I'm sort of on a roll today, so here's the second part of the Vampire AU! I'm really getting into this one. I hope I don't end up making this into another story. I can't add another one! TAT

Please if you can, review! I like reviews! We all like reviews right?

(In the future, a young teen is facing her demons and the reality of her situation. Fear creeps up on her, broken promises demanding answers, memories screaming. During a cold night she contemplates her life and where she is. Where she wishes it was, and why it can never be.)

It was dark. Why, why was it so dark?

She should have been able to see no problem in her wake. Her eyes were better than her own parents for goodness sakes. What was going on?

"Help!"

She froze, her body still as her ears perked up to listen for a sound. Has she really heard someone?

A voice?

"Help!"

It was!

"I-I'm coming!" She yelled, running through the the inky darkness that surrounded her. With no landscapes or color to give her any reason to run in any specific direction, all she did was run. She kept going as fast as her feet could take her, not knowing if she was going the right or wrong way.

"Help!"

That voice again. It came from every direction. How was she supposed to find-

"Why?"

Ready to take off in another sprint, she stopped. Her body tensing at the subtle question, she placed her foot on the floor, and slowly turned her head back to look behind her.

There he was. The source of the voice.

A tiny form, a human. No older than six years old, just a mere child. Caucasian skin typical of any human, black hair dark as shadows, and blue eyes shining like the most rare of sapphires.

She couldn't figure it out. Who was this boy? Why couldn't she remember?

But, there was more to him. More she could see as she walked closer to him.

One step.

His skin showed bruises.

Another step.

Cuts on his hands.

Just one more step.

His hair became messy and dirt covered his shirt and pants.

And now she stood in front of the boy. Face to face with a human, someone that was appearing and disappearing out of her mind like a shadow in the night and day.

Her voice became a ghost, now staring at the boy right in the eyes. Nothing happened at first, but soon enough she watched her right hand, no longer in her own control, reach out to the boy. It wasn't to hurt him, to slap him, to scratch him. Nothing of the sort.

If she just touched him, maybe he'd say something to her?

Her hand was so close to the boy at this point, her fingertips mere inches away from caressing his cheek.

"Why?"

Suddenly her hand stopped, just seconds away from touching the child. Her hand stilled by his cryptic question, she felt a frown take her lips, confusion takes over her being.

That question again?

And then out of nowhere, she noticed the boy's form shaking. No chill hung in the air to make him freeze, no signs of being overtaken by illness. Was he afraid of her? Being near someone he didn't know?

"Why? Why didn't you come back?"

Her eyes widened and a trace of fear ran down the back of her spine, turning her vision back and forth to find something. Something to look at. Take her attention away from the twisting feelings of regret inside herself. When was the last time she felt fear like this? To not understand what was going on?

"W-Why?" She asked, not understanding what the boy had meant. Why what? Why was she standing in front of him? Why was she trying to get near him? Why was he here? Looking beaten and broken?

And just as the last thought went through her head, another sound come from the deafening silence.

Crying.

She moved her head down, and as terrifying as it was to just see the boy beaten and constantly asking her "why" of all things, it crushed the young girl further when she saw the human shaking where he stood. His head high up and staring at her with as strong a gaze as he could muster despite his state, his sapphire blue eyes flooded with tears, streams flowing down his cheeks at an unending pace.

It was her turn to ask again.

"Why?" She asked, bending down on one knee to get closer to the crying child. "Why do you cry when you look at me?"

The boy, sniffling and wiping all the tears from his face as best he could, shook his head and slowly made his way to her. Reaching his hands out hesitantly, he moved closer to grasp onto the dress she wore and hugged himself close to her, seeking to be comforted.

"Why? Why didn't you keep your promise, Samantha?"

"What? That's not my-"

And like a spark from a burning fire, she froze. And memories flushed back through her mind.

Running through a forest.

Climbing numerous trees.

Kicking her feet in a lake beneath the moonlight.

A...A boy. A boy sat beside her. He ran alongside her, or as best as he could. He was shorter than her, his face flushed with embarrassment at her height. He laughed heartily as they played together, enjoyed their company in childish bliss away from responsibilities in the cloak of night and shade of the moon.

Samantha. That was the name she used. When she met...When she met...

Conner.

The name just popped in her mind. So easily it came back to her, yet so distinctive to hide from her memory.

She stared down at the crying boy...no, Conner. Now she knew why her heart was breaking so much. Why it hurt to see this simple human boy crying, asking her questions, his body beaten and tired in front of her.

Her first friend, if she could even call him that now.

"I," She spoke, trying to find the words. Answer the crying boy who was clinging to her, shaking. Her arms moving to wrap around the smaller boy, the young girl clutched the boy close to her, offering as much attention and care as she muster to him. Make him feel better, to make him forget the hurt he was feeling because of her.

"I...I'm sorry." She whispered harshly, her voice going hoarse form the rage of emotions she was feeling. She was mad. Not at Conner, not at the state he was in (even if it was terrible), the darkness that surrounded them.

She was mad...no, she hated herself.

She knew what he was talking about now. She remembered the promise he kept asking about. To see him again. Meet him and play as friends.

She never went back. Back to that forest, they met in. She was so young. Things got in the way, stopping her from going back. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't. But was that any excuse?

How could she be such a terrible person for forgetting? Leaving him alone?

Hurting the only friend she'd ever had that wasn't somebody ordered to be by her side?

"Please," she continued, ushering in as much forgiveness as she could possibly exclaim in her voice. "Please forgive me, Conner. I didn't mean to. Honest. I...I should have looked for you. I should have kept my promise. I was being stupid again! More than last time!"

She hugged her friend tighter, biting her lip while trying to keep a lid on the emotions that wanted to explode out of her. She felt no pain from the action, her mind focused on the boy who was still crying despite her pleading.

'I'm sorry.'

What had she done?

'I'm sorry.'

How could she forget someone so important?

'I'm sorry.'

Why didn't she try harder?

'I'm sorry.'

Disobey?

'I'm sorry.'

She should burn in the sunlight for what she's done.

'Conner, I'm so sorry!'

"I'm sorry!"

Shooting up from silk sheets and drenched in sweat, Winter let her eyes dart around the room, her chest rising up and down from the ragged breaths she was taking, heavy and forced as if she'd run across the entire forest and back.

There...Nobody was there. Her room once was empty of anyone but herself, lavished oak furniture and marble floor. A king-sized bed matted with wine red sheets and bedding fit for royalty, yet it felt once again like hard rocks beneath her back. I was all that would greet her awakening.

Tired, the pale maiden rubbed the sweat off her forehead, specks lining the side of her head and matting her long snow white hair that clung to her back from the fluid.

A cold shiver ran down her body at the rush of adrenaline her heart was pumping through her, clutching the blanket in her hands to try and rid herself of the energy still inside her.

The nightmare. Again.

It came like a devil in the night, whispering in her ear of her failures and mistakes. Ironic as many thought she herself was a devil, one who could feel no such emotions or resentments.

Sighing, Winter pulled the blankets off of her body and rose to her feet, the coolness of the marble floor helping the warmth that radiated from her. Pulling lightly on her nightgown to unstick herself from the cloth she walked over to the scenic window that graced her room and pulled the curtains to its side, opening her room to the light of the moon.

The sky. It was beautiful as it glittered with stars at night. She loved the view from her room. It was magical...

Yet, it still did nothing to help her push away the regret that tugged at her heart, her soul. If she could claim to have such a thing the way priests of churches would describe her.

"Why?" Winter asked quietly to herself, her hand resting on the glass barrier of her room to the outside world. "Why does the nightmare continue to torture me so? Haven't I agonized over my decisions long enough?"

Ten years.

Had it really been that long? The number was trivial to people like her, beings who could live on far longer than any beasts of nature, monsters of the darkness, humanity themselves.

Vampires. It was what people called her, what their people decided to take after so much ridicule and hatred. It became a badge of pride when once a moniker to be labeled devils, demonic beings that held no humanity. But they did, they had to.

If not, why would Winter be plagued with such torturous emotions that haunted her every night? With nightmares that stole her memories, made her forget, and then relive pain day after day by showing her someone she had hurt?

It was not her fault she never returned. Her father was unfair and controlling, as blown out of proportion as it sounded. A joke children used when they couldn't get what they wanted.

To her, however, it was.

Her father was a king. A king of century old vampires. What rules and decrees left his lips were obeyed.

No matter if you were a commoner, royal, or flesh and blood. She'd found out the last one the hard way.

He found her that morning, sneaking back into their home and hoping to not be caught. He'd berated her, scolded her, had been angered for having the staff search high and low for her, nearly getting themselves killed in the process for a clue of her whereabouts.

She was but a child. How could she know her leaving by herself would make her father, the staff, so terrified for her well being?

Unfortunately after that everything changed. The freedom she had was put to a halt and she was forbidden to go anywhere alone. Whether it be out to train her growing vampire powers, learn the ways of survival, or just walking in her own home, an escort was always there. Someone to keep an eye on her, keep her in line.

And they were always stronger than her, a point her father had stressed.

With that single order, the promise Winter had tried to keep to Conner had been shattered into millions of pieces. No matter how many times she tried to sneak out, get away for a single moment, someone was there to catch her and take her back to her room. She became a prisoner in her own home, by her own family.

But even with everything she knew and experienced, would that excuse matter to the person she'd hurt so long ago? Would he even care if she told him?

"Conner," Winter muttered softly, her fingers moving down the glass of the window absentmindedly, her thoughts moving back to the person who was still in her thoughts for so long.

'His name still rolls off my tongue so easily. Like I've spoken it for years.' She thought sadly, her vision fading somewhat to notice her reflection. A reflection that just frowned back at her.

She'd been careful not to say his name out loud in the castle. Even after being caught, she hadn't revealed the events that had transpired that night to her father. The night she'd met Conner and had the most fun she could remember. His name danced in her thoughts from time to time, when she was distracted from her studies, wishing for more excitement, to have more freedom.

It always made her a bit happier, even if her situation had never changed.

"He has to be sixteen now right? He must be getting into so many adventures without me. As...As it should be." She muttered to herself, her fingers receding back to her hand and clutching tightly into a fist she wasn't aware of.

He was fine. Conner was fine. He had to be.

He was adventurous, a bit slow at times against her own speed, fell down a lot when climbing, and annoyed her to no end with his anger sometimes, but she knew deep inside he was alright. He was strong, and the bravest boy she'd ever met. He didn't need her to survive.

He had to have made so much more friends since she didn't come back. Yet, a small part of her wondered, did he still think about her?

'No,' Winter thought sadly, shaking her head. 'Not me. Never me. If he is, he's thinking about the fake girl he met in the dead of night. Samantha the human, not Winter the vampire. The kind of monsters he wanted to-'

"Lady Winter?"

Oh, heavens above. Not him of all people.

Lady Winter, are you awake? Are you decent?"

Annoyance swelling inside her at her contemplation now interrupted, Winter sighed however only continued to stare at the crescent moon that hung in the night sky, never turning from the door.

"You may enter, Roy."

The door opening just seconds after the form of a well-dressed man walked in, his body and facial features matching those of a young adult male. Light red hair, eyes bright like the forbidden morning sky, an angular and sculpted face many females in her staff craved and gossiped about.

Yet they did not know how irritating he could really be. Especially when he was your bodyguard.

'A glorified babysitter is a much better title.' Winter thought solemnly, never turning her gaze to the newfound guest.

"I apologize for intruding on you, my lady. Your father, his highness requests your presence at the castle's venue. Your opera performance is just an hour away and the guests have already arrived." Roy spoke, closing the door behind him and walking over to the smaller form of Winter. "It seems you've taken your time getting out of bed."

"I can take as long as I'd like Roy. You may dictate where I can and cannot go, however you shall not command me to sleep and awaken at your leisure. Nor my thoughts, as much as you may think your position from my father entitles you to." Winter responded, finally turning her head to look at Roy, a small glare pointed in his direction.

Scoffing at the glare the older man shook his head. "You'd think by now that your glaring would lower against me. You're title and known rebellious nature may frighten some of your staff to keep your control and push away theirs, but you should know by now that it doesn't affect me.

I am one-hundred years your senior after all. And you are just a mere fledgling vampire of sixteen years. Nothing more than a newborn. No matter what kind of powers your royal blood may hold or unlock, I'm not afraid to get rough with you. You might even enjoy it. After all you are of age this very night correct? I could easily make it more special for you?" Roy asked smugly, his hand reaching out to touch Winter's face.

But just as he'd been close enough for his fingers, the pale hand of Winter moved at a quick pace, slapping the hand of Roy harshly away from her.

"Don't you dare touch me with your filthy hands, lecherous demon!" Winter yelled, her glare once small now intensified. Her mouth clenched in a tight frown of anger, her teeth were bared at her bodyguard, sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight and nails morphing into dangerous claws.

Gritting his teeth at the slap of his hand, Roy held his stinging arm and glared at the white-haired woman eyeing his every move. "Fine, for now. You'll have to remember though that your father will eventually name me to take your hand in marriage for my longtime service and work at your side. I'll be outside. Hurry and get dressed woman." Glaring back at her, Roy turned on his heel and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Once again alone in the sanctity of her room, Winter once again felt her chest heat up from her breathing, her body shaking from another rush of adrenaline. And like a spark of lightning, she screamed.

She threw a pillow.

Kicked her dresser.

Punched anything that was in her reach.

And finally, she fell back onto her bed, uncaring of the blankets askew atop the mattress or the pillows flung around the room. She just wanted to lay there. Let the world around her disappear for another minute.

"Never." Winter spoke quietly to herself, reaching out to a pillow nearby her head. "I'll give you nothing, no matter what my father may say. Not the throne, my hand, or my purity. You'll get none of it." Moving the pillow close to her, Winter felt the adrenaline finally die down in her again and the next familiar wave of emotions took over her body.

Sadness. Uncertainty. Fear. Weakness.

"I won't give it to you. If anyone..." She stopped talking, her thoughts on what she'd say next lost to her. She'd never thought that far ahead in her life, no matter how many times the lessons of etiquette, family lineage, and their blood her father instilled in her every waking moment. She wanted to be free still, have a say in what she wanted, go where she pleased. No man she knew thought of her in that way, to let her have free will.

No person would tie her down without a fight.

"If anyone deserved to take my hand, it would be someone who thought of my wishes before their own. Cared about someone. Wanted to be with them for more than just power or money. Someone like...Conner." She whispered, not sure if she'd understood the name she'd spoken.

He was strong. Brave to the bone, even he'd been scared of her when she fell out of the bushes. Adventurous and never backing down from a challenge. He cared about what she thought and saw her for more than just what she looked like or represented. He...he had wanted to spend more time with her.

If anyone was qualified enough to take her hand, to stand by her side and be with her for the rest of her life, she'd choose Conner over everyone else.

"He's a better man than you'll ever be Roy," Winter whispered, a small smile crossing her face.

But in the grand scheme of things, she was kidding herself. Tinting her opinion in the reflection of a rose colored wine glass to ignore the facts of life for an old reality that happened one night ago.

Conner would never like someone like her.

Someone who disappeared without a trace.

Someone who had changed so drastically.

Who had become so weak willed and trapped?

Lied about who they were.

Who didn't keep their promises?

A monster.

The kind adventurers killed on their quests.

"I...I need to get ready." Letting go of the pillow in her arms, Winter sat up from her bed. Her hair flowing over her shoulder in a messy fashion, Winter turned her head back to look towards the window.

The moon and stars still hung in the night sky, their glows brightening a time that could have always been engulfed by darkness.

'I wish...I had something like that. To brighten my world.'

With that last thought, Winter removed herself from her bed, dressed in the finest of blue and gray silk dress, and donned a sapphire hair ornament that signified who she was. Her status. Her blood.

Looking at her reflection one final time in the mirror to make sure she was prepared, all Winter noticed was the frown of discontent on her face. The look of someone who looks like they've lost.

It was time to go back to reality.