I feel like there's a lot of drama in this and for that, I apologize. I tried to squeeze as much fluff as I could with this storyline, I swear. You be the judge of my work.

The world is dark, but not without its light, even for a vampire. Maya Hart had known a few lights and a lot of darkness. She was an angry woman to some, loving to others, but strong to all. Her mother and father cast her out when she was ten after an attempt at her life was made. What did she say to them? Royalty has its price. When she was fifteen, they decided it was better she kept moving around after her father was almost killed in a contest. Maya wasn't sure how that had almost killed him - unless there was dead man's blood or decapitation. At sixteen, she met the Matthews family. They were to be her pretend family, the ones she traveled with. They felt like it - especially Riley Matthews, the sister she never had.

"Hey, Riles," Maya called, tucking blonde locks behind her ears as she peered over a cliff. Water crashed into rocks like cracks of thunder in the sky. "You wanted to swim, right?" She smirked at the brunette who just widened her eyes, a hint of a smile gracing her lips.

"My dad will never let us go out in day, Peaches," she said, but still smiled. A chuckled rumbled Maya's chest.

"I know."

Riley's best friend, Lucas, was always only a phone call away. Maya liked him a lot, but in a different way than Riley.

"Maya?" Riley asked the blonde one night, laying on the bottom bunk. Maya lay next to her on the floor, a blanket beneath her and headphones around her neck. Maya always loved her

"Yes, Riles?" Maya asked absentmindedly.

Riley turned over on her elbows to face the blonde. "Why do call Lucas names? He doesn't mind, but I thought you liked having him around." Maya opened her eyes, looking at the concern on Riley's face.

Maya sat up, resting back on her elbows. "I do. But I tease him because it's my way of showing that I listen. I guess, I kind of do it a bit more than others," she told her. Riley furrowed her brows but seemed to understand.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

There was, of course, The Farkle, which everyone loved more than their bloodthirsty Thanksgiving meals.

"HAH," Farkle yelled again, telling another science joke that no one really understood.

"We - We don't get it, Farkle," Lucas mumbled, looking blankly confused. Farkle smiled broadly, but not unkindly.

"Well, it just means that one day, I'll rule the world, and when I do, I'm gonna clone myself inside a bunch of robots."

"Woah..." Riley whispered. Farkle yelled, "HAH," again and Maya smirked, nodding in approval.

"Are we a part of this world domination, Mr. Farkle?" Maya asked him. Farkle nodded.

He moved and sat next to Maya on the ground. "Why, of course," he replied in a smooth, but an almost eerie tone, "you two will be my wives. Lucas, you can control the sports news." Maya inched away jokingly while Riley laughed.

Cory and Topanga were like second parents to her. They were kind, loving and gave the greatest advice. Especially when it came to Riley's uncle, Josh. Oh, Maya had dreams about Josh. He had deep blue eyes and dark brown hair, the smile that Maya saw as the best light she'd ever been greeted with. He liked her too, or at least she thought sometimes. He'd talk to her like not even Riely did, like an equal. Maya respected him most and would tell him nothing but the truth. She didn't tease him like Lucas. Didn't move away like Farkle. No, Maya found herself utterly under his spell and it brought out her weird side - she had no filter.

"Dear ole Boing, my favorite guy, how are you? In love with me yet, I hope?" She said one day, looking at with a smile so long it was starting to hurt her cheeks. Josh laughed.

"Isn't that against the rules, Little Ferret?" He asked, grinning at her. he flirting was her second favorite part, right after the meaningful conversations. They flirted - a lot.

"Call me Girlfriend," Maya pressed.

"No thanks, Gorgeous." Her heart stopped. Her smile faltered, but then it widened into a toothy one. She never asked why he continued calling her Gorgeous since then, but she liked to think he meant it. She liked to think she wasn't imagining it when he seemed to smile brighter and bigger when she blushed at the name. Officially, they never started dating. They never kissed or made love, with the exception of a few stolen cheek kisses. Neither of them ever said they loved each other or even liked each other - but it felt unspoken. Josh asked only Maya places, Maya only asked for Josh's comfort, Josh was the only one Maya truly flirted with, and Maya was the only one Josh looked twice at.

Maya hated her parents for not being her family - she hated their excuse on the dangers of their family line, of the monarchy that set them up for it. She wanted to burn it all down with a true fire in her lungs, but she couldn't. She let the Matthews take care of her until her father said that she could go off on her own, the whole sixty years - in the human world, she was twenty-one. She always looked twenty, for the last seventy years. She was turning a hundred that year. In a hundred more, Maya would have to face the decision of the royal council if her father stepped down. In a hundred years, Maya might be ruling in the monarchy she despised. Still, she kept Josh's, Farkle's, even Lucas' number. Even after Riley's spiral.

Maya walked into the church, her hands pushing open both doors at once. She felt nervous, hungry, and most of all, angry. Whoever was looking to meet her clearly had no idea who she was. Anyone and everyone she had ever met knew enough to stay away for a minimum of 24 hours.

"Highness-" a man started, standing by the door of the staff room. Maya waved a hand and he stopped talking. Nice, she thought. That would most definitely come in handy.

"Who is it?" She snapped, in no mood for games.

"He said you would know. Does Prince Boing help you?" The man replied, looking hesitant to speak. Maya's eyebrows furrowed. How in any case would that help? She had the only ever called one person Boing, but not Prince Boing. And her Boing was exiled long ago.

Maya nodded despite her confusion. The man moved aside, letting her through the door. Walking inside, there was only a figure by the desk. She only saw his back, staring out a colorful window painted with a woman holding herself in content. She took slow steps, closing the door behind her. "Who are you?" She asked loudly, no hint of submission in her. She wanted answers and now.

There was a chuckle - a vaguely familiar chuckle that made tiny spiders crawl up her spine. "Come on, Gorgeous," the man said, his voice making Maya take a step backward. He turned around and smirked at the woman. "Don't you remember me?"

Maya sucked in air, her eyes crossing each and every feature of him in this dim lighting. "You can't be here. If someone sees you-"

"I'm already dead, Maya, what are they going to do?" He interjected, looking as tired as she felt. Maya glared at him. How dare he not be concerned for his safety. "Besides, I'm technically not in exile right now. The king who exiled me is dead, and you're not Queen yet," Josh added matter-of-factly.

Maya breathed slowly. That was technically the law between the vampires. But most knew it wouldn't be stupid to show your face until you were announced pardoned. And how rare it was to be pardoned. "How are you here?" She asked quietly, nothing more than a whisper.

His face contorted. "As soon as I heard about your dad, I..." He paused, running a hand through his messy hair. Maya would be lying if she said that it wasn't one of the things about him she had missed. For fifty years, there was no one she missed more. Josh wasn't about to say anymore, Maya knew because he looked to not have the right words. Instead, she ran up to him, throwing her arms around him. She let out a choked sound, like a cry.

"Thank you," she muffled into his shirt. It was soft and smelled like rainy days and breezy summer nights. Her favorites. "I've missed you." Finally caught from his daze, Maya felt him squeeze her closer.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to come to see you, but your uncle said you were busy and all this exile - You're a sight for sore eyes, Hart." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. That's when Maya felt it. That same heartbreaking tear in her chest she had when she told him about her father's plans to make him leave. Maya pulled away for a moment if only to look at him. His blue eyes were still better than a sunny sky.

"I love you," she started speaking hastily, "and I always have and I never want you to leave and I am so sorry that I didn't say anything before and that I didn't stop him." Maya leaned on her toes, pulling him closer to her. But before she could kiss him, Josh stopped her.

There was a silence more suspenseful than her favorite horror films. Josh looked so horribly sad at that moment. "I know you loved me, Gorgeous. Leaving was on your dad, not you, okay?"

"I could have fought him," she whispered stubbornly. Josh shook his head.

"I love you more than anything, even after half a century. But things have changed," he told her. She sucked in a breath at his words but nodded nonetheless. The beginning was a dream come true, but it had turned into a nightmare instead.

"That's true." She dropped her hands from him and backed away. "Now I'm going to be Queen. The entire faction is going to need help."

"Don't stay here," the man whispered. He brought himself closer, only a few inches away from touching. Josh cupped her cheeks with a barely hopeful face. "Cory won't ever let you be safe if you're coronated. He'll do anything, we know that. Come with me," he said. Maya wanted to laugh. Not to be cruel, but it wasn't just that easy. There were laws - and any royalty about to become a leader was to be killed on sight if they ran from their duties. It wasn't only that.

Maya shook her head in his hands. "I don't like monarchy or that I have to be a ruler. But I am, Josh, and these are my people now." Truth be told, Maya had always been good at politics. She just hadn't told anybody for the sake of teasing. There were so many things that had to be done - peace between radicals and level-headed, new ways to prevent vampires from turning innocents, helping those who were turned anyway. "I'm not turning my back on them anymore," she finished. Oh, it broke her heart to see his understanding. "I can pardon you and you can stay, but it doesn't change things much. Many still won't like you. You did try to steal their princess once before."

"Run away with me, Maya," she could hear Josh whisper in the darkest alley in his town. "You don't want to be queen and I can't stay. There are people who will help us."

"I can't, Boing," she told him again, "my father - the council -" Maya shook her head at him, unable to meet his eyes. She stared at the ground.

Josh gently pulled her chin and kissed her, softly. Maya was surprised, but her eyes fluttered shut anyway. Time must have stopped or the stars must have exploded because she couldn't contain the new feeling in her stomach. She kissed back. Maya didn't think her first kiss would ever mean anything to her, but even in a dark alley arguing about running away, Josh meant everything to her. He pulled away.

"If that didn't mean anything to you, tell me. Tell me and I won't ask you to leave with me, Maya," he said, a painstaking crack in his voice that could only drive Maya to tears.

"I can't go-"

"Why?" He almost shouted. "You're not safe and you want to stay?"

"I have responsibilities to the people." My people, she thought. "I'm sorry." Maya bit back a sob before she turned, clutching her stomach as she walked away. She couldn't see the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

Josh hung his head at that. He still loved her - how could anyone not? But his heart was getting tired of the pain she brought behind her. It didn't matter, however, because he'd keep coming back for her. She called his name softly, bringing his attention back to her blue eyes full of emotion and her golden locks shaping her face.

"Why wouldn't you have come with me? Here." The question shocked him. In truth, Josh couldn't fully remember why he hadn't asked to stay with her, only that there were people that hated the thought of them more than her. A knock at the door interrupted them.

"It's Topanga Matthews." Maya sighed with relief. She couldn't handle her uncle right now.

"Come in," she said, loud enough for them to hear. The door swung open and a darkly dressed but friendly woman came inside. Her eyes met Maya's, drifted to Josh, and met the blonde once again. "What is this?" She asked. Topanga could be trusted. No matter what Cory tried to do to Maya, Topanga had always warned her. Comforted her. Topanga was a great woman and in high respect from everyone. "I have to talk to you about Cory. He wants you away from the throne."

Maya nodded. "Josh made a surprise visit. What is he planning?" They weren't talking about Josh anymore - bigger fish to fry.

"He wants to tell the council you intend to destroy the monarchy." Maya's eyes widened. No one would be in her alliance if they didn't think she was willing to keep up the legacy of her family. They'd tried everything else - everyone knew it didn't work. No one ever agreed on anything, anyone voted in turned out to be a tyrant half of the faction hated and the council had been put in place if only to keep the current ruler from doing anything too rash. Maya had to make a true decision now - let them put her uncle in place instead of her, because every lord and God knew that was his next idea, or accept everything and give herself entirely to the throne.

Part of her knew she had made that decision a long time ago. Now, she needed a plan. Maya knew keeping it from them was no option, considering Cory Matthews would never be swayed down from his offensive.

"What're you going to do, Gorgeous?" Josh asked quietly. That hurt her more than he could know, the somber look in his eyes.

Maya decided not to do anything. She had paced her room for three hours, trying to think of something that didn't end with more politician intricacies and bloodshed. There wasn't a way to get Cory thrown off the council - everyone adored him because of his hero days by her father's side. There was nothing to do until the day of the coronation.

Maya wanted nothing more than to forget about Cory Matthews and his hatred for her. She knew it was only because she reminded him of Riley. How dare he hate her that? Maya had nothing to do with what Riley did. That was on Charlie, the vampiric asshole he was. Not even the undead could fight a pretty face with great manipulation skills. He'd talked the most innocent girl on the planet into becoming a criminal. After her first feed with him, she'd been lost. Killing a human during a feed is like a drug - it gives the biter a high, one that is more euphoric than anything in the human world. There was a knock on Maya's bedroom door. Oh, she was tired of knocks today. "It's me," said a voice. Josh.

Maya went to the door - she stopped when she got close to the knob. Did she want to see him? Could she handle that, too? Maya opened the door. Josh leaned one arm against the frame of the door, wearing a dark blue beanie and his tan jacket. "Hey," she said softly.

Josh didn't bother looking for an invitation, instead closing the door when he stepped inside. "I want to talk to you about fifty years ago," he explained. Maya had forgotten about his forwardness - Joshua Matthews was never one to beat around the bush. She liked that about him - eternity was long, but time for small talk and subtleness was short. Something in her chest stung again, at the mention of Riley.

"I miss her," Maya said. She didn't bother being quiet. It had been too long since she had been able to talk about with someone who had known her. Now, everyone thought so little of her it could fit in a glass jar.

Josh sighed. "Me too," he said sadly. "Why didn't you stay? After it happened, Maya, we all needed each other." She would be lying if she said his forwardness now didn't hurt her a bit.

"I tried to, to go to the funeral." Maya fidgeted with her hand, sitting on her bed. She stared at the floor. "Cory said I should go to my father, that I was no longer their charge." It had been strange how Cory had so quickly changed to hate her. She suspected he had been a good actor for a long while before Riley. "Why didn't you return my calls?"

Josh sat beside her, staring at his hands, folded together. "It was hard to be without you guys, any of you, but, uh... I figured it would be harder if I tried to live in two worlds at the same time." Maya nodded. She could understand that. It was part of the reason she stopped trying. Josh looked at her. "Why didn't you leave with me?" He croaked. His brows were furrowed in his emotions. Maya could feel her eyes starting to sting again, but she kept blinking potential tears away.

"I hated my parents, you know that. But I want to change what they didn't, for our people. My people, if Monday goes right." Maya met his eyes now. "I kinda have to, you know? I can't just not do anything about the way we all live." Josh put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. It was as much for him as it was for her. Fifty years was, no doubt, a long time. And feelings like the ones they shared never truly went away.

"I get it, just wished it was different," he said. "I'll be in town until your coronation. If you want, we can hang out..."

Maya scoffed through the lump in her throat. "Duh, Boing."

Two days really wasn't a lot of time, when she thought about it. Not that she didn't have time to, because she and Josh never actually left the building. Well, Sunday they went out for ice cream and then tacos, but they were otherwise watching TV and making bad puns. Maya didn't regret not getting up fully, but she was sure Josh didn't either. Considering he kept telling her he was never letting her leave again unless it was for food. It felt nice - being close to him like no time had passed when in reality, a forever had passed through them.

Maya stood at a podium. It was the hour before the coronation if it would go through. Maya knew she needed it to. Royalty was a burden Maya had always despised, but she was grown up now and if there was anything she was going to do with her family name it was to change things. There was a large crowd before her - everyone in the faction, and she could even see Josh, lurking in the shadows in the back of the church.

"I've brought you here to confess something," Maya started plainly. "I've hated the crown and the power that comes with my family my entire childhood. A lot of you know I was hidden for my safety." No one dared make a sound. No one could blame her for hating the crown when she had to grow up without her parents because of it. That was something agreed on. "While I was hating the crown, my father ruled in the monarchy. He wanted to change things - the way we feed and hide, the way we turn. But nothing has been done. What I need you to know, is that I no longer hate the crown. I don't hate monarchy the way I used to." There were a few whispers. "I do think there are better ways, but not for us. Not today." More whispers. Cory Matthews, standing beside Topanga, looked enraged and puzzled. "I don't want to break the crown, I want to break our struggles. Our children shouldn't have to hide in apartments, learning how to control their feeding alone while their parents work. Those who turn by force or accident shouldn't have to be alone either. Before you think of following me because you followed my father, think about what you want. If you believe I can change things, be at the coronation. If over half of who is here now isn't there, I will not take the power of my legacy. Topanga Matthews will." Uncle Cory looked over at his wife, who was starstruck, in shock. Everyone was shocked. Maya breathed in slowly - Topanga was the only one who could do it. She was every bit a leader than Maya, and more so. Cory could never rule, not with the bitterness brewing in him.

Maya searched the room. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, but she wanted to see what Josh was doing. She didn't see him. Maya turned away from the podium and walked off the stage, leaving through the back.

She went to her room in the back of the building - her family owned the church, along with a bar. It had been funny to Maya that they owned a church for the faction of vampires they ruled in a very medieval way in a very modern world while paying for that church by managing a bar. Walking into her room, Maya was thinking of this. How she and Riley used to make jokes about how her family was canceling out the human version of sin with the human version of divinity. Josh sat on her bed, surprising her. Maya smiled lightly at him. "You like my speech?"

Josh smiled adoringly at her. She walked closer and he took her hands in his. She didn't stop moving closer, however, and he was on the edge of the bed. "I loved it. I hope to see you as the new queen of the vampire faction."

Maya chuckled. "Well, that's good, because if I get my way... I want to make you my advisor." She looked at him, searching for a reaction. Josh blinked.

"Wow," was all he said. "Are you sure you want that, Gorgeous? I mean, you'd have to pardon me and deal with my brother." Maya leaned down and kissed him, gently. Like he was the universe and time didn't exist, because, for the second time in her life, it didn't.

When she pulled away from him, eyes still closed, she spoke in a whisper. "I will deal with them. And Topanga already told me, most of the faction is talking about coming to the coronation. Your brother will deal with me being around." She took a moment. "But I need you to not be gone if that's alright with you. Besides, no one will ever know me better than you. You and Riles could have competed."

"You're giving me too much credit. You opened up to me first. I didn't, and yet you cracked open my skull and read my fears, read everything about me like a book waiting for you." Josh kissed her cheek. Another stolen one. Maya felt her cheeks burn up a bit."I love you and that's perfect with me, Little Ferret," he chuckled. Maya wasn't sure if it was relief or happiness in it, but it sounded equally beautiful. Maya laughed at the old-time nickname, her chest lighter with giddiness entrapping her in his arms.