Note: Remember, you can still review. Thank you to everyone who is still putting up with me. The end is nigh! Speaking of that saying, I just saw "Watchmen," and it was fantastically awesome in both picture and music, apart from the awful over-done sex scene that I was laughing hysterically through. Trevor and I finished reading the book before we saw the film and I thought it was an excellent book-to-screen film, (unlike the Twilight, Eragon, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix films) because most scenes and dialog were taken straight from the comic book. It was literally the comic book brought to life; I was a happy fan. Quite frankly, Watchmen is the greatest trade I've ever read. I highly recommend the comic and the movie, but you're going to hate the ending. (By the by, I'm a total Rorschach fan! I was so angry when I saw what happened to him in the ending)!

Brunette, I remember what you said about Allison not being pretty enough in her picture. So, I thought of the most beautiful person I could think of, and who came to mind almost instantly was Kate Beckinsale. Sexy female star of "Underworld," "Pearl Harbor" and "Van Helsing," she's now the icon for Allison and Courtney in my world. If anyone can find a mouth-watering picture of someone who looks like Lucas, contact me!!

Thanks again!

Chapter 26 – Truth

Blood. It was an essence that could be considered as sacred as gold or diamonds. It stimulated life, in more ways than one, but it could also stain and ruin and defile. I was petrified in my place as the life of the three souls above fell like a sick, sacred rain to the floor below. In droplets the divine essence ruined the soil beneath my feet and stained the crown upon my head.

When would justice clasp its golden shackles onto the wrists of the evildoer? When would this bloodshed cease?

"My queen, this way." Nicolas told me in my ear, his voice somewhat morbid and alarmed. His hand touched my arm and he led me safely to the exit. I could tell that he felt quite threatened, and at the same time he wanted to protect me in any way he could, whether it be physically or my reputation.

When he pushed the back door of the cathedral open, the sunlight beamed down on Nicki and I, cleansing our bodies from the cold of the death within. I felt a very unique warmth I'd never felt from the sun before; it felt as if my mortality was being vitalized and purified. Difficult to explain. I turned back to see the priest mumbling prayers and making crosses of his body with his right hand. Only God could rest the souls of the victims from the she-devil, I knew.

Within the hour, the same investigators that had been outside of my home the night of the stable murder appeared in the hallway of the cathedral. The same standard questions were asked just as they had been on that night. With a message addressed directly to me, it was a lot harder to convince the local police that I knew nothing about the murders.

The crowd that had formed in that time, full of people and newscasters and reporters that had watched my coronation, now bunched around the rear exit where the investigators and other organizations were, conducting business.

The moments blurred together, every sight and sound came to me in a sort of slow motion as the initial shock of seeing the bodies swept in and out of my mind and body. "This way, Allison. Don't respond to any of their questions." Nicolas suggested very sternly as he guided me to a car so I could be taken back to the palace. The parade following my coronation was going to have to be canceled for now. It was difficult for Nicolas and I to cut through the people without a statement, but somehow we managed. Every hand that reached out to touch me, every voice that demanded to know what was happening or what was going on didn't register until the shock passed through me physically. By then, Nicki and I were winded as we fell into the backseat of the car and our driver headed toward the palace.

How do we spin the twisted web that consumes and runs our lives? Where does the creator go wrong, how does their perfect, flawless image become corrupt? Back in New York, after I'd seen the blood of a friend spilled by the vampiress, and because of that I had decided to embrace who I truly was and come back to my country to lead and support it. Who was I? I was Allison Mary Lockett, daughter of David Lockett and descendant of Stephan and Courtney. I was born with a destiny attached: to free my family and my people from the curse of the Locketts. To free my family from the curse, I had to put a stop to Courtney's lunatic revenge. To free my people of Courtney's lunatic vengeance, I had to destroy her.

On the ride back to the castle my inner voice questioned my actions for the passed several weeks. Courtney was the one kidnapping and murdering and leaving bodies in rivers and hanging on rafters, but I was the one keeping her a secret. I was the one who knew the answer to the question everyone was asking, "Who is responsible?" I was the one who could enlighten everybody on the subject and provide protection to my people with knowledge. I was the one who could warn them of the dangers of Courtney the Vampire and they would believe me because I was now their queen.

From birth it was me who would shine this light upon the curse and eventually break it. Who was I to continue to deny my destiny? As I said before, it was back in New York that I'd decided not to hide anymore, not to run away as my mother before me. Keeping the identity of Courtney a secret from the people who deserved to know, the families of the victims, the investigators, had been killing me from the inside for several weeks. "For Her Majesty the Queen" was the message left by Courtney... Along with three blood-soaked, marred bodies hanging from the cathedral rafters. What more of a statement did you need? Was there anything else you could do to give a large, bright spotlight in any given direction? The public, my people, wanted to know why the serial killings had suddenly been tied directly to me. Everyone looked to me for answers now, the investigators had no other lead. I could see the desperation and raw fear in the people's eyes. They hoped for anything.

I had seen enough blood spilled because of Courtney. I was tired of her killing my people. Something had to be done. With the image of those bodies fresh on my mind, I could no longer keep the secret my life was bound to me to keep.

As soon as the car arrived back at the palace, I ordered Nicki to make the arrangements for a public speaking. When he asked how soon, I replied "Ten minutes ago." Within the next ten, I had grabbed a horse from the stable and galloped back toward the city to hold another public announcement, but this one would be different than when Nicolas and I announced our false engagement.

I was swift and when I had arrived on horseback, my darkened wheat hair windblown and skin somewhat flushed, another large crowd of people was gathered around the steps of the place that all of these public announcements were made. The podium stood empty, the coroners paused nearby with the bagged bodies as I had requested.

I had to be quick, I had to reveal the secret that these people deserved to know before anyone had a chance to question me about the murders or the message left by the killer, or perhaps for Luis or somebody to stop me and claim I wasn't completely "with it" after the traumatizing event I'd lived through earlier in the day. I made my way to the the top of the stairs, and while I stood upon that podium, I took a moment to heed the cries of the people gathered below:

"When will these horrors end?"

"These terrible omens could only mean one thing, now."

"Maybe we shouldn't have supported her as queen..."

"Is it too late to keep Regent Luis?"

"Please do something, my queen!"

"All hail Queen Allison!"

Several different voices sang different tunes, but it was up to me to decide what was best for them. "It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope." Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. In all reality, these people did not know what was best for them, as a whole, and it was up to me to decide that and do all I could to make it a reality with all of the influence a figure-head monarch like myself had left.

I was going to give them the information they sought, I was going to recommend the safest way for them to go about their lives during these wicked times, and then my people would be cautious and aware of the danger and ultimately, safer from the danger of Courtney.

I cleared my throat into the microphone. The mumbling crowd grew stark silent. "I know my country will understand better than any other group of people in the world... So I am going to be completely honest with all of you." I paused a moment to take in the suspense of their faces; it was hear I could tell who would believe me and who would not. But it hardly mattered if they did or didn't... "A vampire is among us!"

The crowd burst into an upheaval of strong voices and scared cries. The crowd control who'd helped at the crime scene were now silencing and keeping the crowd in check here. I continued, "The one who is at fault here has caused this country and my family harm for several centuries. Today, the vampire has taken the life of a family within this very city. I'm going to request the faint of heart to look away, for the image is quite disturbing." I signaled to the coroners... Each one of them opened the bags in which the bodies lie, and the people nearby had one close look at the destruction of the villain. People, just like them, that were virtually innocent, became her prey. Several screams and dissatisfied groans came from the witnesses. After that the bodies were zipped again and taken away. I respectfully and morbidly waved the trucks carrying the bodies off.

"If you do not wish to believe me, that is fine. But there was the proof, the vampire is here, bringing death into the holiest and most sacred of places left!" I raised my arm to the cathedral. "I tell you these things because my people deserve to know the truth, total and uncensored. You deserve to know that your loved ones, the bodies that have been found drained of blood in streams and the ones still missing, have all been the victims of this vampire."

One voice spoke before the rest, she was in the front row and she cried out to me in automatic accusation. "But the suspicion and destruction this vampire has caused left us alone after you and Queen Mary left! The Lockett curse, a vampire, whatever it is; now that you have returned, so has it!" she shouted. Some of the crowd seemed to agree, others were reproachful to her ideas. I could see this getting out of hand quickly, a small civil war between supporters of the queen and non.

"I will only speak the truth to you. What you say is creditable. Every single day I did not return to this country after I was of age to take the throne, I was tracking down this killer with my own personal investigation. I know not where the culprit is now other than these country's borders, and I cannot guarantee every citizen's safety while the murderer is at large. But what I can offer you is the capture and disposal of this culprit, for they have wronged not only my family, but this country and its people. I will do everything I can in my power to shield you from this danger, whatever form it comes in, if in return you give me your support as my country. Thank you."

With that, the announcement was finished. As soon as my final words had been said, Nicolas and my other royal guards had finally arrived and tucked themselves through the crowd and allowed me to exit the scene. Questions would not be answered now, but later.

The initial shock of my statement had seemed to settle over the public after lunch. With Nicolas at my side on a chestnut mare and I upon a black stallion, I had ridden out among the people for an hour or so, answering personal questions they may have had.

I could tell Nicolas was weary of what I was telling; he wanted to believe me, but the idea was so preposterous to him. To the superstitious public, it was easier to buy and believe. As I figured, they were desperate for anything and it was my job to look after them. On our way back to the palace, we rode next to each other in silence, our eyes full of screaming questions. Every once in awhile they would lock and there would be a moment when my sapphire orbs were mesmerized by with fierce dark brown and I would consider revealing to him that Lucy knew, but I would break the eye contact and remain silent. He sighed and would look forward again.

When we'd dismounted in the stables, he finally opened his mouth and broke that stifling serenity between us. "I trust you and your judgment, Allison. I won't make this personal, and whatever your reasons, I will honor your decisions." I could only listen to him words as he should me kindness I did not deserve from him. I was lying and holding information from my dearest friend, and he still treated me as he was. He came before me and grasped my hands in his, kissed my knuckles and looked at me with sad, promising eyes. "You have always been my queen, and you will continue to be until the very end."

"Nicki," I began, but he dropped my hands and shuffled off too quickly for me to follow.

"Business calls me elsewhere." he bid.

I had wanted to say "I know I can trust you. I will reveal the full secrets to you after she can no longer harm you." But he didn't give me the chance, and I think I knew that I could infer that we'd already silently agreed upon that.

I was accompanied by a young stable boy on my walk back to the palace. He questioned what he and his family should do to avoid the vampire's violence; I replied that he can not fight her but he could escape, if he wished. I told him if he had family in the other parts of Aldorra, he should stay with them, away from the capital city for awhile. It was the advice I'd given to all of the believers today.

I took time to admire the colorful, beautiful grounds the gardeners worked so hard upon in the warm spring weather before I entered into the walls where I knew doubters waited for me.

"Allison, you've always been like a daughter to me, soon you will actually be so. For these reasons I am concerned."

"Concerned?" I questioned, trying my best to mask the annoyance in my tone.

Everybody thought I was insane, and everybody who had approached me came with the same story "I'm concerned for your mental state. Have you been getting enough rest lately? Are you feeling okay? The comment you made today about fictional beings was quite shocking." Those were questions the palace-dwellers have asked, anyway. When I was riding in the streets, middle class and more common people were asking me things like "What should I do to protect myself from the vampire? Do crosses still affect them?" The contrast in questions led me to believe the superstitious public supported me but the much more influential aristocracy had more "common sense" than to believe magical mumbo-jumbo.

"Yes, Allison. Concerned." Luis continued in the premature state of a rage. I was sitting in a chair in one of the studies, the father of my false fiance pacing around me with worry. His dark hair wasn't as neat as it should have been, his collar wasn't as perfect as it usually seemed. "Concerned that you are not listening to what you are saying before you say it! You are crowned as queen just as you wanted and I've been supporting you towards, then you pull something like this?"

"Pull something." I repeated in a somewhat mocking tone. "You obviously don't believe what I said."

"Name five people who do that have some sense inside these walls!" Luis shouted and waved his arms about to indicate the palace.

I drew in a long, slow breath. "I've said what I've needed too, and that's the truth. Whether you believe me or not, know that there is danger within our country's boundaries, noble Luis. Instead of trying to convince me that I'm insane, try to do something about the threat."

I rose and promptly left the room, leaving a somewhat defeated and annoyed father behind. I glanced at the ticking clocks on the walls outside of the room; I noticed it was time to meet the legislative. Luis had originally found me to tell me that a meeting was starting and I was needed, but it turned into a father-daughter like lecture.

The legislative was meeting on the third floor in a conference room. When I arrived, Prime Minister Davidson stood on the outside of the room while the others were within. "There are lots of doubters within the room, Queen Allison..." He whispered to me with a worried smile. I made a face in return, but I was pleased that he had told me he supported me. Believed me, maybe not. But support was all I needed, not believers. I wasn't calling for a religion.

"Thanks for the warning. I don't think Luis is even going to attend." I told him. We entered the room together.

The meeting started a little something like this: "It is completely preposterous to expect us to believe that a...a fictional creature is the culprit behind these murders and disappearances as you claim them to be! Forgive me your majesty, but I worry about the mental state of our queen if she were to freely express these statements to the public without any solid proof and expect the world to believe them."

"But that is just it, Chairmen Gerald." I started, my tone pleading, begging for their ears to listen. An unsettling stiffness came to the room as I rose, placing my palms flat on the table. "I do not expect the world to believe. Only those who are willing to help me."

"But the idea that vampires are behind all of this-" He interjected. I slammed my palm down and the rush of the blow traveled up my arm in small pin-like pains and silenced him.

"Hold your tongue and listen to me. Not as your queen, but as a woman who has been bred to shine the light over her people and lead them with hope into a new and better future." My tone was no longer soft and begging, asking for these people to believe me. They were going to take my word for it. "Regardless of what the murderer is. A human, a vampire, a psychopath, a deranged yeti! It does not matter what they are, only that they lay a threat to my people, my very life. Your lives, too. Your wives, husbands, children are all at risk with her killing people in the public. She does not hide her victims. She makes them statements for everyone to see! I will not, not," I slammed my hand down again, "Have such violence come to my people; to any people if I can help it! Who are you to deny them the protection they need right now because of the name I give the culprit? It is my and your responsibility alike that we should take appropriate action to shield our people from a psychopath. And by the grace of God, if that means driving a stake through her heart instead of shooting her down as we would a normal murderer, so be it."

A closed my eyes and let my breaths come very evenly again before opening them again; all eyes of my audience stared at me, all was silent. I opened my mouth to continue before the silence could infiltrate the room further, but the sound of a slow clap broke the room and grabbed my attention before I had the chance to speak.

"Spoken like a true queen!" bellowed a gruff baritone of a man with a very familiar face, a man that was one in the cabinet but left the legislative when my mother passed away.

"Chairm- I mean, Señor Mason! I'd heard you left the country for Spain after you left this cabinet."

"And you bring me back to this country, Queen Allison! And the title 'Chairman' is very fitting. I am once again in the cabinet, filling in for the resent loss of man."

I could tell by his tone that he was happy to be back and replacing the scoundrel of a man Victor Coffin. The smile lines wrinkling around his eyes were shown as he grinned underneath the thick brown mustache laced with gray from his age.

"Welcome back." The room chanted in either Spanish or Catalan.

"Now, I hear there is danger in the country that needs attending to? Please, continue my queen." He bellowed again in his gruff voice. I was obligated to do as he said; his natural tone was very startling and made a person, more or less, jump into action.

I nodded my head as his old bones walked slowly to the only open seat, his cane in one hand, his other hand moving to take off the hat atop his thinning head. When he let out a comfortable sigh from lounging, I found my train of thought again.

"Right, if anyone else has an objection to doubling guard forces around main plazas, the cathedral and the palace..."

"Your Majesty."

I looked up to the man who doubted me in the first place. He promptly bowed his head in my direction. "I apologize. You are right about shielding the country from the danger. We will support you with the actions you deem necessary to take."

I nodded my head toward him to acknowledge him. I felt grateful as he swayed everyone else in the room who still doubted to also feel the same way.

"We must urge the people to remain indoors after dark."

"Agreed." Came several voices of the others. I folded my hands together and sighed smoothly as they all nodded their heads toward that gesture. Now that things were more controlled and organized with my legislative, I could concentrate on other subjects...

Like exactly how Taylor wanted Lucas and I to take down Courtney once and for all.

After dinner, when the darkness was threatening to consume the pastel skies, Lucy flitted with the remote to my big screen television in my quarters. "Your announcement talking about the vampire culprit is on every channel, Ally." she told me.

"Probably." I replied, glancing at the screen. There were all sorts of responses to my message, most people seemed to believe me and they debated on actions they should take, some others just preached about how crazy I was. What they thought hardly mattered right now, however. The legislative was on my side, now I only had to worry what the other vampires thought of this...exposure.

What was the "or else" that Taylor and Luke warned me of if I ever tried to expose vampires again? Really, I had only told the public there was one vampire, and I didn't even tell them what gender she was or her name. Only that there was one and it was behind every horror. What was the big deal about that? It was for my people's protection, after all. Now that they knew what they were up against, they could have peace of mind and I know not to try and fight her off themselves. Taylor and Lucas and Julie's identities were a secret and always would be.

The old oak door to my royal chambers clobbered against the wall as it was opened with a great force. Both Lucy and I looked toward the doorway and it in we saw Taylor Halling, his arm against the door, his dark hair a mess, his pale face an emotion we couldn't quite pinpoint but knew it wasn't happiness.

Julie, the beautiful orange haired vampire stood behind him, then in front too quickly for our eyes to register. "Please, Mr. Halling, please be kind. Lady Allison meant no harm to our kind, only her..." she begged him. It was a tone I'd never heard within that vampiress.

"Stand aside, Julie. I don't want to lay a hand on you, but I shall if I must." he replied in a cold tone, but his eyes; his coal eyes looked into hers and they were full of the affectionate emotion his voice lacked.

She did as she was told and went over to Lucy. "Please, Lady Lucy, retire to your bed chambers. I promise Lady Allison will not be harmed." She assured Lucy, a pale hand on Lucy's warm wrist. Lucy shot me a worried look, but she had to obey Julie and she left the room for her own.

I quickly figured that I had stirred something big in Taylor's world.

"Julie, make her sit." he demanded, his coal eyes stabbed into me. He knew I wouldn't have complied if he told me to sit, so he skipped straight to Julie forcing me to do so with her power of manipulation.

"We will wait for Lucas before I say anything, but you should know the seriousness of what you have done today. Have you no sense!" He looked so... distressed. He was pacing. Taylor Halling, actually pacing in discomfort and distress.

Speak of the devil, the vampire with the yellow hair and piercing ice blue eyes opened the window to the balcony and entered the room. He was a fresh color, fresh with blood, and he looked more pleased than he usually was when entering my room. The smile disappeared as soon as he saw me sitting rigidly in a seat as Taylor and Julie stood around me. He knew something was up right away.

"What is it?" he asked the three of us, his eyes now wide with wonder. He looked almost like a child, but the ignorance spilled over into worry as he realized I was the cause of the stir in Taylor.

"Lucas. She is becoming intolerable. Control her!" I raised a brow at that statement from him.

Luke almost chuckled straight into his face for his response. "You think if I could, we wouldn't be having this dispute?"

I crossed my arms and smirked at Taylor.

"What is this about, anyway?" He asked. He looked at me and debated if he wanted to read my mind, but he decided against it from what had happened the night before, when we decided he wouldn't use his power on me without permission.

"Watch." Taylor told him. The remote had found his hand when I hadn't noticed and he rewound the TV to a part when a station was playing the recording of my announcement. "A vampire is among us!" My voice rang out.

All six gorgeous vampire eyes rested upon me. Lucas listened to the rest and then Taylor switched the television off, but Luke's eyes never left me. The emotion behind the eyes was pure hurt, disbelief and accusation.

I didn't understand the seriousness of what I'd done, but for Luke to look at me like he had alarmed me. "Luke, I swear, I meant no harm! I didn't mention anybody but one vampire, Courtney. And I didn't even say her name! You're all acting as if I posted names, pictures and locations to every vampire in the world!"

"You did, Allison! Any vampire who is living out in the world right now, managing to feed and stay alive because of the ignorance of the people, is now at risk! You just told the world what one vampire is capable of, meaning what every vampire is capable of! Human murderers can poke two holes into their victims' neck and blame the act on a vampire and get away with murder to their own! Vampire hunters will arise from something like this, Allison. There's always one person who's stupid enough to think they're strong enough to take on vampires as a sport and they start killing and causing trouble for the entire race. Did you think about any of that when you spoke in front of that crowd as a queen, Allison?"

"Who would be stupid enough to try and take on a vampire on their own?" I questioned. The irony was that I once had, though not to kill. Taylor would remember that. "I told the public to flee, not fight."

"Your public, Allison." Luke continued. "By the end of the week the entire world will have watched this broadcast. They will see a legitimate queen claiming the existence of vampires. If you were a regular citizen that would be different, there would be less believers, it would be easier to cover and claim as false, but you are a monarch, a very influential public figure."

I stared up at him. There was probably a guilty expression on my face and nothing else. I couldn't quite tell if Luke was angry or worried.

"The Council has already ordered me to deliver the punishment." Taylor told Luke in the silence.

"What?! It's barely been twelve hours, how did they come to a decision and notify you in that time? What about the repeal time everyone is allowed to have?" A panic and fear that wasn't there before set into his voice.

"Blaine and Keane came in person to give me the verdict. I didn't ask about a repeal." Replied Taylor calmly.

A silence came over the room again.

"Julie, leave the room." Taylor commanded softly. His eyes locked with hers and I could see he was telling her something without words. I could freely move my limbs again as the vampiress did as she was told, and left. "Luke, Allison does not understand the seriousness of this."

"Regardless of if I understand or not, this argument does not settle the situation on hand." I stepped in. "Taylor says I'm supposed to be "punished" for this but he has not made a move to follow those orders from your council. Are you going to punish me now or are we going to continue planning the downfall of Courtney Vengeance?"

Taylor came toward me in a subtle rage, but Luke grabbed his shoulder and tossed him across the room very easily. "There's no need to harm anybody but Courtney here. Taylor, keep an eye on Allison. I'll go talk to The Grand Council myself." Luke had a certain panic underneath the coolness of his eyes, but overall he appeared very calm. What was Luke worried about?

"I just sent Julie to appear for you." Taylor replied, a little on the cold side.

"Even so, I will go and have more success than you will."

Taylor growled. Apparently the council listened to Luke more than Taylor? Luke was older, but he didn't seem the rule-following type. Taylor, on the other hand, was made of kiss-ass. I didn't see the heaviness of the situation, the significance of what I'd done just did not sink in. I was thinking that I'd done the right thing, not that I'd broken the number one vampire rule.

"Lucas, talk with me in private before you leave."

Lucas nodded once to Taylor, then turned to me and embraced me. "I do not wish to leave you on this night, but you've left me so little choice." he whispered into my ear. I didn't understand what he said, and I was confounded as he released me and kissed my forehead. "I'll return shortly."

He turned away to go speak with Taylor in the other part of my chambers before I had the chance to ask any questions.

Taylor allowed Luke to enter into the smaller, private room, before he followed in and closed the door behind him. His mood felt cold toward me. I went and pressed myself against the door, daring not to enter, yet too curious to waste the opportunity to figure out what Luke and Taylor were so worried about. How consequential were my actions? What was my punishment supposed to be? Had I underestimated their warnings when they'd told me not to expose vampires? According to them, I had. Yet I did not understand just how.

"This is different from before." Taylor began, his voice very clean though it traveled through a closed door. "Before, she was just a regular citizen of the states and her attempts at exposure were small and could easily be removed or covered up, or mistaken for folklore and hoaxes. Now that she is in a position of higher authority with more influence, her exposures of vampires are taken more seriously by a larger crowd of people. The Grand Council is debating now if her death should be ruled immediately or if she can be used for the capture of Courtney, then, more than likely, killed after that."

I froze. Death? I was going to be killed for this? Had I known that before, had Taylor ever mentioned it and I'd forgotten? A panic similar to the one I heard in Luke's voice swept through me.

"I will not them let touch her." Luke replied coldly.

"You won't make a difference this time, Lucas. If they do rule her execution to be carried out immediately, anyone who gets in their way will be condemned as well."

Silence.

"Is it too late to fix things?" Luke asked. He sounded somewhat desperate.

"Even if you attended for a repeal, they would only prolong the inevitable for you."

"We could have her give another press conference telling everyone the entire thing was a hoax." Luke suggested.

"That would be an option plausible to success if we presented it to The Grand Council, but knowing Allison..."

"She would never lie to her people. That's why we're in this mess now."

"We? I am here for personal reasons only. I will not take a hit for you again, Lucas. This is between you, Allison, and The Grand Council."

There was a short pause on Lucas' part. "You are absolutely right. Taylor Halling. Stay here and protect Allison. I will go present a pardon plea to the council. Maybe that will buy us more time, if nothing else..." Luke's voice was rushed and distressed, like Taylor's, though more bleak with hope.

"If I may make a suggestion... There is one way you and she might be able to avoid this entire mess." Taylor offered.

"No. No!" Luke repeated sternly. "I couldn't possibly ask that of her..."

"If she became a vampire, it would be like a free pass. All crimes are erased when a mortal is brought over. A law passed in the High Middle Ages, declared so that the mortals who discovered us and were sentenced to death could have a fresh start in immortality if they so chose."

Silence. I could imagine the stone look on Luke's face in response to Taylor's suggestion; his square jaw was probably locked together in deep thought.

"That will be the last resort, Halling; and only if she chooses that instead of death when all other options are gone! For now, watch her." He told Taylor sternly after a longer moment.

I backed away from the door when I heard footsteps coming toward it. I erased all panic from my face as Luke opened the door and appeared before me. There was a desperate, loving look in his eyes overcome with fear. Fear that he may never see me again because of my own actions.

I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him. "Oh God, Luke, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You were only being the woman I love, making decisions you thought were just. I wouldn't have you any other way." His arms also wrapped around me, comforting the inevitable death Taylor had mentioned for me. "I will return soon. I won't let anybody hurt you..." He promised in a whisper. A kiss found my lips, my forehead, and then Luke pulled away before he knew he wouldn't be able to.

Taylor watched in an inquiring enmity. Luke disappeared the way he came in.

I turned to Taylor, wiping away a small tear that had formed in the corner of my right eye. "Is there nothing that you can do?" I asked him.

"There is nothing I can do about their final decision. Once The Grand Council gives a verdict, that is the final word." He explained rather calmly, barely a hint of remorse in his voice.

The lack of emotion was expected, but it still displeased me nonetheless. I gathered up my strength and pulled myself together in front of him.

"I mean this in every respect when I say it, Taylor." I paused and waited for his interest in my introduction. He tilted his head just a bit so a single black hair shifted, and I continued. "You know very well that when you said you "couldn't do anything" about my situation, that it was a complete load of bullshit." My tone was sharp and did not falter. "I'm not one to judge, but you seem like the kind of guy who has a few more inches of manhood tucked underneath the fancy slacks that wouldn't allow yourself to be the total lap dog, in a more modern term, submittal little bitch to the one force that stands in your way to destroying Courtney for good. You understand perfectly well that their interference will result in my death and ultimately, your failure to kill the one you so long sought to kill."

His white face was stern, but no real emotion was carved into the mask except for his eyes that were just a bit wide with the surprise and lit with mild rage. I automatically flinched when he quickly came closer and raised his hand to strike me. "How dare you..."

But the blow didn't come. I had known it wouldn't, therefore there was a small smirk on my face when I opened my eyes again and soaked in his priceless expression. His white mask cracked, with anguish and defeat knowing someone else was right for a change.

"Fine. If you want it that way." His hand lowered, his pleasant mask mending. "Luke won't like this, but you're right about the Council's involvement and I have to go after him before he makes matters worse for everyone."

"Palace guards have a use, too. I'll be fine." I replied, swindling my body as he walked around to the exit Luke had just taken. "Fix this, because I know you can." I added.

He didn't look back to acknowledge what I'd said. He disappeared into the night and I was left alone.

Mistake number one, I turned my back to the balcony window. I relished in my ability to manipulate even Halling, now. I was smug about this for several moments.

I was not paying attention when a figure entered through that window, knocked over a small table in their rush, and came toward me with impossible speed.

Reaction time was zero when compared to a vampires quick movement. A vampire it must be, I deducted in the zero time I had, because cold hands apprehended my body, and the world jerked violently into darkness when a heavy blow was delivered to the back of my head.

A/N: I'm evil, I know! In the meantime of waiting to see if Allison lives or dies, check out this awesome guy I'm BETA reading for: David Fishwich's "Losing Innocence." Remember to review please! Thanks!