Logan woke up with a terrible burning in his throat and a pounding in his head. His vision was very blurry when he opened his eyes, but the first thing they focused on was Delilah speaking to his mother in the corner of the room. She looked beautiful in a plane pale blue skirt and white blouse, her hair in a braid down her back. Logan had a feeling that she looked beautiful in absolutely anything.

"LOGAN!" his brother said excitedly, dropping to his knees to stare at Logan in admiration. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell's eyes snapped his way, yet Delilah didn't seem surprised that he was awake. "I was so worried about you!"

Logan tried speaking- he wanted to say something reassuring to his little brother, but his throat was too dry to speak.

"Water!" Mrs. Mitchell said quickly and Hector snatched a glass of water from the night stand. Logan gratefully drank as his brother tilted the glass to his lips.

"You were asleep for a whole day!" Hector said. "You were bitten by a poisonous snake!"

Logan found that his thirst was still not quenched, but he could speak a little bit.

"Really?" he asked, confused. He didn't remember what happened the night of the ball and could only assume his little brother told the truth.

"Yes, silly, don't you remember?" Delilah laughed behind Hector. "You took me to the stable to see the horses. You tripped and fell on the ground and the snake bit you. I left to get help, but clumsy me- I got lost! I feel horrible."

Logan could only grin stupidly at her.

"That's okay," he croaked. He could forgive anything Delilah did to him.

"Well let's leave him be- I'm sure he needs his rest," Mr. Mitchell said with finality.

"But father! He's been sleeping all day!" Hector groaned.

"I am very tired, Hector. How about you bring me something to eat in a while?" Logan asked. "You can tell me about how the rest of the ball went."

"Okay," Hector said reluctantly, getting up and following the others out.

It was only a matter of time before the door opened again and a little blonde head poked in.

"May I stay for a bit?" Delilah asked with a cute grin.

"Of course," Logan smiled back as she slipped in, closed the heavy door, and sat on the side of his bed to face him.

"How do you feel?" she asked, taking his hands in hers. Logan found that her hands were cold and hard, yet his heart boomed increasingly every second of the contact.

"Not well," Logan said reluctantly. Delilah sighed and nodded, squeezing his hands.

"I can help you," she said. "You will be disgusted at first, but if you trust me then you will feel better."

Logan was willing to do anything Delilah suggested- he trusted her with everything he had, and he didn't know why. He watched as Delilah let go of his hands to pull her blouse away and reveal a dainty white shoulder.

"Drink my blood."

"What?"

"Like I did to you," she said gently.

Everything came rushing back to Logan at that point. He had taken her to the stables like she had said, but he did not fall and there was no snake. Delilah had bitten him on the shoulder with her sharp fangs, which reminded him of those of a snake, and sucked on the puncture wounds.

"Your fangs aren't developed yet, so I will cut myself for you. You will suck my blood and your transformation will proceed," she said, sifting through the night stand and finally coming up with a letter opener.

Logan watched as Delilah's head tilted to the side and she held the blade to her soft skin. He expected her to lightly drag the sharp letter opener across, but to his surprise she was holding the blade like a child holds a fork. She pressed the sharp tip to her skin and pressed hard, finally getting it to puncture her deeply. When she pulled it out, black liquid poured out- it looked like poison and it repulsed Logan.

"Drink, my child," she coaxed. When Logan simply looked in disgust, she pulled his head to her. "Drink, Logan. Don't you trust me?"

The innocent tone in her voice and the use of the word "trust" gave Logan confidence. He dragged his tongue up her shoulder to catch the dripping poison before closing his lips over the hole and sucking. The liquid didn't pour easily into his mouth- he had to suck hard to get enough so that Delilah allowed him to stop. The liquid tasted like poison just as much as it looked it. It was very sour and thick on his tongue, yet Logan couldn't seem to stop swallowing it.

"Very good, Logie," she whispered, pulling away from him and covering her shoulder again. She smiled as she saw that bright red still swirled around his pupils, which were invisible against the black irises. Logan looked at her like a child waiting for directions and she kissed his forehead with her now-naked lips.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked, watching as he licked the black from his lips and the red in his eyes disappeared.

"What is happening?" he asked innocently.

"I have turned you," Delilah whispered. "In just a day or two, you will be a vampire like me."

Logan was taken aback. He remembered telling Hector silly stories about vampires when they were children. He heard those stories from the maid they had, who was gone and dead now. But she always told him that the vampires were ugly and fierce… But Delilah was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and so sweet, too.

"Your canine teeth will get longer and sharper, you will no longer be satisfied by food and water, and you will forever want to kill humans for their blood."

"I don't want to kill humans."

"Oh, my sweet, naïve Logan," Delilah laughed, her fangs glinting in the sunlight pouring in from the window, which she was just barely out of. He really was cute- she was glad that she chose him as her servant. "You will not be able to control yourself."

"Is… Is all blood that way?" Logan asked, staring at the shoulder he had drunk from.

"No, only vampire's blood. Human blood is much sweeter and much more appetizing, I promise."

The next day, Logan went to the restroom in his bedroom to find that, unlike every other morning in his life, he did not need to "go". He washed his face and looked into the mirror, seeing that his skin tone had not changed like the servant said, but was the same palish tan that it had always been. He found that his canines were longer and sharper- just like Delilah's. When he touched the pointy end, he expected his finger to be pricked, yet it had not even been scratched or hurt.

"Logan, my sweet! You are awake!" he heard Delilah sing as she entered the open door. She was in the normal outfit for a woman in this age- another darker blue skirt and white blouse. This time, her hair was loose and curly over her shoulders.

"How did you get in here?" Logan asked, looking around.

"I jumped, silly," she giggled. "You have lots to learn. Perhaps after you have your first meal, we will start training."

Logan did not question what she said as she kissed his lips cheerfully and pulled him out of the bathroom. He was just so happy that she was there.

"Now, you'll have to be nice, since he IS your little brother," Delilah said as she wrapped her dainty arms around his neck.

"What do you mean?"

"I MEAN don't make a mess," she said seriously. "We will be on the move as soon as you have finished."

"I don't want to leave Hector and Mother and Father," Logan said quietly.

"He's coming!" Delilah said excitedly, disappearing into the closet.

"Lilah!" Logan hissed, but there was a knock on the door. Logan sighed and ignored the girl in his closet. "Come in!"

Hector entered and grinned when he saw that his brother was up and about.

"Brother! You are well again!" Hector said in his boyish wonder. Yes, Hector was the love of the town, yet Logan was Hector's hero. The boy stepped forward to hug Logan hard, making Logan smile brightly and hug back.

Hector pulsed hard beneath Logan's arms. Strange- he had never been able to feel a pulse in a hug. Logan took in a cleansing breath- Hector always made him happy- but suddenly he caught a whiff of… Stuffed quail? His favorite meal.

"Are the cooks making quail?" Logan asked, pulling away.

"No- they haven't cooked anything yet. I have come to ask YOU what YOU want to eat for breakfast," Hector said nobly. Logan sniffed the air, still smelling his favorite dish and following his nose to his brother's neck.

"Why, it is YOU that smells like quail!" Logan laughed.

"Me?"

Logan hovered his nose above Hector's neck again, inhaling the strange scent of quail. He found that his mouth was watering.

"H-Hector?"

"Yes?"

"Please leave."

Hector stepped back, looking offended.

"But-"

"PLEASE! Do as I say!" Logan thundered, stepping back. Hector stepped back a few steps, looking confused. "GO!"

Hector turned to the door, but suddenly the closet door swung open and, too quickly for Logan's or Hector's eyes to catch, Delilah was in front of the younger boy. With one swift motion, Delilah reached out her dainty hands and snapped Hector's neck, the boy falling as she caught him.

"Breakfast is ready," Delilah sang, sinking to her knees with the dead boy.

"Lilah!" Logan gasped, staring at his beloved brother and backing away. "You've killed him! My brother!"

"Well you clearly were not going to!" she snapped. "Logan, the first meal must be that of a blood relative, to ensure the family connection for eternity! This way, you will forever have your human blood, your maker's blood- that is me- and a family member's blood- that is Hector. This blood will forever be with you, and without that mixture, you will never survive. Now drink."

"I will not!"

"But Logie, if you don't, you will die," she said softly, pouting out his lower lip. "And I don't want you to die."

Logan watched quietly as Delilah's face dropped to his brother's neck, where her teeth pierced his skin and she sat up again. He was mesmerized by the trickle of bright red blood down his neck. He no longer smelled quail- now he smelled something sweet and mouth watering.

"Come to me, my sweet," Delilah coaxed, reaching out a hand to him. Logan slowly approached and sunk to his knees on Hector's other side. In her hazel eyes, he found only love and honesty. Delilah would never lie to him… She only wanted what was best.

"Did he have to die?" Logan asked quietly, red swimming around his pupils.

"No… I suppose not."

"Then why?"

"Drink," Delilah whispered, and with that Logan was latched onto his brother.

Delilah took Logan's hand as they sat on the train. She gave him a reassuring smile and nod before laying her cheek on his shoulder.

"I have done wrong," Logan whispered.

"Every vampire in existence had to do that same as you did," she assured. "Some don't feel as guilty as you."

"He loved me. I loved him. The whole town of Weston loved him."

Delilah rubbed Logan's arm quietly. Logan stared at the huge black umbrella that they had come to the train station beneath. His first mistake was walking out unprotected into the sun. It took about three seconds for his skin to start broiling and burning, Delilah pulling him back.

"Not until you have a ruby, my sweet," she said. She held up her hand, where a little ring with a single red ruby was set. "It will protect you from the sun for about six minutes before you burn."

"Only six?"

"It is better than three seconds," she shrugged. "I know a woman where we are going- she will make you a ruby ring, too. A much more manly one, of course."

Logan wondered why he didn't have a hunger for the other passengers on the train, and even asked Delilah about it.

"Once you have eaten, you will not want more for a day or two," she explained. "What did you smell, when you were appetized by your brother?"

"Stuffed quail," Logan answered wondrously.

"I always smell boysenberry jam," Delilah smiled. "The food you smell on humans is the food you enjoyed most as a mortal- you will never stop smelling it. Boysenberry jam is something my father used to make for me- nearly sixty years ago."

"You are sixty years old?"

"Technically I am seventy-nine," she said. "Counting my human years."

Logan nodded.

"When I was a child, my servant told me that vampires do not sleep," he said. "So-"

"Of course we sleep. What are we to do with our lives in one continuous solid block?" she laughed. "We can go forever without sleep, but who would want that?"

Logan nodded and tried to sleep now. He had so many questions, but right now he was overloaded and couldn't take anymore answers.

Hey, guys! Did you like the new chapter? I told you I could pop them out faster than longer chapters! :)