I don't own Hellboy or Hellboy stuff. Isn't that what this website is for?

Nuada waked to the specified location. After they made their deal she had drawn a crude map on his hand with charcoal of where to meet up.

"Why am I following her directions?" he asked out loud. Wink, who was standing behind him, shrugged. They reached a small two story house. Alexandria stood outside the front door carrying a backpack and her cloak.

Nuada couldn't help but stare at her. She was beautiful, even though she was picking her teeth with a knife. Long curly ebony hair, dark eyes, but he couldn't place the color. Skin a white a fresh fallen snow, a slim frame, but she did have some curves. Her face was the perfect look of innocence on a child, but deeper he saw something dark. Something wild, something that he might just bring out.

Alex turned and saw Nuada. "You ready to go?" she asked.

Nuada paid no attention to her question, but instead tried to her angry. "You should pay more attention. I could have killed you without your knowing."

"I could hear you since you reached the town square. I could smell you before that. I have better things to worry about then a weakling elf," she finished with a smile. Alex was very good at annoying people. Most of the people in her home hated her because of that.

Nuada gridded his teeth. "I am no weakling," he growled at her.

Alex just smiled at him. "Compared to me you are. So, are we going or not?"

Nuada sneered at the vampire. "You do you think you are?"

"I'm the vampire who is going to help you find whatever you're looking for."

Nuada momentarily forgot his anger. "You're a vampire?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile that made him feel like an idiot.

"I thought that they were dead," he said with wonder.

"We aren't dead," she said with a small said smile. "We've been hiding. It's a good thing too."

"Why is that a good thing? I want my people to be known, with both fear and envy."

Alex shrugged. "Humans think that we're dead. If they knew that vampires were still alive then I would be under interest more than now. So when are we going?"

"Now," he said as he turned, and walked away. Alex shrugged and walked after him. She turned around, waving at Milly and Mandy who sat at the top story window. Alex watched them wave back, and then felt her back into something really hard. Turning she saw the elf's troll friend.

"Sorry," she said.

The troll shrugged. After saying something in a language she didn't know he started to walk again. Alex frowned and ran ahead to Nuada.

"What did he say?" she asked. Nuada looked at her.

"You don't speak troll?" he asked. She shook her head. "Why not?" he asked.

Alex shrugged. "Never needed to. So what did he say?"

"He said 'all is forgiven'," the elf translated.

"Cool. I wouldn't like him on my case."

Nuada turned and stopped. The vampire was close behind him, so when he stopped she ran into him.

"Who are you? You are a vampire, one that finds people, spends her breaks in the human lands, and uses slang," he fumed at her.

She just shrugged. "I am me. I can only be me; I don't know how to be anyone else." She started to walk past him. "Also, my name is Alexandria Josefina Victorsin. Not 'vampire' and certainly not 'woman'. You can call me either: 'Alexandria' or 'Alex' or 'Aj', but that is it."

Nuada narrowed his eyes at her. "I shall call you whatever I wish."

Again Alex only shrugged. "'Kay. But just remember, I might not respond."

The walked for the rest of the night. They were halfway to a forest when the sun came up. After a few minutes Nuada took a deep breath, hoping to breathe fresh air, only to inhale an awful smell.

"Even human air is awful," he said through a wrinkled nose. "What is that smell?"

"My skin," said a stern voice from behind him. Turning he saw that Alexandria had put on her cloak. Even though she was in the shadow of her cloak he could see the damage the sun caused her.

The vampire nodded to the trees. "Can we be to the trees by night? That would be helpful."

Nuada nodded. They kept walking until the forest, and they go there as soon as the sun went down. They walked until they reached a clearing in the center of the forest. All of them sat down in a circle. Wink laid down and fell asleep. Alex watched the elf, and the elf watched the fire that Alex set up.

Slowly Alex pulled back her hood. "You know, you never told me your name," she said as she took off her cloak.

"My name is Nuada," the elf said slowly, deciding whether to put his title on it or not. He decided not. She didn't seem like the person that cared.

"So…" she started as she took off her shoes and socks. "Where are we going?"

Nuada finally looked at her. "That is not my job. That is your job."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "So you don't know where this thing is?"

"No."

Alex thought for a moment. "Yeah," she said with a shrug. "I can work with that." After thinking she stood up.

Nuada watched her stand up out of the corner of his eyes, having turned back to the fire. He watched as she pulled at the bottom of her white linen shirt. Shocked, he turned as watched her pull it over her eyes, exposing her sleeveless undershirt. The black cotton was in contrast to her skin, but it gave her chest shape. The undershirt u-cut gave a little view to the white mounds beneath. He couldn't help but stare.

"Hey!" Nuada eyes flashed up to her eyes. "You okay?" she asked as she pulled her shirt off of her arms and through it aside. Nuada blinked twice.

"Why did you take off your shirt?" he asked, almost with nervously Alex noticed.

She made a face. "I'm not going to sleep in it."

"Why did you stand to take off your shirt?" he asked as he gestured up and down her body.

Alex gave him a look. "I didn't get up to take off my shirt."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I got up to take off my pants," she said as she reached for her waist band. Nuada leapt up. She gave him a confused look.

"Why are you…?" he asked. Nuada watched the vampire tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I'm not going sleep in my clothes. They get dirty and smelly faster. Would… Do you not want me to?" she asked slowly.

Nuada nodded. "Yes. I rather you didn't."

"Okay," she said with a shrug and sat down. But this one was less carefree then the rest. "Are you going to get ready for bed?" Nuada answer didn't for a minute. She was sitting below him. He could see a bit down her shirt. Not enough, he thought. The way she was positioned made two of her straps on one shoulder loosen a bit. Instead of holding tight to her shoulder it was on her arm. The way she looked up at him and her wild hair framing her face, it made him forget to breathe for a minute. Finally he remembered who he was, why she was here, and that they weren't alone.

"Of course," he said as he turned away from her, not willing to see her face as he got undressed. Alex fixed her tank top and bra straps and braided her hair as she watched him take off his armor. Then his other clothes. She grabbed her bag when he took off his final shirt, throwing the loss silk to the ground. She had taken out a map that Milly had given to her as she watched him take off his shoes. The whole time he got undressed she had held her breath. Thankfully she didn't need to breathe.

"Holy Lords," she said under her breath. He was gorgeous. But she looked at his back. She was looking at it the whole time, but she wasn't seeing him. The scars that lined his back and arms.

"How did you get your scars?" she asked.

After taking off all of his clothing except his pant in front of a maiden Nuada turned around. After siting he answered her question.

"I got them serving in the Great War. A war that your people conveniently disappeared for."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "The Queen declared that we, as a people, would remain neutral, but that individuals could join either the Fey's army or the human's army." She looked down before continuing. "My father was one of those people. So was my aunt."

Nuada looked at her. "You aunt fought in battle?"

Alex balled up her hands. "Unlike yours and the humans' cultures women in my country are equal to men. They have the same advantages that the males have, and males have any advantages that the females have."

"Did you family come back?"

Alex turned away, even though she was still looking down. "My aunt did. At first, at least."

Nuada tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"She was on the humans' side. She got severely injured when the unit she was in got attacked by the Golden Army. She was sent home. Her wound healed, but she never got better. A few months later she committed suicide."

Nuada spit into the fire. "Then I cannot say that I am unhappy that a creature supporting the humans died at my peoples' hands."

Alex's head wiped up, not believing what he said. "She didn't join the humans' army because she supported them. She joined them because she was mad at my dad."

Nuada sat forward. "Explain."

"My dad left his family, my mom, my half-brother, and me to fight in the Great War. That really ticked my aunt off. So when he joined the elves she joined the humans, just to make him mad."

Nuada laughed at this. "Just like a woman," he said through his laughs.

Alex glared at him. When he stopped laughing he noticed her glare. It was pure anger, mixed with rage, disbelief, and could that be a little bit of pity?

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Nuada smiled. "Your Father died in battle. What more honorable way for it is there?"

Alex's anger turned to disbelief. "I don't care about honor. What I did care about was that all the grown-ups in my family died! My parents, Nuada! My Parents! I had to take care of my brother and sister! All by myself! I was fifteen! Maybe in your country girls start taking care of children at fifteen, but not in mine!" She sighed. How could Wink still be asleep after that? He thought. "They left me all alone to take care of a 13 year old and a newborn. How is that honorable?" she asked.

Nuada never got the chance to answer that question. After her explosion she picked up her map and pointed to a spot near the border. "We're here," she said. She pointed to another spot on the map, almost on the other side of the human lands. "We need to be here," she said.

Nuada studied the map. "That trip will take five days, maybe six. Time that we do not have. Why do you need to go there?"

"Let me answer your question with a question. Can you glamor?" she asked. She smiled when Nuada nodded. "What about your friend?" she said nodding to Wink, who was still sleeping.

Nuada shook his head. "Wink cannot use glamor."

Alex shrugged. "Oh well, my plan will work anyway."

Nuada sat forward again. "Tell me about your plan."

Alex smiled. "Okay we are here, and we need to be here," she said pointing to spots on the map.

"Why do we need to go there?"

Alex held up a finger. "There are people there who owe me a favor who can tell us where whatever we're looking for is."

"And that will take us five or six days."

"Wrong. It will only take us three days."

Nuada looked at the vast distance between where they are and where they are trying to go. "Explain."

Alex pointed to a spot on the map about half a day away. "There is a family there who owes me a favor. They will give us food and money. We spend the rest of the night there. Next we will walk about six hours to a nearby rail way town and stay at a hotel for the rest of the day. The next day we will by train tickets for a husband, his wife, and there troll servant-"

"Why are we spending a day in a human settlement instead of just going on the train? Also why are you going to pose for my wife?" he asked.

"Two days from now, the day were arriving to the town, is on Sunday. Nothing is open on Sunday." Nuada nodded at this. Humans and there strange ways of worship. "And I'm posing as your wife because it's against the law for women to travel the rail alone. Now, may I continue?" When Nuada nodded and she started up again. "Okay, we will ride the train for about eighteen hours and when we get there we will ask them about your object."

Nuada thought about the plan. "What about the last six hours?"

Alex shrugged for the thirteenth time. "In case something weird goes down. Like if the train breaks down or there is some funky weather. So, what do you think?"

Nuada thought about it for a while. And then he nodded.

Alex smiled. But as she layed down with her back to him her smile disappeared. Does he really think that way about what I told him about my family? She thought.