Since you were all so eager, I decided to post a new chapter this week. We've finally hit the 20th century!

Thanks to all the cool guest reviews that I can't reply to!

Sort of filler? Mostly learning a little about Thea's past. Enjoy :)

1913

It had been almost ten years since he had met Thea. To say their relationship had been easy in the beginning would have been a lie. Almost as soon as they had left Budapest, Simon had a pretty big freak-out about what he was doing, about throwing himself into the unknown once again, willingly this time. Detaching himself from all that he had grown accustomed to, all that was familiar, to learn more about who and what he was with a woman he knew nothing about, but seemed to trust instinctively. The thoughts had jumbled together and made him feel sick with worry sometimes.

Thea hadn't been especially happy to deal with Simon's meltdowns or depressed moments. She wouldn't stand by and let them happen, she would shake him out of it. But he could tell that sometimes she wondered why she had even offered to take this teenage vampire under her wing. Other than some familial duty or obligation, Simon honestly had no idea why she kept him around half the time – it was obvious he got on her nerves. She must have respected her values very much, he assumed, and that was the only thing keeping her from throwing him out on to the street on better days, or ripping his throat out on worse ones.

Eventually though, after a couple months in each other's company, they somehow settled into the companionship. He became an eager to learn apprentice, while she fell into the role of knowledgeable teacher. She taught him about Otherworlder species, foreign languages, history – mundane, Shadowhunter and vampire alike – and combat skills. She refined him in the ways of vampire royalty. Taught him some of the most sought-after secrets of their species. When he thought back on how he had been before he had met her, he saw himself as little more than the teenager he looked like.

Now, however, he seemed more at ease with himself, and could easily pass in vampire societies for someone much more educated and respectful than an ignorant fledgling. He definitely wore his fifty-two years well – and it was incredible just to think that he was now a middle-aged man.

Still, while Thea had explained the basics of the Vampyr family and heritage, she had never gone into much detail about it. From what Simon gathered, she wasn't meant to be Queen – she was acting in place of someone who had died or was missing. He had also found out, when he brought up the painting he had seen with Caroline, that the woman in the painting with the blonde hair and slanted green eyes was named Andromeda. He had never dared ask her for more details, as he could tell it was a touchy subject. Tonight though, he had plucked up the courage to ask her.

He walked down the stairs and into the living room, where he found Thea sitting at a desk by the fire, writing something in her elegant calligraphic script. He watched her from the doorway, hesitant about what he was about to ask her.

"Yes, Simon?" she asked, without lifting her head to look at him.

He ducked his head, a small grin on his face at being called out, and took a few steps forward into the room.

"I was wondering..." he trailed off. Thea paused in her writing, gently placing the quill down on the desk and turning to look at him with her large, green eyes.

"Yes?" she prompted him gently, but with an air that suggested he had better get on with it.

"I was wondering if you could perhaps tell me a little more about your family," he said hesitantly, bracing himself for the worst reaction.

Thea became surprisingly quiet at his words, as if contemplating them and thinking of how she was going to answer. Slowly, she got to her feet, swapping the wooden chair at the desk for one of the soft armchairs by the fire.

"Our family..." she muttered, knowing very well that Simon could hear her. She feel into silent contemplation again. "I suppose you have a right to know," she said finally. She looked up at him, her gaze suddenly weary for the first time since he had known her. "Sit." She gestured to the other armchair opposite and he obeyed eagerly.

"Well... Where to begin with the story of our family..." she licked her lips slowly before continuing. "You already know, of course, that we are direct descendants from the first vampire. The first turned by every sire since the Original has been blessed with the bloodright to rule over the rest of the species."

Simon nodded; she had told him this before.

"Well then," she said. "Perhaps I should start with my sire. My maker, if you will. He turned me when I was little more than a maiden, innocent as you please," she smirked at her own words. "I had caught his eye at a tournament. I do not know the precise date. Some time in the fifteenth century, I would imagine."

Simon's eyes widened – he had always known that she was an old vampire, but he had never imagined her to be that old. She gave him an amused look when she saw his reaction and carried on her story.

"I was not his first childe. He had already turned a girl some decades or centuries previously. I have already spoken of her – Andromeda. Such a beautiful girl, as you yourself saw, though I doubt a painting could do her much justice. I was jealous of her at first – not only had she known our maker for longer than me, not only was she breathtakingly beautiful, she was also the first-made, and therefore the imminent heir to the throne. It was childish and petty at the time, but I could not help but feel sour towards her for it.

"I soon grew to love her as a sister, however. We remained a close-knit group for several decades. Just the three of us. We were happy. Our maker was the ruler of the vampires, yet he always found time to spoil us as if we were children." A genuine smile of nostalgic happiness found its way on to her lips as she spoke. It vanished shortly, almost as if it had never been there, but Simon had seen it. "During the seventeenth century, we visited one of the northern countries, where our sire encountered a young man that he found utterly enrapturing. He fell quite in love with him – it was the first time in centuries that I had seen him so foolish and lovestruck, over a mundane no less. I suppose that has always been a weakness in our family..." she trailed off again, and Simon could see that they were nearing the part of her story that was particularly uncomfortable for her to remember.

"He turned him, of course. Our maker always was a hopeless romantic with a fondness for pretty faces. His name was Mikael. For a while, we were perfectly content together." Thea paused for a moment before going on. "Mikael... He had always had such a fiery recklessness about him. A blatant disregard for rules and what other people thought of him. I sometimes think that was what drew our sire to him. Once the novelty of being in love wore off after a few decades, Mikael became more and more drawn to the bloodlust within. He started craving blood incessantly. He became irritable, bitter towards us, angry towards our sire. Soon after, the bloodlust grew into a manic lust for power. He attacked Andromeda one night. Things escalated from there. Our maker tried to reason with him – he was his sire and his lover, he would never try to harm him. But the blood had crazed Mikael, and his actions were wild and uncontrollable. When he awoke he was in a pool of our maker's blood, beside his mangled corpse."

Thea's voice had started trembling the further she got into the story. Simon was stunned by her words, completely drawn into her story, but had noticed that her hands were shaking. He placed one of his on top of one of her long, thin ones in comfort. She gripped back as she continued.

"The grief of what he had done, the dangerous mix of emotions was too much for him. He fled. My sister and I mourned the loss of our sire and Mikael for months. Then Andromeda took her place as Queen. For almost a century, we managed, the two of us. We stayed together as much as we could – being apart reminded us too much of their absence. She was a good ruler. She even sired a young boy on his deathbed – Edelson. He stayed with us for several decades, before deciding to travel the world – I have had no news of him for centuries. But everything seemed to be alright. And one day, Andromeda met Joaquin. You were no doubt told the story of the cursed lovers by your Parisian friend. Needless to say, their story did not end well – it rarely does when a vampire falls in love with a mundane they are unwilling to turn. Andromeda has been missing ever since. I do not even know if she is alive."

She gripped Simon's hand even tighter. In the flickering light of the fire, he could see that her eyes were shining.

"And that was how I came to be acting as Queen."

She looked up at Simon with her green eyes still shining, but a tough, resolute look in them. The hand that hadn't been holding his went up to hold the pendant that hung around her neck. He had often wondered its significance, but definitely wasn't going to ask now and bring back even more emotionally-trying memories.

She gave him a weak smile and brushed her thumb over his knuckles.

"Are you satisfied with my answer?" she asked in a weaker voice than she had been speaking with before.

Simon nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course! I didn't – I never meant to bring up all these things for you..."

"Don't fret over it, Simon. I think about it every day, and you deserved to know." She got to her feet, ignoring the concern etched in Simon's face. "I think I shall retire to my bedroom now, Simon. I will see you in the morning."

Simon watched her leave the room. He had never seen her look so worn out before. He had come to think of her as an all-powerful, bad-ass vampire made of steel. But the reality was that she had gone through an extreme amount of things in her very long lifetime – which was hardly surprising, really. It was strange to see such a different side to the woman he had come to perceive a certain way over the years.

He sat for a moment, watching the flames flicker back and forth, thinking over everything she had said. He now knew almost everything that had happened to his vampire bloodline. Now all that remained was to figure out how he and Raphael somehow came into all this.

He thought over the matter a little longer, before deciding to follow Thea's lead, and headed upstairs, undressing and getting into bed.