"Should we wake her?" Voices asked in whispers as I went past, looking at the fragile frame laying beneath the sheet.

"Perhaps it would be kinder not to," another said uneasily, and then I left.

I did not give that memory much of a thought until after I became a Prince. It had, naturally, held my attention for a moment, as there were not many vampira in Vampire Mountain, but who was I to care? Arra Sails, Mr. Crepsley's favourite one of all, was dead. She was my favourite, too, for that matter, and I was still in mourning.

And then there was Kurda. I could not think about a still figure in an unforgettable and incomprehensible sleep when there was still the thought of him being a traitor. So for that small moment, I did not give it a thought. His trial was horrible, and afterwards I was partly glad I had attended, but mostly I wished I had stayed behind.

I would never have thought anyone would have wanted to hear the words he said.

Then I became a Vampire Prince, and was far more free to wonder about such things.

"Gently; make sure she doesn't choke on it," said on of the vampires cautiously as they poured liquid down her throat. The other snorted in scorn.

"Yes, the last time that happened it was even worse and she choked on it and had to be revived a different way."

"Who is she?" I asked Mr. Crepsley.

He cleared his throat noisily and answered, "Her name is unimportant."

"Really?" I peered at the figure in confusion. She didn't even seem that much older than I, a teenaged half vampire. I couldn't help but notise the raggedy clothes she wore and her fatigued appearance. Her pale hair was thin and scraggly and she was scandalously thin.

"She looked like a Guardian of the Blood," I remarked and Mr. Crepsley paled a bit.

I narrowed my eyes at him suspciously but was interrupted by the sound of harsh gasping sound from behind me.

We turned to stare at the vampiress in the hospital bed. She was coughing violently, blood spotting the white sheets.

"She's up!" cried one of the vampires. The vampiress glanced around at everyone in faint surprise and bewilderment. Her eyes were strangely pale, and I had never seen anyone but a Guardian look like that.

"You may not want to be in here, Sire," chuckled one of the vampires softly. "She may not like your being a Prince."

I didn't understand and tried to ask a question, but Mr. Crepsley began leading me away with one of his looks. I nodded and realised it would be better to ask later.

The vampire heard me. "Sire?" she repeated, then said happily, "Oh, don't be silly, Kurda!" I understood then; she had been in the hospital for so long that she didn't know that Kurda had become a traitor and had been executed in the Hall of Death.

"Er...." one of the vampires looked uneasily at her and then his partenr. "The new Prince has a very busy life. He can't talk to you now."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. I wondered how well she and Kurda had known eachother.

Before she could see that I, however, was not Kurda, Mr Crepsley led me out of the Hall quickly. Behind me, I heard the vampiress angrily protest at her being kept asleep through the investiture of Kurda. The other vampires were decidedly dodging the questions.

I sat with Venez, going over the strategies of war that he was teaching me (as there may be war soon enough) when a lanky figure dashed over to us.

"Venez!" she said, and then looked sad and frustrated. "You said that you'd say hello to me when you saw me, and you're only half bli-"

She gasped. Venez had turned his face to her.

"But- you- the lion- when- how?" She breathed, stumbling back. I leaned over and whispered to Harkat, the Little Person, "She still looks like a Guardian."

Harkat nodded. "Mr. Crepsley never...denied that she was."

I frowned. He hadn't.

Venez sighed. "Lil, look," he said, "I just got into a fight in the gaming hall and well, you know."

I wondered why they lied to her.

'Lil' nodded sympathetically. "Well, er...." she looked around, confused. She saw me and blinked, confused.

"Who are you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, and Venez said quickly, "That's Darren Shan, Larten's new assistant."

The vampiress's eyes narrowed. "Larten's back?" she said softly with disdain. I didn't like her. "How fortunate for us all."

Venez sighed again. "Well, you were asleep for a while, and.."

"Why did they keep me like that for so long?!" she shouted. "They have had the antidote for a while, long enough for me to have been to Kurda's investiture!"

Venez shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh, for God's sake!" She stormed away. As she exited the hall, we heard her yell behind her, "Kurda will tell me what's going on!"

As the echoes of her voice rang in my ears, Harkat said slowly, "No, Kurda...won't."

"Mr. Crepsley?" I asked, lying in my hammock. He looked up with a frown from the book he was reading.

"Yes, Sire?" he said, a tired smile on his face. He grew somber when he notised my expression.

"Who was that girl that was asleep in the hospital?" I asked. "Venez and I saw her today- well, I did, anyway. She didn't know very much about what was going on." I remarked.

Mr. Crepsley's face grew dark. "That," he spat, "was Lilin Si'lat."

There was a silence as he thought about what to say next.

"She is a weak vampire," he continued, and I knew immediately why the others would regard her with scorn. Weak vampires were not wanted in the Clan.

"Then why is she still alive?" I asked, sitting up.

"Kurda," he said simply, and I grew much quieter. Kurda always went to help the outsiders, it seemed, and he had not belived in killing of the less capable vampires, because even if they wern't physically fit, they may be very clever.

"Were they close?"

"Not at first. He was as uneasy around her as the rest of us were."

"Why would you feel -?"

He sighed again. "You have already made the observation that she looks like one of the Guardians," he said quietly. "This is because she was once one of them."

I gasped. "A blooded Guardian?" The blood of vampires was supposedly taboo for the Guardians.

Mr. Crepsley nodded. "She is chronically ill and she does not enjoy fighting."

"Why don't you like her?"

He lowered his eyes. "I did not say that I disliked her."

I cleared my throat and he turned towards me. I could tell I was about to get the explanation I wanted.

"There are more female vampires than you see. Arra was the only one you met. The rest are not like her in nature, but they also are content being in the background. Lilin Si'lat is not like that. She is hard to not see, as is Arra, but it is not wise of her to bring attention to herself. She and I are not close because she and Arra were even more distant."

A faint smile appeared on his face as he thought of Arra.

"So, you don't like her because Arra didn't like her?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "She is not a very respectable vampire. She must drink the blood of humans, and in the Mountain the blood of the Guardians is all we have. It is almost cannibalistic."

I nodded, nose wrinkled.

"Who blooded a Guardian, anyway?" I asked, shaking my head.

"It was a while ago. He is dead," Mr. Crepsley said simply. "But it is mostly her fault for accepting the offer. She wasn't supposed to be blooded, you know. She was rather young at the time- not as young as you are, but still, it was considered unacceptable."

"Did she have the Trials of Initiation?" I asked.

He shook his head. "She is not capable."

I was baffled by how easily he said that about another vampire.

"How'd she and Kurda meet?" I asked quickly, wanted to talk about something else.

Mr. Crepsley chuckled. "It is a long story," he said, eyes twinkling.

"I have time," I urged. But he shook his head.

"Perhaps another day,' he said, rising from his seat. "Or you could ask her."

I thought about it. It wasn't such a bad idea, actually.

"Excuse me...." It was odd that I would have found her in the Hall of Death. I didn't feel like looking at those stakes.

"Yes, Darren Shan?" she asked. "I remembered your name," she added, proudly.

"Er..." I began uncomfortably. "Well, why are you in the Hall of Death?"

"That's a funny question," she said, smiling. "Why do you ask?"

"It's not exactly normal to sit here alone," I pressed.

"I did it all the time before I was blooded," she said. I shuddered.

"What?" she asked, curious.

"Well...aren't you uncomfortable drinking the blood of the Guardians when you yourself were once a Guardian?"

She laughed. "I am as uncomfortable as you are with drinking the blood of humans outside Vampire Mountain," she said.

It made sense, but I still didn't like it.

"Why'd you become a vampire?" I asked. "I mean, I thought that Guardians looked down on the thought of becoming vampires."

"I have always been different," she said lightly. "You know, I...I had a good reason."

"Did you?" I asked.

"I had a very good reason," she said. "You might find it interesting."

"Can we not talk about it her, though?" I begged. She looked towards the stakes and laughed.

"All right, Darren Shan," she said, standing. "If you insist." She walked briskly out of the room. I notised how she like the colours black and violet.

"We can go to my cell and I'll tell you my story." She called, and I sped after her.