It was snowing outside the mountain, and cold, very cold.

Roma shivered in her coat as she followed Darren through the forest that surrounded the mountain. It was getting dark and night creatures were just starting to come out, crying their nightly cries.

Darren hasn't talked to her since the incident with Haley, well, maybe once or twice, and to tell her to come with him outside. When she asked, he ignored and didn't look at her. It made Roma quite angry, with him and herself.

Snow crunched under Roma's combat boots and she felt the soft, white flakes rest on her hair and melt. Roma loved the forest. With its sounds, it's smells, the creatures that lived in it. It was so much better than being inside the mountain with people.

Roma snorted.

"What was that?" Darren looked back at her, glaring through his black bangs that hung over his green eyes, "Was that you?"

"Yes."

"Yes 'what'?"

Roma growled inwardly, "Yes, sire."

The young prince rolled his eyes as he store back in front of him, walking a little faster. Roma stuck her tongue out at him and scrunched up her cute nose.

'How mature,' The Voice sneered inside her head, 'You're not a little girl anymore.'

Roma growled.

Suddenly Darren stopped and she ran right into him, "Watch it!" He hissed, pushing her away.

"Well, how 'bout you tell me you're stopping before I ran into you?" Roma snapped,

"Shh!" Darren held a finger to his mouth, "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

Then Roma heard it, a faint noise in the howling wind as it swept by her ears.

"Wolves!" Roma exclaimed happily. Never in her life have she ever been close to a wolf before, since she was never really able to go outside.

Darren store at her, seeing the expression of happiness that made her face light up, made his heart swell with some unknown emotion.

Roma almost hopped with excitement, "Omygod I can hear them coming, I can hear them coming!" Darren scowled at her.

Something big and dark came out of the dense trees, then another, then more. Standing in front of Roma was a pack of six wolves. Roma drank in their scent, wanting to remember their wild smell.

"Hello, old friends." Darren smiled; the wolves seemed to nod and bow with respect.

One she wolf, a mottled colored one with a scar on her muzzle, came up to sniff Roma. The vampire woman's eyes went wide as the small wolf licked her hand and nuzzled into them.

The rest of the wolves joined her, licking and letting the two vampires pet them. A large, black wolf came up to Darren and licked his face as a wolf cub seemed quite content in the prince's arms.

Roma rubbed a gray wolf behind the ears as the mottled colored she wolf stood by her.

"I'll name you…" Roma thought for a second, "Dapple." She said to the she wolf and turned to the gray male, "And I'll name you Stud."

Darren scoffed, "Dapple, what a dumb name," realizing that he had named a wolf 'Rudi' long ago, he took back what he said. He just earned a glare from Roma.

"It's good for her because of her fur."

"W-what? How do you know what color she is if you're blind?" Darren's eyes were wide. How could someone who couldn't see know what color a wolf was?

Roma shrugged, "I just do," she didn't want to explain it to him. She knew what color Dapple was because when she touched living things she got a brief image in her head on how they look.

Dapple wagged her tail and Stud barked.

---

When the wolves left, Roma felt a little empty as the two vampires continued to walk on. It felt like a piece of her was bitten off when the wolves had to leave.

'Suck it up.'

Roma gritted her teeth; of course the Voice had something rude to say when she's sad. Darren seemed to not want anything to do with her when she said she knew what color Dapple was.

Maybe that was a dumb choice.

Roma shook her head. She didn't really want to brood about it right now, what she wanted to know was where Darren was taking her.

"Sire, where are we going?"

He didn't answer.

"Tell me!" Roma demanded, not able to keep the impatience out of her voice.

The young prince spun around with a growl. Roma flinched and closed her eyes, thinking he was going to smack her, or worse. The hit didn't come. Instead a wave of mental anger was almost enough to knock her off her feet.

"How dare you say that to me?" it came out as a quick hiss, "I am your teacher, god dammit Roma!" Darren's voice rose with each word, "You don't tell me to do anything!"

He continued to yell until the veins in his eyes showed and one in his head bulged. His face was a bright red. Roma flinched when his voice became high-pitched.

'I knew the dude was batty," the Voice mused, adding the annoyance of Roma's situation.

He's…crazy?

'That's an understatement. Being through all that stress of being a prince can make you loco. Or maybe having you as an apprentice.'

Roma stifled a gasp; Darren wasn't crazy, was he? And if he was, was it her fault? But on the other hand, the Voice did lie a lot, and she hated it with her guts, so why should she believe it?

When Darren realized Roma wasn't really listening to him, he stopped, looking at her with those piercing eyes. He then turned around and continued to walk.

'Told you so.'

"Shut up…"

Roma followed Darren as they walked on and on. Darren started to talk to himself, looking over his shoulder at Roma. Suddenly he started to run. When Roma heard his fast footsteps going farther away, she started to panic.

"Sire!"

Roma sprinted after him, trying her best to dodge the roots of the trees on the ground and making sure she didn't slip on ice. Seconds later, the prince was gone.

Mouth agape with shock, Roma stopped. Did he just seriously run off without her in the middle of a forest at night?

'He's testing you, stupid.'

"W-what?"

Was the young prince testing her?

'Yep. He's seeing how good your other senses are, to see if you really got good tracking skills. It'll be easy for you. Just calm down and use your ears and nose, block out everything else and pinpoint his location.'

"Okay," closing her eyes, Roma started to slow her breathing, only listening for Darren. She lifted her nose and scented the trail his smell left behind, it was getting swept away by the wind, but still there overall. Roma smiled, she got him.

She started to run again, now able to hear Darren's footsteps.

'He stopped now,' the Voice said, 'now let's show him that women are good ambushers!'

Roma slowed down and hid behind a gnarled tree. Darren was on the other side of it, standing in a clearing and talking to himself., facing the other way.

"She's not going to be able to find me..." he murmured as he started to pace.

I'll show you!

Roma thought. Stepping slowly from behind the tree, Roma tiptoed towards him. With sudden energy, she charged him.

"Raaarrhhh!!!"

'Excellent touch, the roar...' the Voice chuckled before disappearing in Roma's head. Darren spun around, eyes wide and mouth open as Roma rammed into him. Darren let out a surprised screech and wrapped his arms around her waist. But to Roma's horror, the two didn't land on flat ground, instead they started to tumble down a hill.

Snow and mud flew everywhere as they fell heads over heels, hitting into tree stumps and rocks on the way. Finally they reached the bottom, Darren first and then Roma. She fell right on top of him, making the air from the young prince's lungs come out with a 'whoosh' and kneed him right in the privates.

Darren yelped. He then bit his arm so he wouldn't make anymore embarrassing noises. Roma stifled a giggle as the prince rolled away from her, holding his crotch.

"Sire..." she let out a chuckle, "sire, are you OK?" When he moaned a little, Roma couldn't help herself anymore. Bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter, Roma held her sides as tears of mirth ran down her cheeks. After a few minutes of this, Roma calmed down.

Darren was sitting up with his back turned towards her, his arms crossed.

"Sire? Oh sire...I-I'm sorry I laughed at you, r-really...I shouldn't have, it was wrong. I didn't realize it hurts so much when I hit it, I mean them," crawling over towards him with caution, Roma sat next to him, "Sire? I'm sorry, okay?"

Darren looked at her with a predatory look in his eyes, "Whatever." Letting a smile creep across his face, the young prince uncrossed his arms and leaned on his hands towards Roma, "But that did hurt."

"You men are such babies when it comes to those," Roma rolled her eyes.

"How'd you find me, anyway?"

"Oh, I have my ways."

The young vampire woman shivered. Darren noticed.

"Are you cold?" he smirked, "let me warm you up."

"Wha-?" Roma was caught off guard as Darren hurtled himself at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He growled playfully as he scrambled on top of her, nuzzling his nose into her neck.

"S-sire...!" Roma gasped with surprise as she felt her face turn a deep shade of red. Darren licked her neck, gliding his tongue across it, causing Roma to moan slightly. He lifted his head so he was face-to-face with Roma, his sweet scent filling her nose, making her dizzy as he smirked.

"Sire..." Roma was cut off when Darren suddenly crushed his lips against hers. She felt her heart jump with shock as the prince caressed her head with his large hands. Roma had to give in as her lips started to move with his. She moved her hands under his coat and rubbed his well sculpted abs.

'What the hell are you doing?! You can't do this, Roma! It's not right!' the Voice suddenly screamed inside her head. Roma let out a surprised yelp and crashed heads with Darren.

The Voice was right.

Roma suddenly pushed Darren off her and stood up, "I-I'm s-s-sorry sire, but I c-can't." she turned around and walked back towards the mountain, leaving Darren confused and shocked.

A/N: Man, for some reason I loved writing this chapter, and damn Roma always gets a heartbreak!

Thank you for reading and please review, I'm writing this for you guys and your encouragements gives me a good boost to write more. And I'm so sorry I haven't updated in while the computer hasn't really been working...

R&R?