Disclaimer: I do not own Little Vampire or The Craft (the universe of my OC) and all depictions done are out of love for their respective franchises. *Kicks and screams on the floor*

Author Note: I received my first review YAHOO~! Thank you oh nameless one! Your contribution fuels my creative fires!

- O -

"Fire burning day and night give me warmth and give me light." Nancy's hand blazed with burning blue light as she placed it over her raw elbow. She cringed, observing how the flames licked around her forearm and caused her skin to raise and scab over. The magic swelled away from her, and she reached out a tentative hand to feel along the now bumpy surface of her elbow.

Exhaling a relieved breath of air at her wound finally being tended to, she looked around her glowing grotto with a pinched face.

Memories of last night flew by her eyes. Rudolf had been more than generous. The oblivious child hadn't even asked her a single question about her behavior. He had sat with her in silence and patted her back until she had passed away into unconscious territory. What an angel. Truly, that had been more kindness than she deserved.

A thought began to occur to her then. Rudolf's unexpected kindness pushed her into a corner. A guilt began to overwhelm her. It bit into her slowly until her mind couldn't process past it.

She had no right to stay here.

She had no right to take advantage of this family and exploit them for help.

Frederick's motionless injured body had been proof of that.

She couldn't stay here. She wouldn't put them in danger anymore than she already had.

Her mind fluttered with her new made quick decision. She couldn't do this.

With a straight determined jaw, she began to pack her things.

Her hand gave a swift wave and the lights in her cavern seared out.

She had to leave.

- O -

She dragged her erupting satchel down and across the moist cave floor. With a strained yelp she hoisted the bag up and onto her back. "Why is this so heavy?" she huffed angrily taking a few steps to begin her trek out of the catacombs. Her satchel slipped and her shoulder jostled as her tablet slid to the rim of her bag. "No no no no no," she chanted as she helplessly watched the stone slip and flop to the floor. The weight of the object sent out a powerful 'boom'.

Nancy held her breath. She listened carefully to the tweeting birds above.

With a relieved groan, she whispered, "Fuck." As she knelt down to the ground to retrieve her escapee. With a slap to her forehead she realized that she had yet to remove the mapping spell from her tablet, hence its ridiculous weight. Feeling a growing sense of confidence in her directional abilities she easily dismissed the spell she had cast. Stuffing the now weightless pentacle tablet back into her bag she drew the drawstrings up around it to prevent any further incidents. With another twist and a hoist she had the bag upon her back once more.

"Nancy," a small feminine voice called out to her.

Nancy's face fell. 'Not Anna, anybody but Anna,' she pleaded. Her head slowly turned around to see the petite young Vampire child. "Anna," her face tried to form a smile.

Anna's face showed bewilderment. "I awoke to a loud sound, is all well?" She rubbed one of her weary eyes with her hand.

"Yes! There's no need to worry!" Nancy wished so badly that she could have meant that. Her arm slipped the bag onto one of her shoulders so that she might hide it from view. "Go back to sleep, it's okay," she goaded gently, a hint of desperation appearing in her face.

Anna felt her guard raise and her mind pass into a more wakeful state. "What is it that are you holding?" She pointed innocently to the brighter fabric of the bag, peeking out from behind Nancy's glistening leather jacket.

Nancy brought the bag quickly around to the front of her body. Her mind moving rapidly to formulate a believable lie. "I'm bringing my satchel, so that...I can keep all the new ingredients for my magic that I'm...going out to find." Her mouth tumbled the words out.

Anna looked in Nancy's face for a shine of doubt but found none. Her concentrating mind broke with a yawn. She was so sleepy.

Nancy watched Anna without blinking.

"Come back soon, okay?" The child advised cutely before turning to head back down the corridor.

Her blonde hair bounced in tendrils down her back as she meandered away.

Nancy's mind leapt, and she moved without realizing it. Her hand had grabbed hold of Anna's shoulder. "Wait!" she stopped the child.

Anna's blinking eyes turned to her in wonderment.

"...I want to give you something," Nancy said lamely, wincing as she threw her bag to the ground and ripped it open to furiously search.

The child stepped closer to peer inside of her bag, but before she could do so Nancy's hand emerged with a bundled up bunch of linen. Her other hand worked to quickly shut the rest of the contents of her bag from view.

"Here," she presented the child with her gift.

Both of Anna's tiny hands reached out to accept the parcel.

Nancy gave her a look of encouragement.

The side of Anna's face wrinkled up in confusion. "A dead mouse?" Her dainty fingers held the fuzzy brown rodent up by its tail.

Nancy's kneeling form leaned towards her in hurried excitement. "It's from the old country," Her black finger nailed hand grasped onto the child's shoulder. "It will bring you luck."

Anna considered the mouse for a moment before her face began to glow.

"Thank you, dearest Nancy," she beamed in sudden pride at receiving such an invaluable gift.

"Thank you Anna," Nancy's eyes twinkled with tears. Her limbs grabbed forward to embrace the bright little girl.

Anna's disoriented figure blinked rapidly at Nancy's release of her. "Nancy?"

Nancy's face split with a large smile down at Anna before she took up her bag and began to slowly stride away.

She didn't look back.

"Nancy?" Anna tried to call out to the Witch again. There was no response as Nancy's figure disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

- O -

Tears muddied Nancy's vision as she wove her way through the cemetery.

The sunlight glared down at her from its place in the sky; it was making her leather jacket almost unbearable to wear. Uncomfortable, and emotionally distraught she threw the satchel violently from her back and sent it barreling into one of the headstones. Angry tears made dark streaks down her round cheeks. "God Fucking damn it!" she screeched falling onto her knees into the grass and mud on the ground. Her hands clung wildly to her curls and pulled with frustration. Was there really no other option? Did she really have to leave?

If she left, they'd certainly find her.

She was terrified.

Trembling hands released her hold from her hair and moved to shield her eyes. Her eyeballs hurt from all the crying she had been doing, and the harsh light of the sun wasn't helping matters. 'I think I've cried more in the past twenty four hours than I have in my entire existence.' With an extremely heavy and petrified heart, Nancy rose from her knees, and retrieved her baggage from the base of Melinda Wallace's gravestone. "Sorry bout that," she apologized to the cement block representation of a human life. "I've got a lot going on."

Satisfied with her brief explanation to the stone she nodded to the rock before marching herself forward. With very little trouble she navigated her way back up to the large hill that Gregory had shown her the way to just the night before.

The rusty overgrown ivy gate winked at her from on the horizon.

- O -

Clutching the bundle of linen close to her chest, Anna shuffled her way back to the sleeping chamber. She felt strange. Her interaction with Nancy had seemed off, she couldn't shake the thought that something was awry. Her feet stopped as she gazed into the looming shadows of the tunnel to Nancy's chamber. She heaved a sigh. Normally she could usually spot the ever present blue illumination of Nancy's candles flickering in the back of the cavern, but on this day, she couldn't.

Anna's hands squeezed the bundled up mouse. She didn't-

Her short legs carried her quickly down the cave trail. Anna panicked.

Everything was gone. The cave end was as empty as it had ever been. Nancy had left them.

She was gone.

Anna's face wrinkled with tears. She had left in the daylight. She couldn't follow.

Anna hugged the mouse ever closer to her person as she trudged her way back out of the now lonely catacomb end and into the occupied cave of her family. She tried her very best not to awake her parents and siblings to her sorrows but couldn't help the hitching sobs that would occasionally wreak her form. She paced fitfully in the chamber, until the gruff sound of Gregory's voice halted her rhythm.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" he grumbled bitterly, annoyed at having his slumber interrupted.

Anna's reddened face turned to the upside down head of her eldest brother. She drew in hiccuping breaths before announcing, "N-Nancy's left us."

Gregory's dark sunken eyes widened in astonishment. He had spied her crying the night before, but he had no idea she would be so rash. He felt a mix of feelings hit him. Relief, suspicion and frustration being the most potent.

"Good riddance," he spoke finally to his fretful child sister.

Anna's hysteria reached a new height. "Why do you dislike her so?"

Gregory's eyes closed at the question and pretended not to have heard her.

Anna shook her head at her brother and opened the folds of fabric to once more gaze down at Nancy's gift. Her bleary eyes widened in surprise, she could feel a large powerful magic possessing the small creature. Anna gave a watery smile. Nancy must really have cared about her. This was a rare gift indeed.

Dutifully, Anna did her best to regain her composure and finally reluctantly joined her family in their suspended rest.

- O -

The sun was setting low in the sky as Nancy unhappily trudged through the woods. Leaves crackled and branches snapped under the pressure of her strides. "I could've sworn that I passed by that stump," she antagonized the piece of foliage. Her face scrunched up in exhausted annoyance. "Seriously," she puffed trying to calm her racing nerves, as she gave another roundabout look to the forest around her. Looking for any trance of suspicious shadow, and straining her ears for the call of dogs. She was crazy paranoid. She didn't realize just how comfortable she was with the Vampires until she had left. The dripping stalagmites of the underground. It was the perfect hiding-

No.

I can't think about that.

I really can't go back.

I'm a danger to them.

I'm nothing but trouble.

They'll hate me for it.

I'll hate me for it.

Anna's pale porcelain face glittered in her head.

Nancy felt herself falter.

Rudolf's upside down face looked at her in gratitude. "I must thank you again, for your help tonight."

He was such a little man. She smirked to herself.

No! What the hell am I doing?!

She was hit by a barrage.

Freda smiled her tight lipped small smile at her, while gesturing majestically with hands. Frederick's eyebrows rose humorously up to his widow's peak.

And Gregory, well-

"I would have killed you that night." Her mind relayed.

Great. She had headed down the path of no return.

As horrifying as her last memory was, she knew her mind had been made up.

I'm so selfish. Why do I suck so much?

Feeling all kinds of foolish, Nancy changed her course.

- O -

Gregory's eyes opened to an empty room. His family members had all risen for the night hours and he suspected Anna's disturbance of his sleep had caused him to wake up far later than usual. Just why had she woken him up again?

Anna's tear filled face flooded his vision.

That's right. The Witch.

She had left.

The thought left him feeling far more annoyed than he thought he should feel.

I should go on a hunt. His frustrated mind overrode his annoyed buzzing brain.

- O -

The gray fuzz of his bat body glided effortlessly above the clouds. He rode the air currents, taking dips and swirls until he had reached a safe point over the forest below. He sent out his sonar. Answering waves shot back up to him. A deer and a raccoon were roaming the forest floor. Disinterested, he shot another wave down. His bat body nearly fell out of the sky. There was a human wandering alone in the woodlands below. How peculiar.

But he was feeling just volatile enough to go down below for a bite.

His wings turned with purpose as he began his descent. With incredible precision he had bypassed each and every wispy cloud and spindly tree branch in his path. The practiced grace of an aged Vampire aided him as he transformed conveniently behind the berth of a tree. His ears observed the crinkling of leaves as his intended target came closer. He zeroed in on the kill.

Crunch.

Crunch. Crunch.

Crunch.

His dreadlocks shook as he threw himself out from his hiding spot to hiss a menacing warning at his mark.

"You!" a familiar voice screeched. "You scared the shit out of me!" Nancy snarled as she tried to collect herself and her scattered belongings from the ground.

Gregory's face relaxed marginally. An unexpected relief rushed through him. The Witch. His mind worked quickly, she had left in the daylight. Why was she still so close to the graveyard?

"You make it far too easy for me to frighten you," Gregory stated, forcing a scowl onto his face that he really didn't feel.

Nancy brushed the remnants of dirt and leaves from her ripped blue jeans. She shook her head in tired amusement. She didn't feel like jabbering back and forth with the exasperating boy. She had spent hours trying to navigate her way back to the cemetery. It's a wonder she even made it there that fateful night.

At Nancy's lack of response Gregory cleared his throat. "You were trying to leave us weren't you?"

Straight to the point eh? Nancy tried to look startled. "How dare you insinuate such a thing, I was out looking for herbs," she stated properly placing an offended hand to her chest.

Gregory scoffed and rose his split eyebrow at the arrangement of her enchanted candles littering the forest floor.

Nancy's cheeks flushed with color, but she simply kept holding her head high.

"Anna woke me after your departure, I know that you left," he paused. "And it wasn't to gather your silly herbs," his pale gaze seared her.

Busted. Her face fell. She cracked open like an egg. "Yes," she oozed stiffly. "I was leaving."

Gregory nodded. "But you have...decided to return?" he questioned taking a step closer to her form.

Nancy looked unsure of herself. "I don't know, actually."

Gregory attempted to look indifferent to the Witch's plight. "What appears to be the issue?"

Nancy's eyes lowered from the boy's dead eyed stare. "It's really not that easy to explain."

The image of her sobbing body embracing his little brother flashed through his mind. Overly curious. "Go ahead, try," he demanded.

Nancy scrunched up her face at his abrupt attitude. She eyed him warily for a few seconds before ultimately deciding that she really had nothing to lose by telling him. "It's dangerous for me to stay with your family." After a pause, she added. "There's someone after me."

Gregory's facial expression didn't change.

His lack of response unnerved her. "So uh, yeah," she fumbled with her jacket. "It just wouldn't feel right for me to put you or your family in danger...on my behalf."

The Vampire boy nodded. He could respect that. He really could. He felt himself relax a bit. He made a decision.

"We should get back, the sun is beginning to peak."

Did she hear him correctly. "Get back? Did you just listen to me?"

Gregory glared at her. "You listen," he leaned in closer to her. "You may mark yourself dangerous, but my family has never counted themselves to be so hopeful since your arrival in our accursed catacombs."

After digesting his convoluted wording, Nancy was shocked. She hadn't been expecting that sort of admittance. From Gregory no less.

He rolled his blue eyes at her wide eyed expression.

"We must go," he ordered without letting her get a word in.

Stunned, she looked down at the pale hand he offered her.

His face still looked grumpy and annoyed but with the hand he was holding out to her, she could almost mistake him for being friendly. Almost.

With a choked laugh she grabbed hold of the presented limb and squawked shrilly as he lifted them into the sky.