It's the SUMMER, people! It's time to chill, watch TV, go swimming, hang about with your mates, all that stuff. While you all do that, make sure you keep reading my FanFics, otherwise I'll have to find another excuse for using the computer for so long everyday!

(Author's Notes - Haven't done these in a while. Anyway, remember Repan, whose name was an angram? Well, I've made some, but I forgot to mention one of them. Simon Dendyt (he died in the coffin) is an anagram, as well as the character that appears in this chapter, who fights Steve. Work 'em out, and leave me reviews!)


Chapter 7. – The Lord of the Vampaneze

Mr. Tiny burst out laughing. It was a cruel, heartless laugh.

'Well, well. Steve Leonard, I never would have thought it,' said the meddler. Everyone knew he was lying, but they said nothing. Mr. Tiny turned to the other vampaneze. 'All of you! This is your new leader, the Lord of the Vampaneze! He will lead you to victory over the vampires! You must obey him without question, otherwise…' Mr. Tiny slid his finger across his neck, and smiled. 'You don't want to know what will happen to you.

'Now,' said Mr. Tiny. 'I need someone who will be Steve's closest guard and… friend, shall we say.' He chuckled. 'You won't need to go into the Coffin, because it's broken, but you will have to be tested on your loyalty to your new Lord…'

Once again, for a long time no one stepped up. Steve knew that no one liked him, and that becoming Lord over all of the vampaneze would make him more hated. This would mean that he would have to prove himself in some way. And he knew exactly how to do it.

No one yet had volunteered. Mr. Tiny, however, just stood there, patiently fiddling with his glowing heart-shaped watch. He seemed suddenly unaware of the creatures of the night he had, indirectly, created.

Kurda looked upon the scene with more and more concern. The war he had worked so hard to prevent was suddenly beginning to unfold. He never should have believed Mr. Tiny's word that he would not let the war occur if Kurda was successful. Kurda had always known that the meddler was obsessed with wars, destruction, and all things gory, and yet he had gullibly believed that the same man would suddenly throw away his interests that he had held for god knows how long. And soon, since there was no more need for Kurda's presence, he would either be sent out or killed. If he was sent out of Vampaneze Mountain, the moment the vampires discovered he was not safe, they would send their best to assassinate him. Neither option appealed to Kurda.

The silence was finally broken by Mr. Tiny.

'Come on, someone must like Steve!' he said mockingly, glancing at Steve. Steve glared back, his anger welling up inside him. Mr. Tiny watched this with satisfaction.

'All right, this is what we'll do then,' said Mr. Tiny, indicating towards the door. 'This should be fun. LAST ONE OUT IS STEVE'S RIGHT HAND MAN!'

This was totally unexpected, and the Hall was suddenly in an uproar. Vampaneze who had been the closest of friends were suddenly viciously fighting off each other towards the way out, and some were even desperate enough to draw their weapons and kill their way through. However, the door of the Hall remained firmly closed, just as it should be. The only people who hadn't moved were Steve, Mr. Tiny, and Kurda. Kurda knew that even if he was the last man out, he would still be ignored by the meddler as Steve's henchman.

'It would appear that everyone hates you, Lord,' said Mr. Tiny, sarcastically emphasizing the word 'Lord'. 'Would you like to take a pick from those who are left?'

But no one had been able to leave. The vampaneze slowly turned to face Steve, fear and loathing clearly etched into their faces. Half the vampaneze in the Hall were either wounded or even killed, thanks to Mr. Tiny's cruel trick.

Steve was silent. He looked at each and every one of the vampaneze in turn, getting in return an icy stare from them.

'How about this,' said Steve finally. 'Anyone who gets beaten by me in a fight has to be my right-hand man. How about that?' There were murmurs of acknowledgement among the remaining vampaneze. Even Mr. Tiny looked at Steve with slight surprise. Steve could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face. Bring it on, Steve thought to himself. I'm ready.

A figure stepped forward from the crowd. It was Nalbis Tulhier, a respected member of the clan, whose skills in strategy as well as fighting had won them many battles. What most vampaneze didn't know was that he was half-French, half-Hungarian, and that he was a great cook. The rest of the vampaneze had decided not to go easy on Steve.

'Hmm,' muttered Mr. Tiny. Then he looked up and spoke with that all-too-familiar glint in his eyes. 'Well, if you two are going to fight, I'm going to make the rules!' Neither Nalbis nor Steve moved.

'Alright. You each get a weapon of your own choice. You're allowed to give a few nicks and scratches, but nothing serious, we don't want needless bloodshed.' Mr. Tiny said this with more than a hint of irony, as Mr. Tiny loved needless violence.

'First one who goes down to ground and surrenders loses. Well, what are you waiting for? FIGHT!' With this, he stepped back and sat in Repan's now disused throne, while the vampaneze hurriedly returned to their seats. It was almost as if this were a gladiator fight in Ancient Rome.

Nalbis slowly drew his sword, a magnificent blade rumoured to have belonged to one of King Louis XII's most trusted noblemen. Steve, however, did not draw a weapon. Nalbis sneered, then lunged at Steve, bringing the sword down in an arc at Steve's head. He appeared to have forgotten the 'needless violence' part of the rules. But then again, Mr. Tiny would have done nothing even if Nalbis was close to dying.

Steve stepped aside with surprising speed, drew a knife from his sleeve, and brought it down into Nalbis' neck. Nalbis screamed, and staggered away from Steve, trying to pull the knife out, but it wouldn't budge.

'YOU!' screamed Nalbis, and lunged once again. But this time, he was more careful. As Steve stepped aside once more, thinking he'd won, Nalbis suddenly changed the direction of his sword with great agility, slicing open Steve's shirt and cutting a deep, red line across his chest. Steve gasped, clutching his wound. Nalbis spun, and brought his sword down once again. This time Steve did draw his sword, and blocked Nalbis' killing strike. Soon, a thrilling sword fight ensued, with both vampaneze fighting skilfully, each getting their share of nicks and cuts. But it was obvious that Nalbis was more skilled than Steve, and soon Steve had his back to the wall of the Hall.

Damn, thought Steve, as he began to sweat. Nalbis, however, seemed as if he was not even tired. I need to try a new tactic. There were cries of 'Finish him!' and 'He is too feeble to be our Lord!' from the crowd, while Mr. Tiny kept silent, completely engrossed in the fight.

All of a sudden, Nalbis grabbed Steve's neck and squeezed, making Steve choke and gasp for breath.

'You don't deserve to lead our proud race, not in a million years!' cried Nalbis, to the cheers of the other vampaneze. 'I don't care what the meddler says. I will kill you right now, right here!'

Steve looked towards Mr. Tiny, who hadn't moved. Mr. Tiny seemed unfazed by the threat, as if Steve didn't matter. Steve gritted his teeth. Fine, he thought. I'll have to do this the dirty way.

As Nalbis raised his sword to level with Steve's neck, Steve slowly drew his second knife from his sleeve. Nalbis seemed not to have realized, and sneered at Steve. Steve sneered back, and before Nalbis could retaliate, Steve shoved the knife straight into his opponent's heart.

Nalbis gave a muffled choke, and staggered back, releasing Steve. He fell to his knees, and in his dying moments, he whispered, 'Curse you…'

A shocked silence filled the Hall. The silence was broken by a single pair of hands clapping, and a cruel, heartless laugh.

'Bravo, Steve, bravo!' said Mr. Tiny, and stopped clapping. 'Nalbis would have been a good right-hand man. Shame you had to kill him. Oh well, he would have killed you anyway, so I suppose it's alright. Moving on!' He turned to face the vampaneze crowd. 'Anyone else willing to fight Steve?'

There were murmurs among the crowd, with frequent glances towards Steve and Nalbis' dead body. Mr. Tiny clicked his fingers, and two Little People came out of nowhere, and carried him out of the Hall.

While Steve was still nursing his cuts, another vampaneze stepped forward. It was Gannen Harst.


One of the longest chapters I've written so far (I think). You like? You REVIEW!