Sorry it's taken so long but here's chapter 24! Wow... 24

Please review - I love reading what you think will happen next or whatever haaha

DC

The otherwise silent room was filled with the sound of soft steady breathing. Outside, the faint sounds of crickets and the hoots of owls tried in vain to enter the room through the crack between the bottom of the door and the rough wooden floor but a couch had been pressed firmly up against it. Steve knew his attempt at protection was feeble and when Rose woke up he knew she would only laugh at it but here in the dead of night the sight of the upturned sofa wedged against the door and the lamp barricading the window made him feel better. Steve lay in the bed beside Rose, afraid to touch her in case she woke up. She looked radiant in the darkness. A patch of moonlight streaming through a gap in the hurriedly drawn curtains danced on her cheek, flickering on and off like a light as a branch outside blocked its light occasionally as it was blown in the wind. The weather had worsened as soon as Rose had led Steve into an empty caravan and a month's worth of rain had suddenly decided to target the Cirque du Freak in a few hours. Outside, heavy droplets beat the ground like tiny vengeful bullets sent by some god to wreak havoc on the earth. The trees and plants however welcomed the long awaited water and spread their leaves to catch every last drop. Steve heard the tall trunks creak and groan as the wind ravaged their natural beauty.

Rose's hand suddenly closed around his own and he felt it tighten briefly before relaxing once more. Turning, he saw her eyes were still closed in sleep but it was almost as though she were trying to wake herself up. Her beautiful forehead crinkled and her lips parted, framing an incomprehensible word. As quickly as she had stirred, Rose swiftly sank back into peace, a smile lingered for a moment before relaxing. Steve remained focused on her, deep in thought. He'd told her he had a new destiny, one involving her, and she'd believed him. He had assumed that she would have taken more persuading than that but apparently she had missed him just as much as he had missed her. Steve sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes as he thought about the sleeping girl. She looked so innocent but the moment she woke up, she would make his life complicated again.

Steve wanted Rose back but he knew deep down they wanted different things. He wanted to become fully Vampaneze, to destroy the Vampires and finally to become a Vampaneze lord and rule over a kingdom. Rose wanted to be normal again although he knew she would never admit it. As if stirred by his thoughts, Rose called out again in her sleep and turned over, muttering something into her pillow. Steve couldn't resist grinning at the girl. Mr Tiny had firmly told him that Rose was not part of his destiny and could never rule beside him when he became a Vampaneze lord and when Steve had tried to argue, he had been silenced by the part of the prophecy which said the girl could destroy his destiny completely. Steve had drawn the line at murder, refusing flat out to kill Rose and it was only by Mr Tiny's reluctant leniency that she was still alive. Some of the older and more senior Vampaneze had proposed destroying her to protect their future. Steve had sorted them out and now Mr Tiny couldn't even locate their rotten corpses. Since then, the matter had been officially dropped. However, Steve was aware that bringing Rose back into the Vampaneze lair would endanger her.

A soft tapping at the window set his teeth on edge and he sprang into a position ready to fight the intruder but he felt foolish to find it was only a stray branch blown against the glass in the billowing winds. The bad weather outside was growing stronger. Steve imagined somewhere outside the harsh winds would be blowing the Cirque's tents inside out. This thought cheered him up a bit as he remembered how Darren was currently sharing a canvas tent with a freak. He was suddenly thankful for the four walls around him, however thin, which belonged to the empty caravan Rose had found. Apparently there were several abandoned homes dotted around the campsite as many freaks had deserted the camp after the invasion. Regret nor guilt were felt by the boy, he was simply thankful for the room and mentally congratulated himself on his timing. The inhabitants of this particular caravan had presumably left in a hurry. A bike rested against the opposite wall and the television had been left behind. There was also another room, Steve had peeked into it earlier, with a bunk bed and toys. Ignoring it, he had let Rose lead him toward the double bed which was where he sat now, gazing thoughtfully out into the dark night.

Had he tricked her? Steve liked to think he had been honest enough though perhaps his statement was a slight equivocation. He was not giving up on the destiny Mr Tiny had laid out for him but neither was he abandoning Rose to pursue it. He intended to include her in his plans though he realized she would need persuading. As the girl sighed and smiled in her sleep, Steve wondered whether it would be all that difficult to change her mind; after all, he'd got this far.

Something tapped him on the shoulder. His hand flew to where he had felt the pressure as he leapt up and spun around but there was no one there. The room remained empty and still. Silence invaded his thoughts and filled his mind, preventing him from reaching a logical explanation.

Drip

A splash joined another on the bed where he had been sitting. Steve craned his neck to look above him where a damp patch was slowly spreading on the grey ceiling. The hard rain was penetrating the roof.

"That'll need a patch," someone said behind him. Steve did not turn around. He recognised the tone. Mr Tiny was standing just inside the door, half belonging to the shadows, as though he had always been there. The fat man chuckled to see the hairs on the boy's neck stand on end.

"How did you find me?" asked Steve through gritted teeth. He turned slowly, his features impassive and tried to look tough. That was hard when you were naked. Feeling very self-conscious, Steve snatched his jeans off of the floor and shrugged into them, not taking his eyes off the man. A fierce, red blush rose steadily from his neck where it filled his cheeks. Hardly registering his embarrassment, Mr Tiny pursed his lips as he noticed how the boy was moving very slowly between him and the sleeping figure on the bed.

"I have ways and means..." said the man ambiguously striding across the room. Again, the boy's chest seemed to swell as he attempted to grow larger to hide the girl. The two locked eyes.

"Playtimes over," said Mr Tiny carefully, "time to come home." He noticed a muscle jump in the boy's chiseled jaw before he answered.

"I...I can't."

"Can't or won't?" retorted Mr Tiny quickly. Steve shrugged.

"Won't. Not right now anyway." Squaring his shoulders he allowed himself to look around the room. There was a little person regarding him carefully from the doorway.

"We cannot afford to waste time Steve. But, I think you realize that, don't you?"

Rubbing his temples, Steve nodded. He understood there wasn't much time left but he had to clear things with Rose first. Mr Tiny seemed to acknowledge she was holding him back even if he wasn't happy about it.

"But Rose -" he began. Mr Tiny cut him off with an impatient sigh.

"Yes, yes. She's safe now. Tonight. But tomorrow? I can't tell you. There are others, Steve, others who won't be so sloppy as to allow themselves to be killed quietly,"

"I only -"

"Yes I know what you did!" snapped Mr Tiny. Resuming his cool composure, he continued, "Others who have worked hard to defeat the Vampires and will not let anything stand in their way. Anything that did, might...oh I don't know, find themselves drained of blood or something per say." Steve scowled.

"Are you threatening -?"

"Not me, son," sighed Mr Tiny in exasperation, "others..."

"Others..." Steve mused. Mr Tiny glanced quickly between Steve and Rose. She had still not woken up yet. He decided to try again.

"Steve, your destiny will not wait for you. Events that have been prophesied are happening now!"

"I know!" groaned Steve. He closed his eyes and exhaled, "I know. I'll sort it out, I just need a bit more time. Time to..." Opening his eyes, Steve found he was addressing an empty room. The round silhouette that had been Mr Tiny had vanished, as had the Little Person that had accompanied him. The darkness that had filled the room only moments before seemed to shrink back into the corners, joining the shadows which lurked there as daylight began to break through the grey clouds. It was still raining heavily and the sound of the wind outside echoed around him. Steve sat heavily on the bed and pressed his palm to his forehead as though trying to push unwanted thoughts from his mind.

Others were out there. Other Vampaneze wanted Rose out of the way. On top of that, events were moving on without him; his destiny was leaving him behind! He looked back over his shoulder at the sleeping girl beside him who, completely innocently, was holding him back. The one tie to the old life he no longer wanted.

"Fuck" Steve breathed as he realized the enormity of his situation. He had thought he'd managed to trick Rose somehow, luring her back to him but all the time he'd trapped himself! Now he had to decide all over again. Should he leave Rose or kiss goodbye to his destiny?

"Steve?" sighed Rose, rolling over to smile at him. Her eyes, heavy with sleep, traced his tired features.

"Didn't you get much sleep?" she asked, frowning. Steve rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and tried to look cheerful.

"Not really. You were distracting me," he stretched his mouth into a smile as Rose's frown deepened with an unasked question. "Did you know you snore?"

"Do not!" cried Rose in outrage. She propped herself up onto her elbows and reached over to grab a pillow to throw at the boy. With a laugh, Steve reached over and covered her hand with his as she touched the pillow. Rose's grip immediately lessoned.

"Do I really?" she said quietly, half joking. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah but I love you anyway," he laughed. Rose didn't join in, instead her questioning eyes searched his expression. Eventually, her lips framed a wide smile.

"You still...you still love me?" Her voice was almost a whisper almost like she hardly dared ask. Steve did not answer straight away, causing Rose's smile to fade slightly. Unbeknown to Rose, he was deep in thought, struggling to find the right words to describe his true feelings for her. Finally he gave up, realizing he'd probably never be able to express how much he loved her and settled for leaning over and touching his lips against hers.

"I never stopped loving you," he said affectionately, pulling away at last. He noticed rose still had her eyes closed, smiling in bliss.

"Well, I'll always love you," she grinned meeting his gaze. A flicker of hesitation crossed Steve's red eyes as an answer failed in his throat. He settled for putting his arms around her and resting his chin on her head as Rose drifted back into a peaceful sleep, unaware that her soul-mate was currently struggling with the decision to leave her forever.