Decided to add to this fic after all because I needed to clear my head and write something a bit different.

I've actually had this written out and in the works for a very long time so I just went along and finished with it to get it over with. If I hold on to it any longer, I'll get really nitpicky and never finish it anyway. So forgive the mistakes/inconsistencies that are probably scattered around..

I'm not marking this as complete because I may or may not add to this. Depends on when inspiration and boredom hit me at the same time =D.

Toodles!

……………

Lorena loved to play mind games… he was proof of her strange fascination.

He was witness to it now.

He had managed to avoid Lorena and the home he shared with her for days, only coming back to rest and sometimes not at all. Instead he'd see the city, often spending many lonely hours musing as he walked along the bay. The rank and polluted lake was a much more favorable companion than the hostile environment he shared with Lorena these past few weeks. On a few rare occasions, he'd speak with others like himself who were relocating after the war in Europe. Others were simply trying to survive the best way they could, by lurking in the shadows and alleys as they took their victims. But things were getting better for his kind as the Kings and Queens had begun to fully establish themselves. There were so many others like him, roaming the streets at night, back and forth as they moved across the world with ease. Lorena had been around longer, she had seen much in the centuries of her long life, but he was still ignorant of the entire world around him. And he was completely fascinated by the idea of traveling the world without Lorena hindering his thirst for knowledge.

It was on those nightly treks across the colorful city that he saw her. It didn't matter that she was on the ground clutching an injured ankle- though he knew she was perfectly alright- with her hand as she tried not to scream in agony. A strong gust of wind nearly flew her hat away and she clutched at it helplessly with her white gloved hands. She had cut her hair in the strange short styles that women were using these days though he was sure that it would grow back in a matter of days (if not overnight). It always did for their kind. The young man who was beside her picked her up in his arms and she held her breath, as if pained by the sudden movement to her leg, as he deposited her in those new metal machines for transportation. A cab, they called it. The young man was oblivious to the dangerous creature he was tending to, unaware of the deadly game she was playing.

Bill stuck his hands in his pockets and glowered at the automobile that rumbled through the noisy night streets as it left. He remained there, careful to hide his eyes with the rim of his hat. Tonight, he was in no mood to speak with others- human or vampire alike. This was a strange echo of the same evening when he had seen Lorena for the first time and he had to debate whether to let her have her way or put an end to her once and for all. The wind smacked against him, making the ends of his trench coat flutter about as he walked down the streets, his legs had memorized the path to their home as his mind focused on keeping his emotions in check.

By society's standards, their home was a modest one though no one was aware of what was hidden beneath its floors. No one could imagine that the happily wed couple spent their days sleeping on the ground in their silent graves only to wake and cavort about in the decadent human nightlife. The world was moving at a fast pace in this century and in this thriving city no one bothered to question each other's strange activities- especially those of their eccentric neighbors. Times were different now.

The house was quiet and he was careful to not make any noise as he entered. He knew Lorena was aware of his presence but her charade continued on flawlessly. She played her part to perfection as she continued to clutch her ankle in pain and feigned being abashed at having the young man in her home. Bill lurked in the shadows, hiding behind the large and opulent oak doors, clutching at the handle to hold himself back.

The young man introduced himself as Edward Stowbridge and he was only visiting his relatives before he set out to finish his studies abroad. To Edward, she was a lonely and injured woman who only sought companionship. Her husband was always so busy and she was grateful for Edward's help. There was no one else to help her, her husband had been greatly disturbed by the war in Europe and was wary of having a servant around to help. Edward nodded and looked at her with pity and admiration as he fidgeted with his pocket watch and looked nervously out the dark window. But Lorena turned his attention back to her as she bent over to touch her ankle, this time letting her skirt ride up higher to show her legs and the ends of her silk stockings.

Edward was trapped just as Bill had been trapped years ago, and his life depended on the decision he made when Lorena stood and began to approach him, no longer bothering to limp. Edward placed his hands on Lorena's wrists and stopped her from reaching out to him. No, he told her. Lorena turned away from Edward, her face hidden in the shadows. Are you sure? She asked dully, her fingers already arching in anticipation for what she was about to do. I can't. I'm sorry. He sealed his fate with those words, Bill knew it. With nothing else left to say to each other, Edward began to turn away unaware that Lorena had lunged at him, ready to bite.

The memory of the night when she had offered herself to Bill came back vividly and he leapt forth from the shadows to pull Lorena away. With a force he had thought himself to be incapable of he crushed her windpipe and threw her across the room carelessly. She crashed into the oak door where Bill had stood merely seconds ago with a deafening sound. The door splintered and the thick shards of glass that had served as ornamental windows to the door were scattered around and through her.

He hoped she was dead.

He wanted to blame this new streak of violence and insecurity on Lorena though he was sure that it was all a part of him that was brought forth when he was turned. Seeing her with this mere boy brought memories of that time she had approached him in that lonely cabin of hers. This boy- this Edward- was her means to torture him for his increasing detachment from her. However, he had been clumsy in his reaction and in pulling Lorena away he had knocked Edward down. The sudden movement caused him to fall over and he hit his head with the edge of the coffee table, hard. There was very little blood pooling underneath Edward's head but it was enough to add to his bloodlust this evening.

He needed to be in control tonight.

"Were you planning on killing me so that you could finally run away?" her voice comes out weak and gravelly and her broken body is bathed in blood. She is rendered completely powerless for the time being while she lies there on the floor, internally combusting with rage and defeat. Through some odd magic, they were linked and though he enjoyed seeing her in pain, he wanted nothing more than to help her.

"This has to end." He is says it aloud for her to hear, for the first time asserting what has been in the back of his mind. His voice is cool and indifferent; all he feels is pity and shame for ever coming to feel anything akin to love for this creature before him.

She gives him a short and mirthless laugh that ends quickly when her face begins to crumple into the first few visible signs of anguish as her body tries to heal itself. It is going to be a difficult process and not at all quick. There were vampires still growing limbs they had lost in the quake and that had been nearly two decades ago.

"You and I are not so different from each other. That is why we are so compatible." She sits up, using her elbows and hands for support though it is an awkward movement because her left arm is visibly broken and useless. "You want to kill me and you want to kill him… There is viciousness inside you that you know is not human. That you are no longer human. I thought you had gotten past that whining." Contempt, her voice is laced with it and he has to wonder how they ever got past this point. He had resented her in the beginning when she had tricked him into this cursed existence until he had grown used to it. She was the first woman he had been with that was unafraid of her sexuality and he had to admit that he found that thrilling. Lorena was far more skilled than he was and they had forever to enjoy themselves. But her fits of jealousy, her wild new fetishes that became increasingly painful, the complete control she had taken over him- it had all eroded his insatiable desire for her into nothing but hate.

"What were you planning to do with the boy?" he asks though he knows that Edward was a means to punish him for his ongoing disobedience.

"You needed a brother. It would encourage you to behave and set a good example." She sneers at him and inhales deeply, closing her eyes. The small pool of blood has grown, not significantly, from Edward's head wound. He is still unconscious on the floor and in no danger of dying, at the moment at least. "It would be so wonderful…" she adds in sudden rapture, "We could mix our blood, bring him over and make him ours. We can be that family you crave so much."

Bill crouches on the floor as he grasps Lorena's neck, applying only the slightest pressure. Her legs are immobile after being cut open with the glass and she does not have enough strength yet to retaliate. He wonders if what she has suggested is even possible and for just a moment, he allows himself to see her fantasy. It was something he had never heard of before and there were already enough vampires who viewed his relationship with Lorena as something abnormal. Experimenting with blood and life was never a good idea and it only helped to prove that Lorena was dangerous to their own kind.

"Let the boy live his life, he has no business here. This is our quarrel."

She closes her eyes as she presses her neck forward into his hands, inviting him to hurt her even more. He loosens his grip in return. "I know you were planning on leaving me. You wish to see the world, to find out if there are other," she pauses to search for the right words, "hopeless idealists pretending to still be human."

"I want to be away from you, yes. This." He points at Edward on the floor, "is the reason why I want to leave. You have no respect for human life."

"And yet you let your emotions have the best of you. Were you jealous of this human? If you cared enough for his life, you should not have waited until he was in danger… Or did seeing me play human have an effect on you?" she reaches out to touch him but he pulls away from her and finally releases her neck in disgust.

"Have I not made it clear since the first night you were turned?" Her eyes flash with anger as she looks up at him, "You are no longer human. You pride yourself in never taking a human life on purpose but that does not make you closer to them. I have given you so much more!"

"I don't wish to partake in your games any longer," his voice is a mix of contained fury and impatience.

He expects for her to shriek at him but the sudden softness in her voice startles him, "Will you be the cause of my final death? Do you plan to bring my end minha criança."

He hates it when she calls him that because it only serves to weaken him. He hates it when she reverts back to her soft nature and laces her voice with a sweetness he wishes she truly possessed within. Her language, when spoken in soft tones, reminds him that she had been human once and the life she led.

He remembers the story of her human death well, she had confided in him about her final days as a human in an attempt to comfort him for the loss of his own. He thought he had loved her then, when she had shown how vulnerable she could be. But it was a tale he often questioned. Had it been true or simply fabricated to win his love and trust? According to her tale, she had lived the privileged life of an aristocrat in the jungles of the south only to lose it all after her family had been disgraced with stealing from the king. Her mother had forced her to run away to live with an aunt in a nearby city but she been captured by soldiers and accused of stowing away diamonds. They'd raped her and left her for dead in the river where she had ultimately encountered the woman who would bring her over. Her first night as a vampire, she had taken the opportunity to lure her human attackers into a trap. She must have been lovely to them, a goddess dwelling in the river, as she beckoned them to her. One by one, she had her revenge.

"I have seen the evils of men and you are one of those few precious left that did not deserve to live in the damned cycle of human life. I knew I had to save you from that as soon as you showed me how worthy you were of my gift…" her voice softens and he can see the part of her that is still lost, yearning for affection. If she wills him to stay, he would have no choice but to obey. "I was so lonely before you joined me."

But Edward is lying on the floor, slowly bleeding and for what? Countless humans are dead, having filled their nights with a few hours of rapture, before Lorena drained them and disposed of their bodies. And there was nothing more aside from that… He wanted more.

"You know you can hold me back and stop me from leaving. You can force me to help you and we can continue on this way for decades more. But I will not do it willingly. I need time away from you.

"And you will come when I call you?

"Do I have a choice?"

She smirks and lays her head down on the floor, flinching in pain as her leg begins to heal. She has not bothered to take out the shards of glass. "If I need you, you will know my call. Otherwise, we shall be strangers to one another… I'll let you have your precious freedom so that you can see that humans do not appreciate us. Either way, I expect for you to return to me soon, once you realize that what we have is unique."

"And if I do not?"

"Then we shall see about that."

Her face is unreadable but there is an underlying threat in her voice that warns him of what is to come should he renounce her completely. But he has lived in submission to her for decades and he cannot let her hold on him continue any longer.

"And this boy? What will become of him?

"I am giving you your freedom," she laughs bitterly. "Do not concern yourself with him."

He could approach her again to help her up from the floor and see that she is well before he leaves. But he walks away from her, knowing fully well that she would not appreciate his pity. Some part of her must have hoped that Bill would find it in himself to care enough to turn back. Instead he glances at Edward's pale body, sensing that the head wound has left in a more dangerous state than he had assumed. The young man is as good as dead at this point… He feels like a coward for not looking back at what Lorena plans to do with him as he leaves through the front door. She is a wounded vampire and Edward slowly bleeding to death. But the cool night air hits his face and roar of the city's night calls to him. Suddenly, with his newfound freedom, Lorena and her schemes seem so far away.

For the first time since he can remember, he is alone and without obligation.

………