We all gathered in the living room. There were no lights on, but there was a shimmering glow from the large fire. I paced back and forth on light feet, my arms crossed and biting my lip. Mr and Mrs Smith sat on the luxury couch, Sofia leaning over them, staring in to the fire. Damien chewed on an apple, leaning casually against the fireplace. I awed at his casual state, even now at the worst of times. Maybe he wasn't even concerned about it, because it was me, a newcomer to his family. Or maybe it was the way he always acted, a usual state of mind. Maybe he was like this before he was a vampire. I shuddered, a tingly sensation ran down my back and I looked across to Sofia, who looked at me with an I-don't-know-what-to-do look and I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing.

"What do we do then?" I asked calmly, even though if I was human, I'd be freaking out right about now. Sofia turned to me, giving me a sharp, executed look.

"We run," she said intensely. Those two words seemed daring and undecided. Could we really run from a Queen? But it wasn't just any Queen, it was a vampire Queen. I didn't even know if I could do it, running away and leaving my family behind. I took a useless breath and then stood still looking over at the Smith family.

"I don't expect any of you to come along. I'm sorry if I ever got you in to any kind of trouble." Mrs Smith waved her hand and snorted at the same time.

"Please darling, but you have not harmed this family one bit. You are part of Sofia's life now, which makes you part of our life too."

"I'll go with you. I'm here for you, as long as you want me here." Sofia walked over to me, kissing me on the forehead and cupping my hands in hers. I smiled at her, knowing I had someone to count on whenever.

"Look, if you want," Damien began, stepping in after being so quiet, "I can take you across to France and there you can make your own way down to Italy-"

"And how do we get away with being in Italy without informing the Italian King?" Sofia asked Damien in a direct way.

"Wait, there's more than just one Queen? There are more high powered people?"

"Yes," Damien said rolling his eyes, "Sis, I'm sure you can avoid the Kings minions; mix in with the crowd." She mused over it, knowing that she could if she tried. She started slowly nodding her head. I stood, waiting for her to speak, and she opened her lips, but closed them again shortly before opening them once more.

"Ok. If you can get us in to France I can take us to Italy. There we will be safe for a while." I agreed with her, and she rushed up the stairs to pack.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly. Sofia was down with a packed rucksack in five minutes, looking lightly packed. I knew we'd need to go back to my house first, to gather my stuff as well. We headed out to the courtyard. Sofia was dressed more casually now, and I felt that it was going to be a rough journey.

"Damien, we'll meet you down in London, we need to make a few stops first." I said this as Sofia hugged her mother and father goodbye. He pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders. I watched as he ran in to the misty night, his body disappearing in to the darkness. I walked over to Mr and Mrs Smith, giving a handshake to Mr Smith and hugging Mrs Smith. She rubbed my back as I hugged her.

"You two must be careful. It was a pleasure meeting you Liam." Sofia grinned as I looked over to her.

"Are you ready to test your vampire skills?" She took off in to the darkness, and I realised we wouldn't be taking a car, as I followed her down the empty road.

We arrived at my house an hour later. I noticed that we were pretty fast. It seemed the same as I walked in to the flat. Its designer walls light up with the reflection of the bright lights. Everything seemed as clean as usual, nothing out of place. I hurried up to my bedroom to fetch a few clothes and packed them neatly in a rucksack. I heard Sofia gently pet Riley, and I cursed under my breath as I realised he needed someone to feed him whilst I was gone.

"What are you going to do with Riley?" She shouted up to me, as I continued to pack. I finished and swung the rucksack over my back.

"I'll drop him off at the restaurant with Lily. She likes dogs, cats, animals in general." I said this with a flustered voice and Sofia laughed a bit. She didn't seem as nervous as me, but yet, she was an older vampire than me, having more time for her emotions to subdue. I grabbed Riley's collar and lead and put them on him. He started to get excited, thinking of an adventure or a walk. I sighed knowing that he wasn't going to like being dropped off with Lily.

As we walked round to the hotel, it gave me time to breathe, or at least think anyway. I couldn't get over the fact that I was going to have to leave my life behind me to run from the Queen. I did consider just turning myself in, because if running away constantly all my life was what I was going to have to do then why live. But then I also thought of reasons to live. I had Sofia, and I thanked whoever helped me find her. I was in love with her, and it pained me to admit it because I shouldn't have been. I should have been angry with her for dragging me in to this, for making me leave any trace of human life. But I couldn't and I knew nothing was going to change my decision.

We reached the shiny glass doors of the hotel, and as we walked in, Riley seemed disappointed that we were here instead of a park or around the streets. I realised that everyone was staring at me. But I also noticed then that it wasn't just me they were staring at, but Sofia and I as a couple. I could hear some people moaning about having a dog in here, but I continued to the bar, ignoring others. Lily and Lara both stared at us, Sofia hanging around my arm, proud. I was proud too, but I could tell Lara was far from happy. I ignored her, and turned to Lily who seemed as happy as ever, pouring a drink in to a perfectly shined glass.

"Hey Lily, you like dogs, right?" She looked down at Riley, and looked up to me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Uhm, I like dogs," she said laughing a bit and making it sound unsure. I continued to plead anyway.

"I need someone to look after Riley whilst I'm away. I shouldn't be gone long," I said lying to her. I didn't know whether I was going to be gone long or not. "A few days, maybe a week." She twisted her blonde ponytail in her fingers whilst she thought about it, giving an 'uhm' and 'well' in between. Finally she agreed.

"Sure. I love dogs. Riley's the name right?" I nodded and handed the lead over to Lily as she took Riley out the back of the restaurant. Lara looked at me harshly, and Sofia gave me a peck on the cheek, drawing back from me.

"I'll wait in the lobby. This is your battle." She whispered this in her angel-like voice. Sofia walked away and I was immediately faced with a look of disgust on Lara's face, shining a glass a bit too hard.

"You two seemed to cosy up to each other. What did she do, let you in on the Smith's secret?"

"Something like that," I replied harshly. If I was being treated like that, I may as well fight back.

"So you don't show up for work in ages, and now you want to go away somewhere. What's wrong with you Liam, you used to be such a good kid. Over this past year I've seen you change. You're not you anymore." I couldn't believe how right she was, but I kept a straight face. I sighed, not knowing what to say.

"I'm in some trouble right now, Lara. I don't expect you to understand this, but I do expect you to respect it." I turned me face away, hoping to finish the harsh conversation.

"Be careful." She said as I stopped in the middle of the bar. I turned back and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. She gasped, and I guessed it was because of the temperature of my skin, but I turned back and started towards the lobby. Sofia was waiting calmly beside the chairs and she stood up as I walked towards her.

"Is everything ok?" she asked quietly as we left the building.

"Everything is fine." I replied with a lying smile.

Our last stop was my mother and father's. Sofia waited in the grand gardens, wondering the green animal figures carved out by our family gardener. I didn't go in. I didn't want to cause any distress, as my mother was sure to worry about my sudden vacation to Italy. They hadn't seen me since my pre-transformation.

I crouched down below the finely painted frames of the living room window. I could see the lights glow nicely through the glass. My mother sat on her chair, knitting in hand. She looked like an old lady, sitting quietly, her silver rimmed glasses slipping down her nose. Across from her was my father, looking as old as she was. He read a paper, flicking through the pages collectively. I realised how old they actually were. I also realised, the facts now hitting me harshly, that I would never grow old with them. They would surely make their way to death without my aging too. The two of them looked happy in this scene, a warm glow around the room creating a blithe surrounding. I made me way back to Sofia, who was happily wondering the gardens. She turned to me and smiled; a fairy-like state about her.

"Did you go in?" she asked curiously. I tried to smile back, but the lump in my throat made it impossible.

"No," I whispered, hugging her close to me. She wrapped her hands around my waist, her head resting on my shoulder.

"It's ok you know. Everything is going to turn out alright. All we need to do is get past these few days and then we will be able to come back without any trouble."

"You make it sound so easy," I sighed. Something moved near the house, and I immediately looked up towards the house and I saw my mother at the window, looking over at me with a pleased face. She waved and started to walk away, and I could only guess she was coming out to see me.

"Oh crap, my mother has seen us." Sofia looked over and then grabbed my hand. We seemed to race towards the house, and this was exactly what I didn't want, but we soon diverted to the side of the house in a flash. We hid by the corner, waiting for my mother to think we weren't actually there and she was going a little crazy. She hobbled down the steps, looking out in to the garden. My father was right behind her, looking a bit disappointed that we weren't there.

"I swear they were there." She chuckled, her hand over her chin. Father just patted her lightly on the shoulder.

"I think you may be going a bit crazy." And they both laughed as they went back inside.

Somehow, we were in France in no time. It seemed a little crazy that we could cross the see without a boat, or any other transport to for that matter. Vampires could do amazing things. We were in Calais, a town in the northern part of France. It seemed old, the stonewashed buildings and the small shops with their items on display in the neatly ordered windows.

"This is where I stop," Damien said, his hands in his pockets, rolling back and forth on his heels. We turned around to him, and under the street lights, he still looked as casual as ever.

"You take care whilst you're away sis." He hugged her, and then he turned to me, his lips opening and then closing again. "Take care." I shook his hand in a formal manner, and he smiled at me, starting to walk back from where we came. This was going to end badly; I could feel it in my gut.