A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

I'm afraid tomorrow's post depends on whether or not I'm going to be reported again…

I'm determined to be stubborn now… I know how to be when I work with three and four year olds, so they have a fight on their hands now…

I'm convinced this saga has been cursed from part two onwards… Maybe my next fic will go much more smoother.

Chapter 44: Paperwork

Ingrid watched as Erin learned into her mate at the table. Vlad absentmindedly stroked the exposed skin of her shoulder where her robe had slipped down slightly. She was finding it far more comfortable to wear baggy clothes at the moment.

A faint smile played at her lips at the way they were tackling this together.

Vlad was doing his best to train Erin up to undertake his job but Erin was finding it a difficult thing to do. Erin had never been prepared for this the way Vlad had, she was supposed to have been eased into it but there was no time for that now.

Erin twirled the pen in her left hand, swinging it back and forward like she used to do. This felt like homework, studying for that Romeo and Juliet coursework. In fact Shakespearean English was easier to read and understand than the ancient dialect in front of her.

The yellow folder on top of the writing wasn't helping her either; the light was bouncing off it though making it difficult to read.

Vlad was patient with her, she knew that. He had probably read the paperwork two or more times through before she'd even got half way. She thought it was adorable the way Vlad didn't alter the way he was looking at the paper, as if he was pretending to be reading at the same pace as her.

Vlad muttered something in a dialect that Erin wasn't entirely fluent in and she knew he was thinking aloud. Erin nudged him slightly, her colder touch drawing him from his thoughts. He looked at her and shrugged, it had been something he'd never quite managed to do – keep his negative thoughts inside when thinking about something.

Erin pointed to an ornately written line, she couldn't translate it completely. Something about 'naming'. "What does this mean?" She asked, looking at the papers. She honestly didn't know what to do with them.

Vlad peered over her shoulder, "Its just asking for permission to perform a naming ceremony for a future heir."

Erin squinted at the words, being in Transylvanian didn't help her. "For us?" Why would anyone care about their unborn child yet? Then again she ignored that thought.

"No for the clan that sent the request."

"Why do they need our permission?"

"Its law that the Grand High Vampire has to know the current and future heirs of a clan." He explained simply, this way he could keep an eye on what was happening in the vampire world as well. Erin signed it, granting it – she didn't exactly have a reason to ignore it.

"I'm not a ruler Vlad." Erin whispered to him, as she placed the paper in the desk.

"I'm not either." He whispered to Erin, his breath caressing the shell of her ear making her eyes slide shut slowly and lean towards him. "I just try to keep them alive. Our kind is still low in numbers Erin and I know that the only way we can grow is through trust and love." As he spoke he brought his hand to rest on her stomach, rubbing it lightly.

Erin tipped her head closer to him, so it rested on his shoulder comfortably. "I know. I just wish that we didn't have to deal with all of this now. I want to be normal Vlad."

His heart skipped a beat, "Breather normal?"

She shook her head. "Vampire normal. I want to be able to actually go into that room that's been a nursery for three years and turn it into a room for the baby – but we can't because we're…" She rolled her eyes as she corrected herself, "I'm in charge of the vampire nation." She slammed her pen down slightly harder than intended.

She definitely had new respect for Vlad now, he'd been doing this for three years. It was unbearable enough for her after a week. How he'd survived this long she'd never know.

Vlad smirked at her, before grabbing another paper from the pile. He hadn't realised the build up of paperwork that would be created in his absence.

He swept his eyes over it, freezing as he did so.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

The paper in his hands filled his stomach with lead. It wasn't a petition or a new law, he knew that immediately.

Erin watched as he froze solid, waiting for him to say something. She could hear how his heartbeat picked up pace as he red whatever was on the paper.

Erin placed her hand on Vlad's arm, she was sure Vlad had forgotten she was there. Vlad jumped at her contact, dropping the paperwork. It fluttered to the ground. His eyes were wide and his face was completely white, whiter than snow.

She trailed her hand up his arm feeling the soft cotton beneath her fingertips. She did it slowly making sure he had time to formulate his words. He shook his head in disbelief. His nostrils flared in complete anger as his breathing became shallow and quicker. Erin tried to read the paperwork clutched between Vlad's fingers tight enough to tear it in half, but she couldn't see it from the angle she was at.

She was becoming worried now, "Vlad?" She tried again hoping for an answer from him there was still silence. "Vlad, you're scaring me." She spoke quietly, she could feel her stomach rolling and twisting as she hoped for some kind of answer from him. Her new words seemed to snap him out of the trance he'd found himself in.

Vlad was sure he was mistaken the first time he'd read it, the second time too but there was no denying it on the third time. This was taking things too far. They had no right to do that. He knew at the moment he'd be considered more of a meal than Grand High Vampire but this needed to be dealt with immediately.

"I want Augustus here, now." His voice was strangled as he made the demand, even though he knew he wasn't the one with the power at the moment.

"Vlad's what's wrong?"

Vlad licked his lips; they weren't the only things that felt dry though. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton wool. "He's promised them something… something not his to give…"

He threw the paper down in front of her, it slid across the table a few inches before coming to stop directly in front of her.

"Promised who, what?" She didn't understand.

Vlad forced his chair backwards; it scraped along the floor making Erin wince as the sound hit her ears. He stood shakily and ran a hand through his thick, raven locks tousling them slightly.

Vlad shook his head; he there was no way this could have happened. "I need Ingrid."

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

Vlad found Ingrid in his study standing in front of the video screen. "Ingrid…" He looked around the room, seeing the wires connecting to the whiteboard. "What's happened in here?" It looked like the entire room had been ripped to shreds. "You don't need this for the regular check in." He hoped they put it all back where it belonged when they'd finished.

"The slayers want to download information to multiple computers at once." Ingrid told him using the words they'd told her, although she didn't want to know why. Bertrand had actually seemed interested in what they were doing, he wasn't exactly for progress but at the moment it might help yield some ideas for the future.

Catherine looked up from where she was hunched over the screen, "Its quicker this way."

"What happened to asking the Grand High Vampire first?" Vlad muttered, this was his home. He'd obviously given them too much leeway over the years to do what they'd wanted, clearly it was coming back to bite him.

Catherine looked at Erin with a teasing glint in her eye, "Erin can we…" She trailed off as she got the reaction she wanted, Vlad folding his arms over his chest and looking to his mate for support. Erin waved her hands wanting to stay out of this, she didn't like to make decisions concerning the slayers.

"We're ready." Mina called, pulling the final connection into the board itself. As soon as she'd done that the screen flickered to life. A figure on the other end appeared suddenly, a young man in his mid twenties looked at them all. He had dark brown hair that was a fraction longer than Vlad's with the deepest brown eyes. His skin was tanned as if he spent most of his time in the sun. His eyes lingering on Erin for a few moments as every slayers' did. Erin folded her arms defensively, she was famous for all the wrong reasons amongst the Guild. "Mitch." Mina greeted with a smile.

"Mina." The reply was curt. He nodded off screen to someone. "We're sending the data you requested on Blood Mirrors and Reflections now, its taken the week to collate but hopefully there's something you can use in there."

"Data being received." Catherine called in response from the laptops she was standing over.

Vlad opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by the slayer. Mina looked sheepish though that she hadn't shared the information on the Blood Mirrors with Vlad but there had never really been a time to do so and it wasn't as if it was a mirror.

"Mina there's something you need to know." Mitch took a deep breath. "There's been a spate of slayings." The person on the other end of the link spoke quickly.

Erin spoke automatically, "Which slayers have committed the slayings?"

The man shook his head, "It wasn't us." Erin looked into his eyes, slayers eyes usually hardened when they were lying. The slayer in front of her kept his eyes exactly the same.

"Then who?" Ingrid asked softly.

"The first casualties of war." Bertrand looked at them all, he knew the answer immediately. "It's begun."

Vlad's head dropped, rubbing his temples trying to prevent the headache he could feel building. At least as a temporary mortal painkillers worked on him.

Ingrid voiced everyone's unheard thought. "And our most powerful weapon is gone."

Vlad looked down, he'd never really considered himself a weapon but they were right Olga had free reign now all because he didn't have his powers and the clock was counting down.

Suddenly the screen split into two feeds making them all jump.

"I'm gone for two months and all hell breaks loose."

TBC

A/N: What do you think?

Thanks for reading.