressing me.

"Yes, me and him spend a lot of time together."

"What is his name?" I felt the blush creep to my cheeks. I felt odd asking these questions to Destiny, I mean she acted as young as I was.

"Alex," she put the dress on a hanger and then put it in the closet, shutting the door and wiping her hands together to represent the task was done, and then looked at me head on, catching me off guard so I did not have enough time to look down. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason . . ." I tried to sound non-caring as I pulled my shirt on and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Mara, please do not think just because you have gotten older than you are any better of a liar. I can still read you like a book, no matter how old you get or how much you try. And that will not change just because I am away for a long time, hasn't yet." I smiled, admitting defeat. I had nothing to hide anyway; this was just an uncomfortable conversation.

"It's just . . . you spend an awful lot of time with him for just a friend." And for once the look that crossed her face was surprised.

"Mara, he is my fiancé."

"He's your what!" I missed my footing as I went to step off the stool and hit the floor, hitting my back into the stool in the process. There was pain, hell yea lots and lots of pain. And yet it was irrelevant. She pressed her lips together, her face anything but amused.

"Yes, and the female is his sister, Cora." Oh, who knew the stupid cow would have a name . . . you learn something new and surprising every day. I shook my head, this could not be happening, I mean this was Destiny! "I know it is hard to believe," more like freaking impossible! "But me and him really get along, we met when he came to buy a horse from me. Of course I don't sell but to the Asha family, but we still struck up a conversation. He's sweeter than he looks, as hard as it is to believe." And I knew what she was searching for when she gazed at me pleadingly; she was looking for my approval, for my good wishes for the two of them. How could I lie and make it sound convincing.

"I am happy for you." It was not the whole truth, and I was not even talking about her finding a lover. I was talking about the fact that her horses were doing well. She smiled though, and I gave a small smile in return.

It was times like these were family meant more than wishes.

(BLAH)

There was a strong pain that shot down her leg as she stumbled upon the ground. The grass grazed her bare knees, and she struggled to keep herself standing. She kept her breathing even and turned to look at her attacker, sneering at the brunet vampire before her. She stood with one hand on her hip, and she was examining the other, the unpainted nails tainted with her blood. Mara could not stand any longer and sat on the ground, holding a strong hand over the four scratches on her calf. She should have known better than to turn her back to a vampire, what was she thinking.

Is that really me . . .?

Her face was more prominent, her eyes stronger, more defiant than she had ever seen them. Her hair had grown longer, telling Mara that it was a long time from now. She recognized the scene behind her, all of the pine trees lined up as if awaiting orders. The older her stood once again, ignoring the pain that made her want to droop and put full weight on her leg to stand tall as she could. She was thinner, and she had a little more muscle on her. Her nails were long, and bared as if ready for attack. She had a single scar on the right side of her throat, just below her jaw, and she wore a short purple dress that matched her eyes, the ending of it taking on a torn and tattered look to show of her tanned skin.

The female vampire laughed, a high-pitched wicked sound and she licked the blood from her fingers with a wicked glint to her honey hazel eyes. Mara could not step forward, and nor could she step back, so they both stood there, their eyes locked on as if to see who would be the first one to look away, or be the first one to make the foolish move.

"I know your one you way to see him," the female spoke, in a voice that sounded like the soft blowing of the wind along the banks of the river in the middle of the winter. When it was softly skit off of the ice and making a soft humming sound to those who cared enough to listen hard to catch it. Mara used to love that sound, but coming from her it now sounded like a terrible war cry, one of death and pain, the final scream of a fiend as they kill a brave warrior in battle. It was more than her ears could take, and Mara watched her own face harden.

"And so what if I am, Averia? Are you going to stop me?" Mara was proud of herself for being so bold, though she was confused on what this dream was about. If this was to be or if it were nothing more than dream made up by her vivid imagination. She would not know until the time came, now would she?

"Well, I was thinking that maybe if I got you out of the way by killing you that things would be a lot more easier for me. So yes, I was planning on stopping you." Averia smiled, her fangs prominent against the pasty color of her skin. Her hair fell in rich curls to her shoulders, to look out of place against her golden velvet dress.

"Hmm, you know, Averia, I really think you should get a tan, maybe then he will even look your way once. I mean, it is a better idea than dressing up like the sun, you kinda just look like an over grown lemon." She knew the insult would cause a reaction, and yet she still said it. Wow, was the future her out of her mind? This was apparently over some boy. But when Averia made a horrible sounding scream and leapt for her she managed to dodge it with quick ease, even with her wounded leg. But the next leap she was not so lucky, and the blow stuck her arm and she felt the bone shatter.

She hit the ground, skidding through the grass and feeling the cold dew soak through her dress and cause her to jolt. She knew she had to move, had to get up before things got out of hand. But she was too dazed to move, and the next time she blinked she found Averia standing over her, her fangs bared, her eyes blood thirsty and angry. Her hands were ready to scratch the hell outta someone, and Mara guessed it was she.

"You will never be anything more to him than a vampire, you stupid girl." She hissed at Averia, knowing it would anger her even more. "And if you kill me, know that my Father will make you suffer a horrific death." There came that laugh again, a laugh that reminded her so much of how she imagined the wicked witch would sound in her old child hood story books. The laugh that said there was nothing good in the soul of the being making that sound, and you were doomed. Well, that was just peachy.

"And now you will be nothing more that a dead body to him, you stupid human." And when she saw Averia bare her fangs wider, she knew what was to come and her felt her body tense is fright and her eyes widen. Averia was going to feed off of her. Before she could even protest or try and defend herself, the fangs pierced her neck and she was screaming at the top of her lungs at the pain that surged through her. She was going to give up, to stop fighting and finally give in. She knew she was going to die anyway, so why prolong fate? She felt the silken darkens of death skin along the tips of her fingers, offering its soft comfort to her if she were willing to let go. And just when she was about to, a voice rang out, a voice strong and full of purpose. And the voice made her whole heart clench.

It was the voice of her beloved.