Dark. Incredibly dark. But soon his eyes adjusted. The area was unfamiliar. The moments before he lost consciousness returned to him and he jumped up from his lying down position. It was still too dark for him to move to confidently. Where was he? He felt a presence beside him and his hands went around a throat just as the words "Oh good, you're-" were choked out.

"Where am I? What happened to me?" L-elf maneuvered them so his kidnapper's back was on the floor and his hands were trapped.

"I took you to my home! I well...I jacked your body and I didn't know where you lived, so I just brought you here until you woke up."

"'Jack'?"

"It's one of my abilities. One of the things that makes us different from humans. I say that but we aren't too different from humans. At least I don't think so."

L-elf stood and let the other stand as well. He tried making out his surroundings but it was still too murky. It was then that a light came on, from an oil lamp, illuminating the room. It was a small bedroom. Tidy, but old.

"I didn't get to properly introduce myself. My name's Tokishima Haruto. And yours?"

"What is a JIORan vampire doing this far in Dorssia territory?", L-elf asked. He cursed the limited knowledge on these creatures but he wouldn't let it get the best of him.

"I haven't been back to JIOR in a while. I wonder if I can still speak the language...You're from the village right? I can show you the way back. But I can't let the villagers see me."

"I have no business with those simple folk. Why do you hide from them? Couldn't you kill them easily?"

Haruto looked appalled. "I don't want to do that! I hate killing!"

"A vampire that hates killing", L-elf smirked in amusement. "How do you even survive?"

"I drink the blood of animals. It's not the best, but I'm surviving. If I could, I would drink human blood. It's always so...delicious...and satisfying." He felt his mouth water despite himself. "But I won't do that. When those villagers found out I was here, they panicked. And now they think I'm taking their girls. It's not true!"

"The lore says your kind thirsts for the blood of human women. It only makes sense to blame you."

"It's lies! Those girls are just running away, usually with some lover. I haven't drunk from a human in decades."

Haruto had seen young maidens taking off in the night while he hunted for dinner. Most of the time they were accompanied by someone. He had absolutely nothing to do with them leaving town. Or maybe they just saw it as an opportunity to escape their current lives.

He had no wall around himself, no sense of guarding at all. He would just answer any question L-elf had. And he was soft. Probably easily manipulated. But he had his uses. L-elf would have no need to fear the beast of the forest if he was traveling with the beast. Bandits wouldn't even be ants to them. L-elf sat down on the bed. Haruto watched him for a moment before settling down next to him.

"What about human food? Is that inedible?"

"I can eat it, but it's not very nutritious. I can eat things like beef stew, but it would be just like eating a single grain of rice. Animal blood is the best thing for me. No one gets hurt and I can live."

"What if you could drink a person's blood with their consent?"

The vampire stiffened. His nostrils flared. "It's not possible. I'll never meet another person like that."

"Tokishima Haruto. Make a pact with me." L-elf looked to him with a plan in mind. "I need to get away from somewhere with an important person. If you escort us, you can drink from me freely."

"You're serious? Don't mess with me." Haruto's voice was quiet. He put his hands on L-elf's shoulders and the other allowed himself to be pushed backwards.

"I'm always serious. We mutually benefit from this. Do we have a deal?"

"It's been a few months since I've been this close to a person...No, even the villagers, when they saw me they were always at a distance."

Being so close to a live body was clouding Haruto's judgement. He knew he shouldn't trust this man so readily. He didn't even know his name. He didn't know why he was running, who he was with, or anything about him besides the fact that he'd been sacrificed by a mob. But Haruto was older than he looked. He wouldn't die so easily no matter what this stranger had coming. And he didn't like the idea of staying around this area for much longer. His nose was pressed against L-elf's neck. The scent alone intoxicated him.

"Deal."

Haruto's sharp fangs punctured the skin and he drank. It was a battle from the first drop on his tongue. The monster inside urged him to go until there was nothing left but his true self argued, trying to take just enough to keep his new partner conscious. He had already fed earlier so it wasn't like he was starving. But human blood really was something else.

It took everything he had, but finally Haruto pulled away. He licked at the teeth marks and they healed quickly. He felt warmer, more alert. His belly was full and he was practically glowing. He rolled off of L-elf with a dumb smile on his face.

"That was tasty."

"Now you hold up your end of the deal. We need to go back to the village."

"Huh?! Why?!"

"My important person is there. With you, we can leave this place tonight."

Haruto frowned but he knew it was his duty now. An even trade. They left and L-elf realized that they were in an abandoned mansion. The original owners had probably been gone for a decade or so. The decay wasn't too noticeable. If the vampire was living alone he was probably only taking care of the places he used. The full moon lighted the way as they got to the shack.

L-elf opened the door and found the princess shivering in her sleep. He went to her side and felt her forehead.

"She's got a fever."

There would be no going on the road tonight. They went back to Haruto's place and got a fire going. Haruto draped Lieselotte in a thick blanket.

"Mikhail...You made a friend?", she asked.

"So that's your name. Mikhail?"

"Food. She needs to eat."

"Food? Food, food, food", Haruto chanted as he walked off somewhere.

Lieselotte watched him go with a weak smile. "He seems so different from you. I suppose opposites attract."

"He will be traveling with us from now on. For protection", L-elf explained.

"'Protection'? You think we'll need it?" L-elf's prowess was well known, even to someone who had never seen a battlefield or war meeting like her.

Haruto came back with dried meat and fruits. L-elf glared at him, scolding him with his eyes before actually opening his mouth.

"Is this all you have?"

"Well I don't each much so...I need to keep things that'll last long. Oh! I have some pickles somewhere..."

"It's fine", the princess cut in. "We're guests, Mikhail."

L-elf softened at her words but still tried to protest. "You need something more filling. You look pale."

"That's not because of the fever, or perhaps the fever made it worse...Mikhail. There's something I need to tell you, a secret of the royal family."

Haruto hesitated for a moment. "Maybe I should leave you two alone..."

Lieselotte grabbed his sleeve and smiled. "Stay. These will probably be my last words."

"Don't say that!", L-elf yelled. "You're just cold. You'll be fine by morning if you eat."

She just shook her head and began to speak, revealing the secrets of the imperial family. Marriages within the family, those already related by blood was nothing hidden. Cousins marrying cousins, uncles marrying nieces, and the like. It was done to keep titles in the family and keep outsiders from climbing up the ladder. What the public didn't know was what happened when they had children.

Inbreeding did horrible things to one's genes. Many infants came out deformed and were thrown away. That meant either leaving it in the wilderness to die or by some pity sending it off to an orphanage far away. Only the ones who came out appearing normal would be kept and brought up in the palace. Even so, there were still irregularities under the surface.

The 'normal' ones might have physical health defects that couldn't be seen, or a mental one. And in Lieselotte's case the doctor confirmed that her life would not be long. Knowing this, she had pleaded for more freedom. If she would not live to grow old and gray at least let her experience the world as much as she could. But her parents and the council refused. They could see no merit in her request and decided it was best for her to stay inside the walls of the castle.

"Just these few days, I've already seen more than I ever thought I would. I'm grateful, Mikhail. Truly."

"You can't go yet. You haven't seen anything yet. You've just started to explore. This guy you call my friend, he's a vampire. If he turns you, you can live on!"

He held her small hands in his own. Despite the fire and the blanket they felt cold. She looked to Haruto who flinched at her gaze.

"No. I do not know what being a vampire entails. But his eyes look very sad. I would rather go as I am now, then shoulder the burden he carries. If things were different, the world might have favored us. If my family understood what it meant to me, maybe..."

Haruto watched silently. L-elf's eyes filled with tears as he saw her get weaker. She closed her eyes slowly and her body became limp. The hands he grasped had no more life left in them. L-elf hunched over and didn't let go. He couldn't bare to. If it did, it really meant that she was gone. The fire continued to roar, a brazen show of life in spite of the atmosphere in the room.

Sooooooo, i just realized i went a little twilight with the animal blood thing. and imma have to do it again with somethin' else. but i swear after that second thing there will be no more twilight thingies.