I loved Dublin, but admittedly hadn't spent much time in rural Ireland before. Reminded me a bit of the Rockies back in North America- except a lot hillier and no bears. Garrett regaled me about the castle and surrounding land. I was right; it was wolf territory. Not surprising; Ireland was famous in "our" world for being the werewolf capital of Europe, or at least far out west here.

Arm-in-arm, Garrett escorted me out of the East Wing and into the main foyer. At the back of the castle was this grand hall with massive, tall, clear glass windows. I'm sure there were other vampires around but I didn't see them, and I think this set my guardian at ease. He certainly spoke so. Giving my arm a squeeze, he brought me over to the window overlooking the back courtyard and pool down below.

We chatted there for a while until I summoned up the courage to ask the question lingering in the back of my mind. "So…. how many other residents are here exactly? There's you, me, Dr. Cullen, Argus….." Garrett looked at me a second, hesitating slightly to reply. "Oh, you know; not many. There's not many of us living at the castle. I've been here fifteen years myself, Argus has been here since the forties, and then there's the Cullens." "Dr. Cullen has a family?" "Well, adoptive family. He's married to a sweet gal named Esme. They have five kids between them. They're all here, living in another wing somewhere." "Huh…. Is that it? Any more of us?" Garrett hummed to himself for a moment, his eyes rolling upwards as if he was actually trying to remember. "I don't think so….. Can't think of anyone else anyway. Me, Argus, and the Cullens are the only ones who've stuck around for more than a year. Others have come and gone, never staying for very long. Can't say a vegetarian lifestyle is the most attractive….."

That also reminded me of something. "Hey, yeah. If you drink human blood and aren't fasting, then why are you here?" "Me? No real reason. As you can probably tell, I'm American, like you. I stayed in Europe after I enlisted for World War II. Never spent much time abroad before then and thought I'd do some wandering. Heard of this place by chance and thought I'd come have a vacation after a couple of years of aimless meandering. They agreed to let me stay if I did the odd job here and there…" His shoulder shrugged as he paused momentarily here, staring out into space. "And that's it. Been here ever since." Also gazing downward, my head nodded on its own accord. I can see why he decided to stay here; it is a beautiful castle in a picturesque location.

I hadn't notice Garrett's eyes drawn back onto my face. A kind smile drew across his and he gave my arm another surprising squeeze. "Ah, life will be a lot more interesting, now that you're here." "Really?!" My head shot up; I didn't I was anything special or exciting. But he simply nodded in finality. "Absolutely. I've never been the guardian of anyone before. This'll be quite a change for me anyway- even if I'm no good at it." "Oh, I'm sure you'll be good! You're doing a bang-up job already." "Heh, bang-up. Spent some time in England before you came here, huh?" He chuckled and I grinned. "You're not the only one who's drawn to Europe." "Well you're welcome to stay for as long as you please, kiddo." "Thanks, Garrett; I appreciate it. It's nice to have a friend already," this made him beam at me.

Our conversation was interrupted by the dinner bell ringing. We both perked up alarmed and Garrett withdrew his arm from me. "Ah! Time for dinner. Uh, I'm gonna go join Argus in the kitchen now. You can just hang around until we're done." "Ok, but why aren't you eating in the dining room with the Cullens? Do you never drink together?" "Never. Those guys are all vegetarians while me and Argus prefer human blood. I'd invite you to join us but I don't want to tempt you, considering you just started your fast and all…" He seemed almost sorry to tell me this. To quell any worry he might have, I flashed him a warm, understanding grin. "No, I get it. I'll be fine; I'll just go take a walk outside. It's such a nice evening out."

Garrett hesitated here, his face morphing to one of clear reluctance. "Ok, but just don't go past the garden walls. It's dangerous in those woods, even for a regular vampire." "I'll be ok. I won't leave the courtyard. You just go and enjoy your dinner; we'll meet up later when you're done." "Alright…" Still obviously uncomfortable with the idea, he left the grand hall with one last look in my direction. I waited until he was gone before exiting out through one of the panel doors. It led out into the circular greenroom was a lovely view of the outside. From there I found a staircase which took me down outside into the back courtyard. The place was empty, which shouldn't be a surprise. If Garrett is right and there's only nine other vampires staying here, then I doubt we'd randomly bump into one another in this gigantic castle. Or at least not often.

Once outside, I went over to the edge of the courtyard to get a good view of the mountains and river. My god, what a stunning place…. Closing my eyes for a second, my head tossed upwards so I could soak in all the sensations around me. Beautiful castle, beautiful courtyard, beautiful scenery; I felt like the luckiest girl, er vampire, alive. The warm summer breeze bustled through my hair, sending the strands out in front of my face. It was like a scene out of a movie- I was that entranced.

Or I was anyway, until I reopened my eyes and gazed forward off into the distance. I looked and my heart stopped. There, standing far off on a mountain ravine amongst the grass and flowers, was this humongous brown wolf. And not just any wolf- a werewolf. He was far enough away that I didn't feel in any immediate danger, but his appearance did catch me off guard. Despite being a distance away from me, I could see that the wolf had also spotted me. He saw me… and was staring at this point. My eyes locked onto his massive brown, glossy ones.

Neither of us did anything right away. I didn't know what to do…. I'd heard of werewolves' existence before, and sensed their presence here and back in North America, but this was my first time actually seeing one. I could tell this one was male, and in a young body…. He had this air of youth about him, but I thought he was older than me; age-wise anyway. I don't know how I knew that, but I did. Maybe it was something in his eyes…..

I could also tell by the way he stared back at me that he too didn't know what to make of me. He appeared to be….. confused, is the best way to put it? Like he didn't know what I was. My best guess is that he's never seen a "human" vampire before; maybe he didn't realize the difference.

Whatever may be the case, we merely gawked at each other until something exterior interrupted us. "Bella! You out here?" I heard Garrett's voice call out for me. "Uh, yeah!" I yelled back, not taking my eyes off the wolf. By now my guardian had opened the outside door and was on his way out to fetch me. Only then did I glance back him from over and my shoulder.

And when I looked back to where the wolf had been, he was gone.