Surprise was not exactly the right word for the emotion that I felt, waiting in the elevator to go down to the 15th floor in the Camarilla safehouse.

Maybe the word I was looking for was more along the lines of disappointed. Exasperated. But not surprised. It was not anything I hadn't come to expect from Sebastian Lacroix after almost two months of knowing him.

Even as horrendous an idea as being drugged and taken away against my will. Or perhaps because it was horrendous. If Sebastian had asked me to leave, in a polite, non-demanding tone, now that would have surprised me.

I couldn't figure out why he wanted me to leave LA, and it bothered me. Maybe he thought my answer earlier in the night wasn't good enough, wasn't sound enough of a reason to stay. Not that it was his call to make, but I was sure he thought it was. After all, he controlled the entire city. Why couldn't he control how I felt too?

I supposed that what really hurt wasn't even that he had tried to make me do something against my will, after all, he had been doing that since the first day I'd met him. What really pissed me off was that he was just trying to throw me away. He was trying to pawn me off on someone else so that I was no longer his problem, no longer his inconvenience.

He was being nice about it, sure. He knew Eliza would take me in without a second thought. He knew I would not be in danger there. He knew that I was friendly with her. He was kind enough to not throw me out on the streets on my ass.

But if he thought for one second that I would be happy there, when he had strung me along for all these weeks... well, he was wrong. Eliza was a near carbon copy of Sebastian, at least physically, and her piercing eyes, nearly the same shade as his, her pretty auburn hair and high cheekbones and accent, however slight it was... It would all hurt. I would never be able to get over Sebastian Lacroix if I went to live with his sister of all people.

And maybe he would come and visit me, to see how I was doing, to shake things up when life got boring. He would keep me close enough, but not so close as to be threatening. Like a little pet, like a bug in a glass jar or something that he could shake every once in a while. Oh, look how it flies around in there when I whack it against the wall. Neat.

I shook my head, no. If Sebastian wanted me out of his life, he would have to cut our ties completely. I was not going to be his pet, living with his sister until he was ready to come and provoke my human emotions. The emotions he didn't believe he was capable of feeling, but that would feed his ego nonetheless.

I was deep in thought as I got off the elevator on the correct floor.

I walked up to the only doors in the entire, long hallway. They were deep mahogany, and very big, and I knew that this was the right set of doors.

I stood outside them for a while, debating whether I should really hijack his meeting or not. I'd come this far, though, and so, I supposed, I might as well damn myself all the way.

The second I walked into that room, I had the feeling that I was walking into a dangerous situation. Something was different about this meeting, I knew right away.

I couldn't easily explain the feeling of unease I got, thick in the air there.

Maybe it was just the dozens of husky guards, standing in all the convenient corners of the room, blocking all the exits. They all raised their guns at me in one uniform motion, and dozens of clicks echoed throughout the room as they all cocked their guns at once.

I stood in the doorway rather awkwardly, feeling like I had made a mistake. Another mistake to add to my growing list. It was looking more like a book these days.

There were only three men that sat at the heavy mahogany table across from Lacroix. All of them wore suits, and looked important. Sebastian's little emotionless mask was on tight, and his expression was unreadable.

He didn't say anything, as though he were debating whether he should motion for the guards to go ahead and just shoot me.

Finally, after one long, tense moment he addressed me, "Juliet."

The guards dropped the barrels of their weapons away from my head, down to their sides, as if my name were a predetermined safeword or something.

"You're late," he said in a deadpan, monotone voice. It carried well in the tall room, under the glass chandelier high above us, the polished wood and panelled walls.

"Late?" I repeated, utterly confused.

"Yes," he said, allowing a carefully measured dose of irritation to enter into his voice, "This meeting was scheduled to begin nearly half an hour ago. I certainly did not expect you to interrupt us."

Uh, yeah sorry, I thought sarcastically. I've been upstairs dodging your attempts at sedating me.

Sebastian glanced at the men across the tawny table from him.

"Please forgive my associate," he said to them, "She does not intend to be discourteous."

The man in the middle smirked. At least, I think that is what he did. It was completely sarcastic, more of a sneer maybe. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, and had long, swept back greasy blonde hair behind a receding hairline.

His eyes were nearly black and they searched my face with a terrible, curious interest. I couldn't figure out why he was so interested in me, but the sinister look on his face made my gut twist, and I found myself unable to look away from it.

Sebastian cleared his throat pointedly and my eyes flicked back to him. He was glaring now.

"Juliet," he said, sharp and harsh, "Sit down, take notes, and behave."

My legs bolted into action at his words, but my mind reeled.

I quickly crossed the room. As I pulled out the chair beside Lacroix, I saw the muscles in his jaw and neck tighten, the only nonverbal cue he seemed to be completely unable to control. He was angry with me.

Why was Sebastian going out of his way to hide the argument he was surely itching to have with me from these men? Were they that important?

The men looked at me with varying degrees of amusement. The one in the center, the one that had looked at me creepily, seemed to be their ringleader. He sat directly across from Sebastian.

Sebastian plopped a stack of papers and a pen in front of me on the table without another word. To take notes, I gathered, looking over the blank notepad. I picked up the pen to write the date at the top, but couldn't think of it.

When I looked up, the man sitting across from us, the ringleader, stared at me still, with that same, intense smirk on his face. I looked away, trying to quell the fear in the pit of my stomach. What the hell was his problem?

"Your associate seems afraid of me," he said to Sebastian. The greasy ringleader's voice rather matched his face, low and amused.

I couldn't hide my look of complete disgust. What kind of person was amused by fear?

Sebastian's harsh blue eyes met mine and he turned to glance at me, to gauge how fearful I looked, or maybe a non verbal warning to be quiet. It was hard to tell when he was so expressionless.

"Yes, please excuse Juliet. She is rather timid I'm afraid," Sebastian said.

I glared at him, beginning to get pissed off. They were both talking about me as if I were not even in the room.

Sebastian completely ignored my glare, "This is Matthias Casaneda. He is the Prince of Las Vegas, and has generously agreed to provide his counsel in the upcoming war," he told me hurriedly, seeming to try and move on.

I looked again at the guy that sat across from Sebastian. A Prince, good for him, but he creeped me the hell out, and I rather hoped he would not be staying very long.

"You have such beautiful, large, brown eyes," Matthias said, staring intently at me and leaning forward over the table, "Like a deer. I wonder, if hunted, would you run like a deer?"

It was such an odd, creepy thing to say that I didn't say anything at all. I just stared, completely taken aback.

He seemed to actually want me to answer though, because he continued staring at me. I was suddenly quite glad that the table was between us.

"What's wrong with you?" I stuttered out after a few tense seconds, "Are you malkavian or what?"

"Juliet," Sebastian's voice was sharp and disciplinary. He glanced at me, a clear warning in his eyes to shut the hell up.

"It's alright, Sebastian. Allow her to speak freely to me. I find it humorous," Matthias said.

Matthias turned his gaze back to me, "I share your Prince's bloodline, little deer. It is interesting that you mention malkavians, though, as I once diablerized one."

What do you say to something like that? In human terms, it's like admitting you once killed and cannibalized part of your friend. The silence that followed his proclamation was uncomfortable to the entire room, even the vampires that sat beside Matthias, but the news didn't seem to shock anyone but me.

"It was a special circumstance," Matthias explained with a demented smile, "A blood hunt as it were, many years ago. Still, I find myself having... inescapable urges at times."

I swallowed.

The vampire sitting to his right, a bald, fat but otherwise nondescript guy, quietly snickered and I wondered if Matthias was just trying to mess with my head. Somehow though, from the look on his face, I rather doubted it.

Matthias seemed to be done torturing me for the moment, as Sebastian captured his attention again. Their meeting resumed, and I found myself shaking too badly to write any notes. From fear or anger, I couldn't say.

Sebastian seemed completely unphased by Matthias' demeaning attitude towards me. He had neither defended me nor looked uncomfortable with it, and I had a feeling he had intentionally thrown me out to the sharks.

"Our runners have informed us that at least 50 of the anarchs have gathered at that bar, the Last Round. This is an opportune time," Sebastian said. "It is a small bar, tucked away in the corner of the street, beside a hobo camp. The kine there cannot be alerted of our presence."

Matthias nodded, "Consider it done. My army is the only organized group of its kind this side of the country for a reason."

"I intend to take care of this... issue... as swiftly as possible," Sebastian added, voice measured and careful.

"We have little time before sunrise tonight," Matthias responded, "But that will suit us fine."

Sebastian nodded, pleased.

I looked at the profile view of his face, and tried to read his expression. Did he really mean he wanted Matthias' army to indiscriminately slaughter all of the anarchs in the Last Round?

Although I knew we were at war, it still seemed so... wrong to me. I didn't particularly like the anarchs that hung out in the Last Round, but I still felt guilty that I could have, even passively, contributed to their demise. Some of them might have, but surely not all of those vampires deserved to die.

My voice was small and unsure when I spoke again, "Why won't you give them a trial.. or..something? What about the innocent anarchs?"

"Innocent anarchs," Matthias laughed, cruel and sarcastic."Your little deer is so cute," he said to Sebastian.

I ground my teeth together, glared at him over the table. "Will you stop calling me that?" I said vehemently, "My name is Juliet."

"No, I think I will call you a deer," he told me forcefully. My blood boiled at his smug expression.

"Well then, I think I will call you an asshole," I shot back.

Silence hung in the air and tension crackled between us for several long seconds.

I finally broke the death stare I was locked in with Matthias to glance at Sebastian. He was staring at me as though I had done something pretty stupid. He seemed to be utterly shocked into silence, beyond words, which was pretty odd, I thought. I'd done more shocking things than cuss at someone.

"Juliet, please leave," Sebastian said after a moment, snapping out of it. His emotionless mask slipped neatly back into place. "Wait for me in the hallway, as I have a few things to discuss with you."

Yeah, I bet, I thought.

I hesitantly obeyed, getting up, feeling like the shit was about to hit the huge metaphoric fan.

I had certainly done what I'd burst into the meeting room to do. Sebastian couldn't ignore me now. He was going to talk to me, oh boy was he going to talk to me. His face promised more. But I had a fighting chance at convincing him not to send me away.

I sighed as I closed the door behind me, hoping I hadn't made him angry enough to counteract the whole point of the rebellious act.

I didn't have to wait long, maybe ten minutes. I guess Matthias was pretty eager to get out there and kill some anarchs before sunrise. He would probably really enjoy messing with their heads before he sawed through their necks.

Still, they were the longest ten minutes of my life. I spent the time pacing, passing the brass doorknobs in the hallway over and over in my peripheral vision. I thought about what I would say to Sebastian. In my head I mapped out dozens of different ways the conversation could go, from the very best to the very worst.

I still didn't feel very prepared when the gaggle of vampires stepped out of the meeting room, led by Lacroix. Matthias seemed too busy to continue antagonizing me, as he only gave me a passing smirk. His followers looked right through me.

Sebastian waited for them to leave the long hall and watched the elevator doors close behind them before he turned to me.

"I assume, since you are here, that Eliza has failed in her duties as your caretaker," he said.

"Eliza?" I repeated, summing up my best confused look. I had practiced it, and I hoped it was good enough. I couldn't let Sebastian think this was her fault. "Is that who you sent to drag me away?"

He stared at me, blue-grey eyes sweeping my face, and didn't answer. His lack of response was aggravating.

"I saw the Midazolam," I said, stumbling over the pronunciation of the drug, "Dominic couldn't bring himself to give it to me. He just walked out. Guess he has more a conscience than you. I mean, come on, drugging me and sending me out of town? Are you sure we don't work for the Sabbat?"

Sebastian allowed me to make my little speech and when I was done he shook his head. A little scoff worked its way up his throat at the Sabbat comment.

"A nice performance," he said, "But I rather doubt you figured all that out yourself. That you are trying to protect Eliza from me is ...endearing, but ineffective."

He looked a bit disturbed at that last part, like I was doing some kind of voodoo mind control on him, making him think I was endearing while we were having a fight. How dare I do that to him?

"As for Dominic, I am unsurprised that you elicited his benevolence. You seem to have a way of bringing out the most absurd human emotions in creatures that are supposed to be dead to them, do you not?"

I glared at him, stifling the urge I had to roll my eyes at his tone. Those pesky emotions. If only he could get rid of them as easily as he could get rid of me.

"This isn't their fault," I argued quietly, "It's yours."

He sighed, and a little bit of anger pushed its way through into his gaze.

"Your behavior in that meeting has pushed my ability to be civil to the very edge of its limits," he said and it sounded like a warning, "At any rate, we cannot have this conversation here."

"My behavior?" I said, as soon as he was finished. I could hardly keep myself from interrupting him, "That guy, Matthias, is a complete jerk. I don't regret anything I said. He treated me like crap in there and you know it."

"He was hazing you, attempting to provoke you," Sebastian replied in a banal, impatient tone, "It is common practice among kindred towards the youngest members of their sect. It is a sign of acceptance."

"He was not joking," I said, remembering the way he had tried to dehumanize me, "He doesn't seem like he has any humanity left. Was he a nazi as a human or what?"

Sebastian glared at me. He looked like he was reaching the point of physical violence, so I held my tongue, deciding not to compare Matthias to hitler or satan or anything along those lines.

"He is one of the best combat strategists I've ever known and you will treat him with the same respect you treat me," he said, very seriously.

"What does it matter?" I replied, "You're planning on sending me away anyhow."

Sebastian glanced at his watch with a flick of his wrist, "Yes well, you have successfully delayed your departure tonight. It is far too late for the plane to reach San Diego before sunrise."

He seemed to hesitate a moment, "Would you like me to call Eliza so that you can stay with her at the hotel room she has surely procured by now?"

"No!" I said, exasperated. I was a shade shy of yelling, "That's the whole point! I don't want to go anywhere with Eliza! I want to go home, with you, where I belong."

His eyes softened a bit at my angry outburst.

"One more day," he agreed.

Author's Note: So I had a few days off this last week and wrote a lot of this out. I'll be posting the chapters in one large chunk... Not to overwhelm anyone or anything. Also sorry for the absence of author's notes. Not sure if I should even apologize for that, but I like them. Probably because I like talking to myself lol. Anyway, thanks for reading!