Just a few moments ago Heero had been in a deep sleep, but the unmistakable presence of another vampire woke him in an instant. It was a rare occasion that a vampire would intrude on another vampire's territory, but Heero already knew who it was. Each vampire had an unmistakable 'scent' and Heero remembered it from last night when he went to town. He'd hoped that the vampire would have just gotten over his prey being stolen, but it was obvious from the moment Heero did it the vampire would find him.

He got out of bed but then stopped as he realized what time of the day it was. The vampire must be extremely ticked off to risk himself in broad daylight just for a little revenge. Before leaving his sanctuary, Heero put on a long cloak that shielded from all the sunlight. Stepping out of his room he surprised a servant on the other side.

Immediately the maid began to draw all of the curtains closed to where not even a little bit of sun shone through. More servants followed her example as Heero descended down the stairs to await his intruder. That was around the time he realized that neither Duo nor the orphan were anywhere to be seen.

No time was given for him to search for the two as the intruding vampire burst into the castle. All the servants scurried to close the doors as fast as possible, and as soon as the doors were closed the unknown vampire through off his cloak.

He was much younger than Heero had expected since most vampires that age didn't dare to confront another vampire. Especially one like Heero, with a castle, several servants, and obviously a lot of power.

"You must be the bastard who stole my prey last night!" The vampire's fierce crimson eyes were another sign he was young, because crimson eyes meant the yearning of a partner. "I can't believe you got the guts to go and steal her away from me."

Heero uncovered himself as well, "I don't know who you are. But obviously you must have a lot of guts or else a lack of intelligence to come barging into my castle. You must not understand who you're dealing with, but I'm not a bloodling like you if you can't tell."

Bloodling was just a way of describing vampires who were young like this guy, and it could be considered an insult depending on the intention of the word. Right now Heero was actually trying to offend the young vampire, but it was hard not to.

"Thinking you'll scare me of with you big talk? I've heard about you, after you found that human partner you stopped being included with the rest of us vampires. He must've tamed you to be the perfect little pet, right?" The bloodling gave a contempt glare to Heero as he continued on, "The last person I need a lecture from is you, Heero Yuy. Especially after you were the one to cross the line and steal her away."

Whether or not Heero wanted to accept it that was the truth of the matter. Something had made him stupidly save that girl from death even though it would happen eventually. He was still unable to even understand his own actions for what he had done, so how did the bloodling expect him to explain?

"If this is just about not getting some blood then I will just give you one of my own humans to feed off of. After receiving the human you will leave and go on your way."

The bloodling had a sly grin spread across his face as he spoke, "And what if I don't go away? What if I decide I want to steal something just as precious from you?"

Even though the vampire tried to seem serious, it was obviously an empty threat. He had no idea what was precious to Heero, and that meant he wouldn't know what to take away.

Yet even as the bloodling covered himself once again with his cloak and turned away Heero knew to be more wary of him. Heero gestured to a couple of the servants to open the doors, and then Heero faced away from the invading light. He ascended the stairs and watched from the landing as the bloodling was shut out of his castle.

As he began to return to his room Heero realized that he still had seen neither Duo nor Thomas at all. Luckily a servant was nearby and asked him if he'd seen Master Duo or Thomas. The servant pointed a finger towards the window, but Heero knew he meant the garden outside.

"I want you to summon Duo and tell him to meet me." Heero watched as the servant went down the stairs and towards the doors to the outside world.

The same world he was planning on taking away from Duo. His one true love and Heero knew he was stealing something he'd never be able to give back.

Life was something you could steal, but never return.

----

She was so beautiful even in the dim light of a candle, and perhaps that's what made the woman so beautiful. Stripped naked and standing at the door with a seductive look. A look normally Hilde would never give to anyone, especially not another woman

So then... why was she standing there? Sally got out of her bed and found herself to be stripped of all clothing as well. Just as she was about to reach out to Hilde... Duo showed up.

For some reason the half-vampire wasn't wearing anything either, but his body was a woman's. Instead of acting sexy like Hilde, Duo began running in circles around Sally's bed, and wouldn't allow her to get up. Somehow she'd magically reappeared in bed, but couldn't figure out how.

Hilde gave Sally a disappointed look and then turned away. She walked out into the dark abyss beyond Sally's room. Duo then ran out of the room as well leaving the vampire all alone on her bed.

----

Sally was sitting up in bed sweating as she looked around the room trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Everything was a dream... none of it was real. Even realizing the truth Sally looked over at the door to make sure Hilde was standing there.

The rest of the dream came to her after a few minutes of trying to remember, and she felt the urge to strangle Duo. Why was he in her dreams anyway?

And why was Duo a woman in her dream?

Sally honestly had no rational explanation for the last part since there was no way of explaining that part. Instead of trying to figure her dream out Sally decided to just get back to sleep and hope that she didn't have another dream like that. Whenever she closed her eyes the memory of Hilde standing naked kept flashing through her mind (and occasionally Duo as well though he wasn't as pleasant to look at).

----

Thomas knew he was supposed to remain where he was, but the curiosity was killing him and so the orphan followed Duo very quietly. Once Duo stopped, the orphan made sure not to come any closer in case he made too much noise. It was hard to see the person clearly, but the orphan managed to get a good view of the person as he went into the castle.

Maybe he was going to take away that guy Heero? Thomas quietly prayed that's why the person had come, and after Heero was gone then he and Duo could be happy alone.

Duo crouched in waiting as the front doors were closed, and then suddenly he started to run back to where he thought Thomas was. Thomas grabbed Duo's arm as he passed by, and startled the young man.

"Thomas! I told you to stay back there!" His tone indicated anger, but his face showed anxiety instead. Was the guy who came to visit really that bad?

Without saying another word to Thomas, Duo grabbed the boy's wrist and began to lead him down the path of the garden. Thomas hadn't even seen the path that Duo was taking up to the side of the castle, and wondered how he'd missed it... and how Duo knew about it.

At first it looked like nothing more than a regular wall, but as they got closer the orphan was able to see the outline of a door. It was made the look exactly like the stone of the castle, and now it made sense why Duo was leading him this way. This was a secret entrance in case the vampire was following them.

Once they were right in front of the door Thomas wondered how exactly they were supposed to open the door. But apparently there was no need, because all Duo did was touch the wall and the door swung in.

He was pulled inside and then Duo closed the door behind the both of them. "Now listen Thomas, you can't tell anyone about that door. It's a secret for only emergencies, and if anybody ever found it they would be able to get into the castle without anyone knowing."

Thomas bit his lower lip and nodded. This was one secret he would make sure never to tell anyone not even if he managed to make a best friend someday.

There was another loud bang and then Duo let out a relieved sigh. "He's leaving now, so we can leave this room."

"Where is this room?" Thomas asked as they were walking down a long corridor.

"It's behind the kitchen, but remember you can't tell anybody."

The two of them emerged just where Duo said they would, right behind the kitchen. Hilde looked surprised as she saw Duo and Thomas come out of the room, and then she seemed to understand.

"So that really was another vampire?" Hilde asked, and got an affirmative from Duo. "Thank goodness Master Heero made him leave already."

Duo was quiet and it made Thomas look up at the half-vampire. Hilde apparently didn't know how to interpret the silence either as she looked just as confused as the orphan felt. Instead of saying anything more Duo smiled and looked down at Thomas.

"Listen... I'm going to talk with Heero about all of this later, but for now let's do something fun. How about we go down to town right now and get you some new clothes?"

Whatever Hilde was planning on saying to stop Duo from leaving in the middle of the day was stopped as the half-vampire held up a hand to quiet her. Duo then led Thomas out of the kitchen and away from the chef who still didn't speak a word to them.

Thomas felt unsure about it, but Duo didn't seem ready to take no for an answer. Something was making him really need to go down to town, but why? Thomas thought he wasn't allowed to go to town in the day because he was a vampire... or at least part vampire.

"Dad, are you sure you want to?" Thomas looked up at his father, and he just received a kind smile.

The two of them quickly left the castle out of the front entrance which Duo had been so intent on avoiding just a few moments before. Maybe that visitor wasn't ever coming back and it made Thomas wonder who it was. Why did everyone want whoever that stranger was to go away so badly? Did he do something wrong to make everybody dislike him so much?

Almost before Thomas realized it they were on the path leading into the outskirts of the town. How come the first night he'd followed Duo up to the castle had seemed so long, but maybe he was just eager to prove all those other children wrong?

That was one opportunity Thomas had been hoping for, and that was to show all the other children he did have a family now. And Duo was better than any of the other fathers Thomas had seen in town.

"Daddy, can I go see some friends?" Thomas forced himself to look pitiful, and hoped Duo would fall for it. "I haven't seen them in a few days and I just wanted to tell them you adopted me. And I promise not to tell you're secret!"

Still, Duo hesitated to let go of Thomas' hand, but finally the half-vampire did. "You have to swear to me you won't tell anyone. If they want to know where you live now, just tell them you live out on the edge of town now."

Thomas smiled sweetly at Duo and stuck out his pinky finger to symbolize the pinky swear. Duo grinned like the first time Thomas had met him and it gave the orphan some relief. Finally it seemed like Duo was able to trust him; at least a little bit more than he had.

"I'll wait for you by the town gate after I talk to my friends." Thomas knew Duo would come and get him once he was done shopping, and didn't feel any worry. After Duo acknowledged the meeting place Thomas turned and ran down the street towards the place he knew the kids always played at.

As he ran down the streets he saw the familiar faces of the townspeople fly by and smiled at them. Now they couldn't make him feel bad for being an orphan, because he no longer was an orphan.

He now has a father, and a wonderful one too.

It only took another five minutes to reach the small area where all the children played when not in school. As soon as he arrived at the spot all the other adolescents stopped to stare at him. Thomas wasn't quite sure why they were staring at him, but the attention wasn't unwelcome.

"Thomas! We thought you were dead!" The only friend he'd ever had ran up and squeezed Thomas till he couldn't breathe.

One of the boys glared at Thomas, "Julia you know everyone would've just been happier if he hadn't come back."

"Shut up Will!" Julia turned back to look at Thomas with her large brown eyes, "Where have you been? I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see you again..."

There were tears in her eyes, but she didn't allow them to fall and instead grabbed Thomas by the hand. She led him over to the only tree in their little field, and the two of them sat down beneath it.

"I finally have a family Julia! A real family!" Thomas smiled at his best friend and she gave the most sincere smile back at him.

Without a warning Julia flung her arms around Thomas and hugged the boy, "Thomas that's wonderful!"

Neither of them paid attention to the other kids snickering at them for hugging each other. The two friends were just enjoying the bliss of finally seeing each other after nearly two weeks. Julia had left with her own family on vacation, and hadn't planned on arriving until two days ago. Until now Thomas never even had the chance to properly tell her goodbye.

"Now you can come to dinner with me and my family, and my parents can't stop you! They didn't like you because you were an orphan, but now they have no excuse to turn you away! And you can go to school too so we can see each other all day!" Julia had such a hopeful look that Thomas didn't know if he'd be able to tell her otherwise.

Instead Thomas got up and then offered to help Julia up as well. She smiled as she took his hand and then the two of them walked away from the rest of the children who just stared after them.

"Julia, I can't explain everything to you right now, but I promise to later. I'll try to come back here as soon as possible, and I'll go to the field if I can come to town." Thomas tried to keep his tone soothing, since Julia had a bad time with not crying over little things. "My dad has a lot of stuff going on, but after it's all over I will probably be able to come here everyday. I'll even tell him I want to go to school!"

The young girl seemed lost now and stopped walking. Thomas wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come. He knew what was going to happen next and he knew he wasn't going to like it.

Even knowing all of that didn't prepare him for the tears. Of all the defenses Julia had, her tears was the best. Nobody could handle the guilt of making her cry because of how her whole body just seemed to shatter when they did.

"Julia don't cry! Listen I'll make sure I'll be able to go to school! I swear!" He stuck his pinky finger in her face until she hooked her pinky with his.

"You better keep your promise!" She managed to say between sniffling.

Not like he had any other choice now.

----

By the time Duo and Thomas returned from their trip to town it was almost nightfall and it made the half-vampire wonder what had took them so long. They left early in the morning and didn't return for almost seven hours. Most likely a lot of other people would be wondering the same thing, since Duo usually only went out at night and only for a couple of hours.

Right now he was trying to figure out what prompted Thomas to feel the need to go to school once it started in about a week. The boy wouldn't explain his reason for why it was absolutely necessary for him to attend, but Duo didn't argue. It would be good for Thomas to get a proper education so when he went out into the normal world he wouldn't be completely lost.

At this moment his prime concern was explaining to Heero why he was gone so long. Heero wasn't going to be mad or anything, but Duo felt guilty because Heero had specifically asked him not to go out a lot during the day.

Once they arrived at the castle Duo went and dropped off all of the clothes he'd bought for Thomas. He left them on the bed knowing that the maid would come put them up later on.

Most likely Hilde was just finishing up dinner, so Duo told Thomas to go downstairs and eat. The half-vampire decided to try and rebuild some trust for the boy by allowing him to go by himself. As soon as he was done eating, Thomas knew to come straight back to his room, and then he was gone.

Descending the stairs two steps at a time, Thomas was immediately out of sight to follow the aroma of food. Duo chose to make his way towards Heero's room in order to get in a little alone time hopefully for some pleasure along with his guilt trip.

Without even knocking the half-vampire barged in on Heero who was in the middle of changing. Duo closed the door and didn't even hesitate to walk right up behind Heero and wrap his arms around his lover's waist. "Good evening Heero."

"I'm not mad you know," Heero was always good at reading Duo's emotions, and once again he hit the nail on the head. Was his guilt really that easy to see? "Never once did I restrict you from leaving during the day, but I just want you to get used to only leaving at night."

Nipping Heero on the neck Duo tried to distract the vampire from in impending explosion of guilt. Really he was trying to distract himself, but this way was at least enjoyable for the both of them.

Yet Heero pulled away from Duo once again in order to put on a shirt. "Not now Duo... for all you know Thomas may burst in at any moment."

"He may be a child, but Thomas knows his limits. I've already warned him that he's never allowed in here." Duo tried to persuade Heero, but it was obviously no use. That's when he decided to go ahead and ask the question Thomas had wanted him to, "By the way... can Thomas start going to school?"

Heero stood still for a second and seemed to really examine the half-vampire. Duo fidgeted because of the uneasiness Heero was making him feel.

"Why would he want to go to school?"

Heero was really good.

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but he wanted to. Maybe to make a few friends so he won't be so lonely all day." Duo tried not to emphasize the word friends too much, because he knew exactly what Heero would be worried about. "Don't worry, I promise that he won't tell anyone about us."

Heero turned away and seemed to contemplate the situation. "It's odd you ask me the same exact thing Sally did earlier... Anyways, I think it would be alright for him to go to school, but if he ever tells anyone things will become very complicated for all of us."

Duo nodded and tried to hide his smile. Now Thomas would be happy to be with his own friends, and it would give Duo more time to spend with Heero.

----

Careful, Quatre knew he had to be cautious as he slipped out onto the streets in search of fresh blood. Already he was sick of the blood Heero had given him, and knew he was just going to have to not get caught getting a drink. Surely he could get a drink without killing the person... right?

From what he'd heard Heero had never done such a thing, but Heero also had a castle in which he may keep servants and people alike. That's probably why Quatre had never seen Heero personally drink from a human, because the vampire tried not to do it in front of Duo. Yet it made it difficult for Quatre to observe how another full-fledged vampire acted.

He felt suspicious walking out alone on the streets at night, but then he also noticed some other people around too. Dressed like him, and just enjoying the company of friends'. Perhaps he wasn't the only person who came out this late after the sun set, but there was still an obvious difference between him and those people.

They were normal. They could go out day or night and enjoy their lives to the fullest, and even though the blonde didn't want to admit it... he missed being like that. When there wasn't a fear of the sun and he could honestly go out and enjoy himself, but that life was over now.

Most of the time Quatre had to be so wary about everything that it almost made the blonde vampire wonder why people always wanted to be a vampire. It wasn't nearly as luxurious and wonderful as people made it seem, and Quatre didn't know if he wanted to live for an eternity.

A drunken woman stumbled out of a tavern and clung to Quatre, and tried to hit on him. Her slurred words made would've made any normal man leave her there on the street, but Quatre realized she was the perfect person. Alcohol made the blood taste a little nasty, but Quatre really didn't care at the moment.

Nobody was going to miss some woman who was completely wasted and didn't even sense any danger when Quatre pulled her into the dark alley nearby. She didn't even seem to notice when the blonde bit into her neck and began to greedily drink in the tainted blood. Tainted or not, he was starving and it tasted so good... Without realizing it he eventually had nothing more left to drink in her body, and Quatre allowed the woman to fall to the ground.

"Did I kill her...?" He knew it was a stupid question; people don't normally lie on the ground motionless without a pulse. Without a second thought the blonde vampire fled the scene of his horrible crime, and he felt this numbness.

He was nothing more than a monster. Why on earth would anybody want to be a vampire?

All they did was kill, and live off of death.

----

Happy Late Halloween! I really meant to post yesterday, but... you know how things get when it's a holiday and you're hyper off of candy. (winkwink)

Anyway, like I said I'm going on hiatus for the month of November. I'm really sorry that I have to do this, but with NaNoWriMo starting today... I just won't have the time to type up more chapters of this and my NaNoWriMo project; not to mention school on top of all of that.

So I hope you guys don't hate me for this. But I promise that as soon as November is over that I will start up again with this series and nothing else.

Besides that I hoped everyone enjoyed!

Please R & R!

Shari Maxwell (See ya'll in December!)