Chapter Two

Will You Kill Me?

It didn't take long for the Vampire Prince's memories to cause him to become preoccupied. He found himself gazing distantly at walls and parchments whenever his natural ability to 'tune out' his surroundings kicked in. Instead of his normal extreme concentration, he began daydreaming.

Even Mika's sleep was invaded by his thoughts. No matter what he did he could not stop thinking of his past. Did he want to go back to then? Yes and no. Having all that freedom back would be nice, but he felt needed in Vampire Mountain, he felt needed by his clan. Surely his thoughts would be good enough.

He visited the manor each night for a week. Each night he saw the girl enter, each night a door got slammed, and each night Mika grew more and more doubtful of his taste in women. He watched her from dusk till dawn as she made her way around town, always he managed to find her by the strange and alluring scent that she carried. As he observed her and her ways he noticed that she spent as little time in the manor as possible. It seemed she did not like living in the large house. The young woman wandered around the city until late into the night, doing various things. Visiting dance halls and bars seemed to be her favorite past time and Mika only prayed that he blood was not as tainted with alcohol as her interests would show.

His previous hunts had been quick, girls walking home under large trees, easy to jump down and knock out with his breath. This girl, however, always seemed wary of someone following her. She didn't let on that she was, however, he had been watching her for long enough to realize that she anticipated every move he would go to make. She took many shortcuts, which only lengthened the trip back to her home. Mika followed closely, on the rooftops, only dropping down when he felt that she was secluded enough to catch. One night he followed her down a dark alley right after she left the pub and ended up in the middle of a fist fight with a handful of drunken men. They were easy enough to dispose of, but as quick as the encounter had been, she was nowhere to be found after he had finished. Another time, she had ducked into a crowd during a night-time farmers market (a full-moon tradition in town, he found out when a passer-by realized he wasn't a local), and before he could even begin to search for her, he found himself accosted by sellers of various produce. By the time he had managed to force his way through with the purchase of 2 squash and a sack of flour, she was at the other end of the market, carrying a pumpkin and a sack full of other groceries, a sly smile on her face (or at least he thought it was sly, perhaps she was merely content with her purchases).

Normally Mika would give up, and find himself easier prey, but this town was secluded, hours away from anywhere else, and awfully superstitious. The only people who stayed out past dark were the drunks and the vagrants, neither of which appealed to Mika in the least. Also, the entertainment factor was too hard to pass up. It wasn't often that a slight girl could get the slip on a Vampire General.

On the final night of his watch, Mika sat closer to the girls' window than normal. After all these days of watching her he knew that as soon as she entered the house she would go to her room, change her clothes and go to sleep. However, this night he could tell something was strange. She did not come into her room as quickly as she usually did, from what he could hear, using his keen ears, she was on the telephone with someone.

Though the conversation was muffled and one sided, Mika could pick up a few key words.

"Yes… father… found a connection? Where is… Highland... dead… So… I'm alone?"

At those words Mika stopped listening. He knew this girl was an orphan, but her words made him understand a few more things. Her benefactor, Lord Highland, was dead. She was completely alone now. Mika felt a little pain for the girl, but didn't let it linger. He knew better than to get too attached to his food. The young vampire heard her footsteps as she approached her door, and backed into the darkness so she wouldn't see him. She entered through the door on the left.

"I'm alone now…" he heard her say. The woman crossed the room to the window and Mika moved even further into the darkness to make sure she couldn't see him. She opened the window fully, allowing the night air to waft into her room. She took a seat on her bed, immediately left of the window and inhaled deeply. Next, she went into her adjoining bathroom and changed, Mika waited quietly outside the window, his shape barely noticeable against the dark bark of the tree he sat on. He watched as she emerged in a light silk nightgown with sleeves that sat below her shoulders, brushing her shoulder- length hair. She took the news of her benefactors' death quite well; Mika couldn't even see a tear in her eye.

She went over to the door and flipped the light switch, making the bedroom almost as dark as the outside, only the light of the moon penetrated the darkness. As the woman crawled onto her bed, Mika could barely hear her whisper something, though he couldn't make out the words. She positioned herself on her left side, facing away from the window. A few minutes passed, Mika continued to sit on the large tree branch, waiting for the girl to fall asleep. Though he found it strange that she left the large bay window wide open to a luxurious home where she lived alone in the middle of some land surrounded by forest, he ignored the suspicions that crept at the back of his mind.

The same ones that originally drew him to her.

Suddenly the girl turned to face the window. "I said, are you going to kill me now?" the vampire heard her snap.

Mika ignored her voice, assuming she was speaking to her god or something of the sort. He wouldn't have paid her any mind at all, simply stayed irritated at the girl for her incessant talking to herself, if she hadn't continued.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" She asked, rolling out of the bed to stand, and making her way to the window. She gazed out at the giant tree across from her, looking intently at a spot on a large branch right next to her window. "I know you're there."

Mika continued to act as if he didn't hear her, hoping she was just being strange. The woman sighed and sat on the window ledge. "You're pretty pale to be wearing all black." She mumbled. "Don't act like I can't see you." She stood and hopped to the ledge Mika was sitting on. Unfortunately her balance was a little off and she landed unsteadily, teetering on the large branch and threatening to fall off. Mika reached out a hand and steadied her.

"Ha," she said, "I just knew that would get your attention." She smiled at him, something he had never seen her do. Mika sighed and stood, lifting her up in the process. He jumped, landing gracefully in her large room, cover blown.

He set her down on her bed and made for the window, hoping if he left fast enough she would fall asleep and think it was all a dream, he always found it awkward gassing his victims when they were staring right at him.

"Wait!" she called, grabbing hold of his jacket. Mika turned to her and saw the pleading look in her eyes. "Don't leave… I'm…" she didn't continue. Mika sighed.

"Lonely?" he finished for her. She glared at him.

"You don't have to say it so…" she whispered, trailing off. Mika took her hand and led her back over to the bed. "I know you've been watching me." She said.

Mika nodded as she took a seat on the large bed. "You're going to kill me, aren't' you?" She said without fear or sadness in her voice. She spoke the words as if merely stating a fact. "You've come at the perfect time. I… don't want to live anymore." He saw the tears in her eyes and looked around for a way out, embarrassed.

"It would be cruel to leave you in this state…" he said quietly, sitting next to her on her bed. The girl stifled her sobs, a vain attempt to act brave.

"I'm ready to die. You can take whatever you want when you're done. This place means nothing to me." She spat bitterly.

Mika's eyes were humorless. "Do you mean that?

"Of course I do!" She locked gazes with him. His onyx eyes, strong and cold, met her pale blues. Something in Mika's eyes caused her to turn away. "I've… nothing to lose."

"Are you lonely?" Mika questioned.

"You should know." She said. "You have been following me for a week." Mika chuckled quietly.

"Yes, and you have known I was there." She nodded. "I knew what you bought at the butchers was more than just coincidence." Mika recalled how he had followed her from the pub she frequented to the Butchery in town, how she had purchased a few cuts of meat, and left with a cup. After she had disappeared down the alleys again, he had finally made it back to her home to find the cup, full of pigs blood, sitting on her porch, as if forgotten when she'd gone to unlock the large manor doors. "How did you know?" he asked.

"I… don't know. I've always been good with things like that." She gave him a little smile. "Can you believe I was actually happy to know I had a stalker? I was hoping for someone to talk to…" Mika gave her a puzzled look.

"But… when I noticed you only followed me at night… I knew you were a vampire. And… I want you to kill me." Mika caught her pale eyes with his dark ones.

"I don't kill humans." He stated. Her eyes widened at his tone and roamed to room to find something else to look at. His dark pools seemed to mesmerize her and she felt embarrassed sitting in front of a handsome man, vampire or not, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown.

Mika seemed to notice her discomfort and removed his hand from hers. "You… want to die?" he began, "Why, is it that bad being lonely?" The girl stiffened.

"You wouldn't understand…" she snapped, "My parents abandoned me! I was left at this manor with nothing but a name on a piece of paper. And that was only six years ago! Somehow I lost my memory… I don't even know who my parents are or what they look like. And now the only person I can remember caring for me has up and died? What would you want to do? I have no past… no future! I have now… now is horrible." She trailed off, leaving her words to echo in her ear. She looked down and covered her face with her hands.

The young General didn't know how to handle the situation. When he was human he had had different girls he courted, but that was a long time ago, and things had changed. He wasn't accustomed to dealing with women unless they were asleep. Slowly, carefully, he took her hand in his, pulling it away from her face. The other followed suit. "You have nothing but your name." Mika repeated, for a lack of better things to say. The girl nodded, silent tears falling from her eyes. "What is it?"

The girl looked up and into Mika's eyes. Her pale blue eyes held more sadness than he had ever seen in someone. She took a few breaths to steady herself before replying "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine." Mika smirked; she was still as fiery as he has presumed all those days ago.

"I am Mika Ver Leth." He stated.

"Juliet… Andères." She said quietly. Mika smiled at her, immediately, almost as if on instinct, Juliet smiled back, and it was dazzling in the saddest way. Juliet blushed imperceptibly, suddenly aware of their closeness. "Does this make us… friends?"

Their eyes met again and Mika noticed the barest twinge of hope in her smile. "It is a start." He smiled, and it was devilishly handsome. "You needn't worry about being lonely anymore, Juliet." He squeezed her hand.

Mika woke with a start. The words his younger self had spoken all those years ago ringing in his mind.

"Juliet…"

A name forgotten to time.