Her head down low and chin brushing the snow, Weiss' breath came out as steamy clouds. The hard cold bit mercilessly at her exposed fingers and numbed her toes, the night utterly unconcerned for her or anything else's comfort.

Still as the fallen snow she listened intently. Discipline and rigorous training helped her keep her composure as her long post continued to seep her stamina. Her attention never drifted from her task; spotting and tracking the beast.

Somewhere out in the dark mountainous forest a vampire roamed and she was determined to hunt it down. The village head and his contract was hardly helpful in details or description but it did provide knowledge of timeframe and victims. With two casualties and a survivor within the last two weeks, all sloppy work, she surmised she was looking at a new blood, or a neophyte. This made her task both easier and more lethal. In most cases the new blood was hungry and vicious. Scared. Like an animal they were more likely to fight back.

Her legs buzzed with energy. Her tongue darted out often to moisten her pale, thin lips. A strand of wet hair clung uncomfortably to her forehead. Somewhere above a pair of small wings beat the wind, utterly unaware. A shrouded moon cast a cautious light upon the treetops but not on her. Like the perfect shadow the huntress waited patiently, a cat stalking its mouse.

She knew where the new blood might be and, more importantly, she knew that it would cross her path soon. Each time one of its victims had been found was after they had stumbled their way to this specific spot, barely an hour's walk from the village borders. The most recent and failed attack was found closer to the village than any other. Weiss had a hunch the devil would likely fall back to its further secluded and safer hunting grounds.

Surely enough her suspicions were rewarded with a gratifying confirmation.

The fall of light footsteps. A rustling and crack as a branch snagged fabric. A tingle and electric jolt that zinged up her spine and finished on her scalp. Weiss' entire body seized like a lock and her eyes snapped as lightning to the left of her position. She could see past the tree trunk she lay beside a clothed humanoid shape, stepping hastily through the foliage just a few meters from her. It was thin and small. Definitely young.

It wasn't stopping, however. It kept going at its brisk pace, oblivious to the ice blue eyes that stalked it. Weiss' body itched to move and draw her silver. To spring out as cold lightning and take her prey with two swift actions. Her movements were planned already; she would roll out from her cover simultaneously drawing myrtenaster and planting her feet, placing herself directly behind it. The bloodthirsty monster would react within a moment and would already be leaping to gore her throat. She would let it come, let it get so close that she could see its accursed eyes right before her rapier would dart out with her arm and cleanly pierce its throat.

Yet caution and curiosity kept her still. It wasn't uncommon for a new blood to appear at random in populated locations, either victims of a passing vampire covering its tracks to take attention from itself after a feeding or a member of an expanding coven.

New bloods did not, however, randomly spring up and start harassing the countryside. There was too little to feed on and not enough of the city noise and mess to help hide the trail of death left behind. In a city like Beacon it may be days before anyone truly takes proper notice but in a small community the impact of a missing person would be felt within hours. Action would be immediate and the hunt would be on within the day.

Pursing her lips and deciding to wait, Weiss was sure there had to be a reason that a neophyte had suddenly appeared to prey on the people in the countryside of Vale. Possibly there was more than one reason.

As the figure melted into the trees and faded from sight, Weiss stopped trying to see it and instead listened. Its footsteps crunched in the snow now. It was getting faster. She waited until the sounds of its travel barely reached her ears anymore. Then, quiet as the air that barely moved the trees, she stood.

With one quick stretch to let her legs get used to strain once more she was off, trailing behind the new blood killer.

Through ankle deep snow and uneven ground Weiss danced, careful to never allow her feet to misstep and give away her pursuit. The wind was in her favor, blowing against her and carrying her scent far, far away. It bit and gnawed at her face, a small price for the safety it yet offered. The new blood itself was never too far away, its tracks always allowing her to keep it close enough for her to follow easily.

Weiss' left hand fingered the hilt of her cold blade as she overstepped treacherous debris and twisted around the grey trunks of the tall, thin trees. Adrenaline coursed through her like a fierce flame and she grit her teeth as an involuntary reaction. The lifeless corpse of her new blood target already she could see in her mind.

Focused as intently as she was, she realized immediately when the new blood suddenly stopped moving. She leaned back hard on her left leg and reached out with her right hand to catch herself on ice glazed stone. She currently had a vantage point on the new blood, standing silently midway down a steep slope. She couldn't see the new blood from her vantage point but she was certain of its location.

The moon watched lazily while Weiss breathed in the frosty air. It's getting far into the night. She noted to herself. Somewhere between two and three, the new blood surely does not want to catch the sunrise.

The loud and unmistakable creak of frozen, rusted hinges made Weiss jump. The startle was met by understanding and a small huff. Somewhere ahead lay the ruined foundation of some old cabin and, more importantly, it had a cellar. The hinges creaked once more and all was silent. These abandoned structures littered the country, long abandoned farm houses, left behind by fleeing families years and years ago. The ideal haunt for a young vampire stalking the rural areas of civilization.

Weiss let out her breath in one long woosh, letting her knees bend and leaning with her shoulder against the stone. She had come at last to the new blood's lair and now the nerves gnawed relentlessly at her stoic determination.

"Curses upon you, fiend." She whispered under her breath. She had hunted many things, including vampires. Never alone, though. No, usually she would have been with a team of hunters. It was safer, if not a little more clumsy. This time the circumstances were vastly changed and she had unexpectedly discovered herself hunting alone. It was cold and she was tired.

Annoyance and trepidation like a thorn beset her. She was not overtly keen on descending into the darkness to do battle with the beast. She placed a hand on her thigh and drew her rapier. Slowly and carefully she journeyed down the rest of the slope, watching wide eyed for any sign that the new blood was waiting for her in the shadows, aware of her chasing throughout the night. To her luck Weiss found that no such knowledge had reached the thing's ears and, with a sigh of relief, she came to a tiny, snowy clearing.

A small foundation of rotten wood and weathered cobblestone awaited her. A shattered barrel and wooden handles of various tools propped hazardously against it sat gloomy in the dim light, forgotten and useless. She stepped over a decrepit wicket fence and approached the long gone building, careful to try and spot any traps laid out for her. There were none.

When she stood finally above the cellar door she felt her breath hitch. The new blood would not yet be resting or asleep. Weiss curled her frozen toes inwards and let her sword rest on the ground as she blew into her hands. The sun wasn't due for a few more hours and she wasn't about to fight it now. With a solemn sigh she knelt above the door, myrtenaster by her side and within arm's reach, and closed her eyes.

The night continued peacefully and quietly. It was almost unreal, she mused, how sinister it really was. Her grim task bellied the serenity that the forest desperately tried to claim. The air nipped at her exposed cheeks and nose playfully and uncomfortably and her muscles ached to rest on something soft and comfortable. The hours passed.

She did not keep track of, or even really realize, when she had drifted into a feather light sleep, but the first chirp of the birds caused her muscles to spasm. Her hand touched the hilt of her rapier and she crouched like a cat on her feet. When it became apparent to her that she was still alone, she grimaced. Foolish. She thought without humor, allowing her breathing to relax a little as she stood. Her muscles and joints protested as she stretched them.

The darkness of the night was giving way to a pale grey morning. Not ideal but it will do. She pushed her grey white hood back and ran a cold stiff hand through her damp, tangled hair. Her mouth turned down in a frown and she did not acknowledge that the least of her worries was her physical discomfort.

With little else to do and not willing to spend any more time out here than necessary she wielded her blade and stood above the cellar door. She stuck her hand in a leather pouch and fingered silver gun powder. She would smoke the devil out and pray there was only the one.

"Here goes," She muttered under her breath, her voice a little too high for her own liking. Her knuckles were white gripping her rapier as she raised up her leg. With a growl she brought her boot down hard on the cellar door.

It splintered away frighteningly easily. Far, far too easily. A surprised yelp escaped from her open mouth as her entire leg plummeted forcefully into the oh so soft wood. Her thick wool leggings and leather boots protected her from the jagged edges as she continued to fall. She vainly tried to twist her weight to the side and grab hold of something but she was already too far in. With little option left, she held onto her weapon and clenched her jaw.

With a painful thud and a deafening amount of noise she fell ten feet straight to the cellar floor and landed on her hip and elbow. Before the last of the cellar door could land on top of her she rolled backwards and out of its path into a corner. The hinges clanged loudly on stone and planks of wet, rotten wood impacted dully. A stream of poor light filtered in through the now gaping opening, alongside light snow, barely illuminating the cold, dark cellar.

Wooden boxes, sacks of assorted things like moldy grain and a few rusty tools lined the walls. The ceiling above was well supported by thick logs of wood and she noted a sizable pile of wood beside her. The stairs.

What was most important to her, however, was the hunched figure at the opposite end of the small room that stared at her. Two big, bright silver orbs peered from the darkness. It stood frozen, its expression locked in one of surprise and confusion. She stared at it and it stared back.

She watched its eyes dart to her silver rapier, reflecting the little light that poured hungrily to illuminate the disturbed lair. It tensed.

Weiss caught her breath.

Then the lunge.

Weiss cried out angrily and threw herself forward and low, skidding just out of reach of the devil's grasping hands. She leapt to her feet and twisted around, dodging expectantly to the side as the vampire rebounded at her. It tried and failed to catch itself as it crashed hard into a wooden beam. Weiss saw her chance and lunged with her rapier.

The tip of her blade nicked its shoulder.

It shrieked in shock and recoiled viciously, thrashing with its nails. Weiss rolled once more out of the way and stood back up in her corner. The vampire hissed from across the room at her, trying to hide its face in a ragged hood and failing. Weiss' breath was laboured and excited and her hand trembled.

They watched each other intensely, neither wanting to move. Weiss could see the terror and fear on its face and it made her cautious. It would not run away, she knew it. The only option was to kill it.

The vampire's face twisted into a snarl as it dashed towards her. Weiss flinched reflexively and, with her right hand, tossed a cloud of silver dust into the air. The vampire faltered in its movement as Weiss sidestepped it wide, swinging her heavy rapier in an arc. The metal once again found flesh and, to her satisfaction, bled the devil as it tore through fabric and into her upper arm.

Again it recoiled in pain, throwing itself into the broken stairs. Its cry was pained, scared. Terror dripped from its fanged mouth. Its hood flew back and Weiss could clearly see the face beneath.

A pair of glossy silver eyes, wide and terrified, now looked at her from the ground. The vampire was a girl, young, with shaggy reddish hair. Her skin was pale, as were all vampires. Her lips were full and pink. And they trembled.

Oddly, though, the silver dust that fell upon her did not seem to affect her. Weiss gripped the hilt of her sword tighter.

"Go away," The vampire meekly whimpered. Weiss steadied her stance "You don't have to do this, please. I'm not going to be bad, I swear!" It pleaded pathetically. Morning came on fast and the day was to be sunny. The light coming in from the ceiling was much more effective. The vampire pressed itself tightly against the stair pile.

Weiss kept her sword trained carefully on its heart. They stood but five or four feet apart and Weiss was sure she could close the distance quickly enough. The eyes peered up at her, searching for some sign of mercy or weakness she could not discern. Likely both.

"How did you come to be here?" Weiss asked coldly. Her hip throbbed.

The vampire jumped a little at her voice. Her lips trembled. "I-I didn't mean to, I swear! I promise I didn't mean to," it babbled, shakily. Weiss' ire burned deep.

"Answer!" She snapped, her tone as piercing as the tip of her sword. The vampire flinched. Weiss found herself a little taken aback by how quickly it had given up the fight.

It swallowed and whimpered, eyes trained pitifully on the tip of myrtenaster. "I don't know, I just woke up like this. I didn't mean to," it whimpered. Her voice shook with fear and pain. Weiss felt sympathy well up in her chest. The tragedy of a new blood, she thought darkly, was that there were only victims involved. There was no great, true evil.

Some in her business might disagree. She shelved the thought.

"I have to kill you." Weiss said coldly. Its eyes darted once again to her's, wide and wet. "You were human. You understand," Weiss said quietly, "Yes?"

The vampire whimpered.

Weiss checked her footing. It was solid. Her sword was aimed and her foe lay defenseless below her. "I'll leave, I swear I'll leave and I'll never come near this place again!" The vampire begged.

Weiss let her sympathy go and hardened her emotions. There was no ethical way to let the creature go. The two victims, the mangled boy. "You've already killed. Already lives have been damaged by your actions. There is no mercy." Weiss growled.

"No! I didn't do it! I didn't kill anyone!"

"Liar! Do not beg for mercy and deny your monstrous deeds all at the same time, fiend!" Weiss sneered viciously. Her blood boiled. She felt sick. Her muscles tensed.

"The first two," The vampire shouted as she sensed Weiss' imminent movement, "weren't me! I didn't do it!" She cried pitifully, flinching back violently and covering her face with her arms. Weiss caught herself and held her ground.

"The first two?" A deep, cold feeling crawled up from the stone bellow and seeped through her legs.

"The first two weren't me," The vampire repeated in a muffled voice, her head still hidden, "I only attacked one boy! And I didn't kill him!" She cried.

The air grew heavy. Suddenly, Weiss felt her confidence and red hot anger replaced by a gnawing doubt. And fear. "You aren't alone." She said matter of factly.

"No!" The vampire yelped, "Well, I am now, but I wasn't! I swear, there was another!"

Weiss stared hard at the vampire girl. Her arms lowered and once again she trained her eyes on Weiss' sword. "They were the one who killed the first two. I was still…" Her voice hitched and she paused, but only briefly, "I was still too weak to move very well."

Weiss took her eyes off the vampire for the first time to scan the room. It was empty, devoid of any presence aside from them. Her eyes snapped rapidly back to the creature who hadn't moved. Instead it whimpered quietly in the corner.

She had to kill it. It had to die. She also had to find out about the other vampire. "Did they turn you? The other?"

"I don't know. Maybe." The vampire replied. Her voice was pained. "I don't remember how I'm here."

"Describe. I have to find them as well."

The vampire looked into her eyes once more. There was something akin to hope in them but it slowly faded away as she found nothing comforting in Weiss' cold glare. "You'll kill me?"

"I have to."

The vampire shuddered. "I haven't killed anyone."

Weiss ground her teeth. "A boy is barely alive, two people are dead with their blood no doubt given to help sustain you through your unholy birthing. People are dead because of you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking, "I didn't want people to be hurt. I," She hiccupped, "I didn't want to be a monster."

Weiss felt herself go numb. She'd never once had the unfortunate opportunity to converse with a new blood. Especially one so emotional. "I," She said with uncertainty, "I am sorry." She offered. The vampire looked again to her sword.

"I don't want to die,"

"Please, describe the other one. You can still mean something and make amends for the people you caused the suffering of."

The vampire went quiet as she stared hard and long at myrtenaster. She seemed to be spaced out as tears on her cheeks fell freely. Weiss felt a genuine pang of sympathy course through her.

"Can we talk, first?" The vampire asked quietly, "I'd like for you to know about me first before…" She let the sentence finish itself.

Weiss thought. Her hip pulsed from pain and her eyes burned. The exhaustion of her hunt was creeping up on her as the situation began to slow down. The new blood looked so human. So sad, scared and fragile. "I suppose." She didn't want to bear the knowledge of her victim, but there was something to be said for compassion and maintaining your heart in her line of work.

The girl glanced at Weiss' face, which had softened only barely, very briefly before turning back to the rapier. "Before," she paused, "The last time I was," another pause, "Right before I stopped remembering things," she managed, "I was with my sister and her friend." She smiled sadly, "We were at the market. For bread." Her expression shifted, as if she was somewhere else.

Weiss frowned sadly with her.

"I was excited. It was in Beacon, we were going to the market. I was going to see a friend, a girl. Her name is Penny." She seemed to drift away to somewhere else, "The sounds of the downtown market are always so fun. The smell as well. People all waved to us. My sister with her long golden hair was always popular. I just wanted to see Penny."

Weiss interrupted her with a dismissive movement of her hand. "My arm is exhausted. I can't trust you enough to lower my sword."

The vampire looked up at her sadly. "I wouldn't!" She begged.

Weiss let out a huff and reached for a pool of rope she had wrapped around her belt. She pulled it free with her right hand and tossed it to the girl. "Tie your ankles and then your hands." She ordered.

The vampire stared at it before obediently reaching it to grab it. Weiss watched as she did as she was told. When she saw that the knots were done properly and that the new blood even tightened the knot, pulling on it with her teeth, she hesitantly lowered her sword.

The two stared at one another for a few moments before Weiss, never taking her eyes off of her, took four long steps back into the direct sunlight and leaned against one of the support poles, allowing her arm to rest at her side. The relief made her sigh. The vampire seemed to relax as well.

Weiss ran a hand through her hair, anxiously pulling on knots. Her gut told her this was wrong, that she shouldn't be conversing with a dead woman. Yet, there was no doubt that the creature was still so close to human she practically was one. "You really haven't killed anyone?" She asked again with a meaningful look.

The vampire shook her head softly. "I stopped myself. When the other one left I was terrified. I didn't want to…" She paused, "I didn't want to look after myself." She began to fidget with her hands. "But it hurt not to."

Weiss felt nauseous. Her body ached and begged to be taken care of and she was busy humoring the same creature she'd promised a terrorized village she'd kill. It felt wrong. "It's why you can't just be left alone to live."

The vampire girl sighed. "I have an uncle like you. He also hunts monsters. Grimm, Vampires. Bad, evil men."

"A hunter." Weiss was a little bit surprised. There weren't many hunters in the world right now, not compared to how they used to be.

"Yes. A hunter." She affirmed. "I only ever saw him once in a while, though." She said sadly, distantly.

"That's how it is." Weiss added.

"I wonder if he'd kill me right now." The room fell silent. Weiss ground her teeth and tried to temper her frustration.

"It isn't fair, I know. It never is, with this," Weiss said, "But you aren't the only victim. My own family has lost people to vampires, alongside countless others. Your uncle hunts for a reason, too. He must."

The girl was no longer looking at Weiss. "I know. I just, I... I don't enjoy this. They always say that the monsters who hurt us enjoy it, but I don't. I didn't enjoy hurting that boy."

Weiss shifted her weight as her leg began to go numb. "Some do."

The girl shrugged.

They fell into a heavy silence. Weiss could only guess at the things going through the vampire's head as she sat in her dark corner of a cellar in a part of the country she probably didn't even know she was in, bound by rope she tied herself.

"Are you hungry?" Weiss asked bluntly.

The girl looked at her. "It isn't like hunger. Thirsty." She looked away. "No."

Weiss grunted uncomfortably.

"Could you tell me about the other?" She asked.

The tears began to fall again. "Would you like to know my name?"

"Sure."

The girl gave her a sad smile. "Ruby." She sniffled. "Rose. I grew up on a small fishing island off the mainland of Vale."

Weiss looked away. "Weiss Schnee. Not originally from here." She said sharply.

The vampire, Ruby, made a small sound. "The thing is… I didn't ever get to see her face. Or if I did I can't remember." Her cheeks were soaked in her tears. "I don't even remember getting here, or anything. I can't remember anything at all. I just know her voice and that she was tall. I can't remember anything else, I'm sorry.

Weiss nodded, frustrated. What useless information. "And her name?"

Ruby looked down at her feet. Weiss noticed now that they were bare. "She never said. She never talked to me at all. Just made me drink."

They fell silent. Weiss' head swam in turmoil as she realized their discussion was coming to an end. Over what she had to do. "Do you feel cold?"

Ruby looked up at her. "Yeah. It doesn't really matter anymore, though. It doesn't hurt."

"Here." Weiss pulled her cloak off of her shoulder and gently tossed it over. She shrugged. "Even if it doesn't hurt."

Ruby looked at her with eyes that shone with pain and sadness. "Thank you." She mumbled through trembling lips as she nudged and shuffled the cloak around herself. Those eyes were striking, so full of vibrancy. Yet something in them seemed vacant.

Weiss sighed and rubbed her eyes. Somewhere, at some point in their conversation, Weiss realized she was no longer seeing the new blood, or the vampire. She was seeing her as Ruby. A human. A deep, deep feeling twisted her stomach and made her knees weak. She looked at Ruby and Ruby looked back. And Weiss was stalling.

"I don't want to kill you."


Hey everyone. It's been quite some time.

This chapter is a preview to a much, much longer story I've been writing now for a while. Currently it's just north of 60k words written and tons still to go. This will be a VERY long story, the length of multiple books most likely and split up as such. I'm posting this proto-chapter here, the first one in the story, as I'm hoping to attract some beta-readers who are interested in giving me some advice about that story.

For those who just liked the chapter, thank you for reading it! I hope to see everyone again in a few months to show you guys the scope of this story and what I've been working on all this time.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BETA-READING A LONG STORY THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE THE LENGTH OF A LONG NOVEL, PLEASE PM ME ABOUT IT.