Erin Noble was steered by her heart. That was a fact.

If only her heart could go in the right direction. The right direction being as far away from the toxic Vladimir Dracula as she could make.

But no. She was here, letting her heels slap the wooden floor as she stalked the halls of Garside Grange, nothing more than a furious ghost. With her eyes alight with a hatred she would not act on. Once again, trapped in an endless cycle of loving and hating what she shouldn't.

Her mood darkened further when she reached the lobby. Some many times she'd walked from there. Through the glossy wooden doors with the intention of never coming back, Ingrid had even thrown her through them. But every time she returned with a mission that she always failed.

She snatched the brass handle. She'd go out, she'd get some air, she'd come back and she'd kill Vladimir Dracula.

The door swung open effortlessly. Erin stopped.

"Jonno?"

Ingrid reacted first, grabbing Erin by the collar and pulling her in, teeth bared in a snarl. "Don't you ruin thishalf-fang." Her eyes flashed crimson. "I've got a lot riding on this slayer."

Erin was released sharply and she stumbled back. Jonno looked on nervously.

"I thought you were dead," He told her. He sounded almost… hurt. "You could've told me you were okay!" Then Erin remembered; humans, so clingy and fragile. Had it have been Jonno who'd supposedly died, Erin wouldn't have given a shit.

She shrugged, her eyes scoping Ingrid uneasily and then raising an eyebrow at the Van Helsing. "I thought you were a slayer,"

"This truce is only temporary."

"Does the Guild know about this 'temporary truce?'" Erin smirked as the slayer squirmed. "Obviously not. What is about slayers who lie? You, me, the slayers who said they wouldn't kill me. It's like we're born more traitorous than the vamps."

"I learned from you." Jonno said coldly. There was something about his attitude that made Erin think she'd bothered him more than expected. Hmph. Probably still reeling from her faked death.

The vampire turned her attention to the angry elder Dracula. "What is your play with this? How do you think Mir is going to react to a slayer in our midst? Why do you want him to even be here?"

The said slayer cut in. "Mir?"

"That's what Vlad calls himself now."

Jonno's eyes raked Ingrid. "How much does he remember?"

"Nothing at all."

Erin laughed. "Look at us! Vlad's three killers stood in pleasant conversation, already plotting against him." Ingrid narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "And he doesn't even remember us."

Mir's memories of Vlad were jumbled feelings. He already hated them.

He couldn't discern the people in the memories he had, only the emotions.

There was so much hurt… Vlad was built on pain, with veins of forgiveness and a permanent ache in the heart. Sad for so long that it had become a part of him. And he had restraint.

Restraint Mir knew he didn't have. Just the memories told the amnesiac that his counterpart was a far better person than he.

The vampire considered that. His immorality could benefit him more than his compassionate heart ever did. Vlad's heart of gold may have made him strong but Mir's volatility would save him from those who would inevitably come for him. If only he could see their faces.

Then they walked in.

The door to the throne room slid open and Ingrid, Erin and a dark skinned slayer. Mir hissed instinctively. "Why is that here?" The slayer's eyes widened indignantly. "And why is he alive?"

His gaze immediately snapped to Erin, the vampiress' mint eyes directed away from him. "Erin." He said.

Ingrid stepped forward instead. A smile on her face that seemed vaguely familiar. Mir saw through it immediately. "This, is Jonno."

He shifted his gaze onto the slayer. Jonno reluctantly held it. "You were on the phone."

The victim of his stare nodded. "I was."

The silence started to draw out. His sister jumped in to relieve the pressure. Mir wondered what she had relying on this meeting going well.

"Jonno was your friend before you went missing," Considering nearly every word he'd heard from Ingrid's mouth so far had been a lie the vampire didn't first notice the truth when he heard it.

He'd been friends with this slayer. No one could lie to him, he knew, and he knew Ingrid was telling the truth. Though the way she spoke… Sometimes Mir suspected his sister lied best when she was telling the truth.

"A friend hmm?" It didn't sound like that when he first met Erin on the phone to Jonno. He titled his head at the slayer, eyeing the human in a way that could not be interpreted as anything but predatory.

Ingrid spoke sweetly. "Why don't you and Mir go off and try and reawaken some memories?"

Erin skirted out of the throne room before Ingrid could catch her. If the Dracula was setting up a playdate with Mir and Jonno she'd want Erin out the way, and the half fang would much prefer that on her terms. Especially if the intention was to kill Mir for good this time.

Even now she wanted to go back in there and tell him the truth.

All she desired was his death and all she couldn't bare was his death.

The vampire sighed and slumped against the wall. Just let it happen Erin. "Just let me free..." She murmured to herself. If she could let Mir die then she could finally move on, finally he wouldn't be a part of her.

She headed to the lobby again, intent on truly getting some fresh air.

"Why do you keep hurting him?" She couldn't have been in on the secret long but already Miss McCauley was creeping in the shadows. Erin rolled her eyes as the teacher stepped out of an alcove.

"That's nice." As she continued her stroll to the doors Miss McCauley stepped in front of her, blocking the path.

The teacher scowled. "You may be more than human now but you are still responsible for your actions." There was both sympathy and damnation in the eyes of Miss McCauley and Erin felt unwilling to face her. "You damaged him and now you bring him back – even worse than before."

"If we're judging people for their actions," Erin snarled. "Why aren't you lecturing Mir on this? He's the one who turned me into a monster." How dare she? How dare some human who could barely understand the world she was living berate her but not the main villain?

"Did Vlad abandon you when you needed him? Did Vlad betray you because of a mistake you made? Did Vlad make you kill all those people?" The pity rolling off the teacher was almost tangible. "I don't think Vlad made you a monster."

"And I don't think you're in any place to judge!" Erin made for the door again. "You know nothing of the history between me and Vlad." Her eyes were stinging. Why were they stinging? "He betrayed me!" She had her hand on the handle but she knew she wasn't going to out the door now. "I asked him to let me die! I was dying because he loved me and I begged him to let me die and he said he would!" Her fangs dropped in a hiss causing the teacher to leap backwards. "I thought my wishes meant something to him."

Miss McCauley's eyes were creased with sadness. "Don't you think he was sorry? Wasn't it obvious how guilty he felt?" Erin's lip curled angrily; it didn't fix what he'd done to her! "You needn't have destroyed him Erin, Vlad made his own hell every night."

"He deserves it all!" She spat. "He destroyed me! You say it was a mistake," She shook her head. "It doesn't undo a single thing. He barely even apologised. He deserves to be destroyed." Yet Erin failed in that task in everyway.

"And is it the great victory you wanted?"

The vampire didn't answer. She couldn't.