Dear me, I've nearly forgotten about my fanfiction account. Sorry that I have not updated new chapters. I'll try to update quicker than the first time. Please, bear with me.

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Jade settled on the farthest corner at the bar. She ordered a shot of absinthe, and though the liquor was considered poison, Jade had less restriction to not drink it. She caressed the smooth rimmed glass with her fingertip. Something bothered her, Jade couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what weighed on her shoulders. She calculated Star's words. Why would anyone want to participate in a task which prevented the plague of Vampirism from dying out? Jade could find no right or wrong answer.

She'd grown up knowing that her family chose to side with them. They were not referred as blood pets, or lowly servants of the Vampire. They weren't even considered daylight guardians. Although, from the look of it, Jade agreed. She would wake at odd hours, accompany the young, and charted their progression. She was second in command next to her father. Though considered a person of interest, Jade wondered what life was like beyond the heavy burden. She feared even believing things could be normal. Being constantly surrounded with Them, Jade knew her rightful place. She had a job to do.

"You aren't willing to drink, princess."

Jade lifted her eyes hazily toward the voice. A vampire, young and savagely alluring, edged closer so that his knuckles brushed along the back of her hand. She arched a brow questioningly from this. It was clear that the vampire was not aware of her status; or, maybe he did. His eyes which shifted frost blue in the low light came to her again. His smile unrequited.

"Icy as they come."

"Do you need something?"

He lifted a finger. "The question is not towards me, but to you. Do you need something. Every one inside have been whispering about you. You haven't been yourself, not since this assignment your father has you working on."

Jade shifted her weight and leaned to the counter. Her face stayed listless and impassive. Did he honestly believe his kind gesture would work on her? After all Jade, living with the Vampire throughout her existence, feigned every motive one would have to charm another. His attraction for her would not be the first. Others wanted her in more ways than Jade could imagine. She had no time for fierce infatuations from the Vampire; much less, soldiers. She never needed them especially after Archer came along; her childhood friend and best companion. Of course, things changed when he was assigned to Tokyo. Her father believed his absence would be best for her. She needed to concentrate on keeping her heritage than anything else.

"I'm lonely. I can assume that answer is blunt enough; you'd simply reply that you could reasonably correct the problem." Jade said smartly toward the Vampire.

His eyes darkened with challenge.

"You think too much on these sort of things."

Jade lifted a finger. "No, I don't think too much on these things because it is exactly what you were going to assume. I've seen plenty of this happen to other girls, and the girls that you, the Vampire tend to hunt, are the most willing to lay at your feet and do the most obscene things just to get a taste of your passion; usually, its not worth it. You've glamorized immortality, you've made young people believe it's the best thing in the world." Jade had not known that as she spoke, others have stopped their conversation to listen. And, to make her point clear, Jade approached the set Vampire. "And you wonder why I am the way I am. You have taken advantage of my family's heritage and duty. We are here to protect you when you gallivant in the outside world, seeing things through those eyes you've not solely deserved. Then again, what don't you people deserve."

Jade deliberately grasped the shot of absinthe and swallowed the liquid. She didn't need to say anything more. She left the pub with a sour disposition and a more sour taste in her mouth. Jade found herself leaning against the railing, her eyes peered down at the multiple levels that she towered over. An underground kingdom, a city for the Damned. She lived with them; lived and more than likely, die within that kingdom.

"Have you decided to carry on this little assignment?"

Her father joined her at the railing. He too leaned forward to stare down into the continuous spiral of levels. He seemed proud of the progression their heritage brought with every waking year.

"You know I have no choice but to. You've classified this as of great importance. After looking over their files, I've come to the conclusion that the only reason why we are stepping in is because they, regardless of their age, remain careless and unaware of their place. Their maker never warned them."

Gerard smiled halfheartedly. "And what of the ones you managed to acquire?"

Jade turned to her father. "They came cooperatively. They found relief in depending on us for salvation when their urges become too strong. The girl is getting better with every day. The young boy in her possession isn't so great because he is starting to ask questions to why his body refuses to grow."

"Well, they are merely half."

"Even so, they've taken the plunge in spite of the trickery, they can't do anything more than that unless we cut the ties and simply end the life of their maker."

"And, it seems, in your attitude, you'd be more than willing to do it."

Jade scoffed. "There is a problem. He wasn't the one to have tricked the young boy. The maker's first son, David, had tricked him with his own blood. So, if you think about it, I'll need to destroy David before his maker."

"Have you taken a fascination to the boy?"

"Laddie?" Jade purposefully asked with the fairest grin. "I've no intention of being fascinated by the boy but its because he is doomed to remain a child until the end; or, unless his maker is killed."

Gerard straightened up. He placed his hand to her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. She looked so much like her mother that it burnt him to remember her death.

"It is a renegade life that we have. I can't imagine anything better than this. I fear that we'd fail at living a normal life. Whatever happens, we are not to get attached to them only to keep their identities silenced and their trails covered."

Jade stared up at him. "Don't you think I know about this."

And with that, Jade decided to cut their conversation short. With what time she had left before the sun set, she decided to get a bit of sleep, or what she could.