SerenityMorrison; thank you so much. 😊

SerenityxEndymion; I will be continuing this story no problem. I can't say to much you'll find a lot of it out as you go along within the first few chapters but I think you'll all like it.

CassieRaven: thank you! Updating now! Lol

Guest (1): thank you…and it'll be mamoru that's your only spoiler. Lol

OrientalDanceGirl: oh Damon isn't a SM character, I made up the character but the name is from a different show. I just used it for the purpose of the storyline. As for the V card…you'll have to wait and see.

lilbeargilly: thank you…I wasn't sure about the pace but thanks.

mryann: great and he'll be in shortly but I wanted to do a little bit more development first. 😊

wow such great response already at 7 reviews…I wasn't sure if the first chapter would even make it come out as I wanted to as I kept trying to lengthen it as I didn't want it to seem like it was happening to fast but it worked out well thank you so much. The first chapter is always worrisome to me being completely new so thanks! Now read and review! I cant wait for the next set of responses!

A vampires forbidden love ch.2

Serenity POV

We ended up continuing our walk right past the gardens and into another section of the estate that to was covered with the filmy paint. It traversed all throughout the area here like a large protective web that I didn't mind. I could still feel somewhat human in this place. Before I could speak a loud yell was heard from another section of the property. Damon took off towards it, blurring in his path.

I took off after him not wanting to be alone out here when I was still getting used to my surroundings. Papa wouldn't approve. I wondered for but a moment if I could have used the moment to my advantage but one quick look at the guards and I knew I didn't have the slightest chance. They even looked at me sternly, as if they expected me to try something redundant so they had something to do.

So instead I blurred after him. Though in my case when I stopped behind him at his sudden stop, I fumbled as I was not used to going at such fast pace speeds. I grasped my stomach as I felt the urge to hurl for a moment before I caught my breath. I looked around and found us in a training area where there was many weapons of all kinds on the wooden mounting racks. I got stuck looking at them as there were so many that I couldn't keep count.

Weapons from swords to daggers to even firearms. I barely had the chance to look at them all let alone the grounds that they were really training on when I looked into Damon's direction. I found two vampires holding Diamond down. His eyes were red as blood and his mouth covered in blood. He looked mad and out of control and I wanted to cry for him. He didn't deserve this, to be turned and…I looked at what lay at his feet.

Covered in blood herself, was a maid on the ground. I took two steps forward, my legs still feeling wobbly as he was still trying to break free of the hold the other two vampires had on him, "Keep him still." Damon ordered, "Trying sir! He's as stubborn as a mule and kicks like one to." one of the vampires smashed his knee into Diamonds face, "His blood lust…we were trying to help him learn how to feed without losing control and he snapped on us."

I looked at the young woman on the ground, her head severed nearly completely off. "We gave her to him for feeding and when he was taking too much we pulled him but he kept shoving us off. His bloodlust makes him stronger than previously perceived." The other vampire said, trying to keep a grip on Diamond's arms for rendering him unable to hurt anyone else. "The pull for human blood is too high…" Damon mused.

"We can't afford to have another 'ripper' on hand so we'll dispose of him." Damon ordered, "NO!" I rebutted instantly. He looked at me with angered and stunned eyes, "You defend this man?" he asked me. "He just murdered an innocent. You accept that?" he asked stunned by my response. He took a few strides over, getting directly into my personal space, "NO!" I nearly shouted. I didn't accept it but there was reasoning here.

"I was merely going to state that he's only this way due to you turning him and he's only turned because he was trying to protect me." I stated strongly without any true malice. It wasn't Diamond's fault that he was this way. He was just reacting from the vampirism within him. I was going through it to. The bloodlust just wasn't that strong within me. At least not yet and that's also why I preferred to be silent. The more I learned the less likely I was to make a mistake that could cost someone a life…or more.

So I decided to take on the burden within myself. He sighed, "While I'd rather he be dead regardless…" he looked at the bloodied up male. He looked agitated. "As you do speak the truth he'll get the only mercy I can give him besides a quick death." The two vampires nodded their heads and began to move him when he went after them. "Diamond please!" I called out past Damon. If I could get Diamond to see reason then he could accept this aspect and learn to not only control it but to not take an innocent life.

He saw me and it was like he saw right through me. I didn't bother to take any more steps as I called out again and no response was given. I didn't exist anymore. I was stunned to see the look of pure lust and hunger in his eyes. I almost stepped back from the mad appearance. Even his eyes were so dark that I wondered if there was a demon in him. It was unlike anything I'd seen even on Damon and he definitely looked at me in that manner.

Diamond went after me once he barely managed to break the hold on himself. He didn't get far as Damon stopped him. One step in front of me and Damon was knocking him down and pinning him to the ground with his boot to Diamond's chest, "Your growing weaker again." He told Diamond. He kicked Diamond back, "Not to mention going after Serenity here…big mistake." Damon cracked his neck as if getting ready to rip his head off.

I blocked him, "He doesn't know. His blood lust is to strong he's just not seeing straight right now." I tried, "The man ripped her head nearly clean off." One of the vampires spoke to me. I looked over and saw him picking up the severed head of the young woman, ripping the remaining bits of flesh or order to show me down serious it was. The woman was dead, trust me I understood the severity of it.

I shut my eyes for a moment before facing Damon, "He was trying to protect me at my parent's home…he's only here because of me." Before I could suggest anything else he motioned for his men to take Diamond out. "He will be given a new 'room' to be in." I had a feeling he wasn't referring to an actual room but if this was all I could do for now then so be it. "One where he won't be a harm to others nor to himself." Damon said.

"Isolation…" I nearly asked, "It's the only way to save him and to save others. I won't lose another life just because he's new. Because as it stands…" Damon looked down to me, "You're new here to and your blood lust isn't like that." He commented. "I haven't had a person put in front of me." I indicate around us that I haven't had anything other than a cup of coffee with blood in it near me. So really could you say that I would be different than Diamond? He looked back and saw the big pool of blood from the young woman.

"Your maids are human?" I asked a bit shocked. I would think he'd avoid that for risk of exposure. "They're here as a treat for my vampires to feast upon. It's an employment I offer to the less fortunate ones that the regular jobs out there that can't or won't take them in. They serve us as blind as day to what we are and go home at the end of the night unaware of anything other than work happening." He had a clever system in line here.

"You mean you make them think otherwise?" I asked him. He nodded, "It's called compulsion. One of the many traits that you have now. It only works on other humans though." I nodded wondering if I could master that to work for me. "And unless you become a powerful enough vampire and well-aged at that, you can never undo the compulsion of another vampire." He warned as if having read my thoughts.

I merely nodded as he continued on, "As long as no one dies from it that is. Tends to make us look bad and shine a spot light down on us out here." He tisked at the fact that she was dead but I could tell that it was due to a violation of rules rather than actual compassion for a life lost. I really had to keep no nose down and just listen to gain anything that could help me out. I just wish Diamond would do the same thing and NOT act out aggressively.

It would only cause further harm to him and to others. His vampirism was only causing more aggression to rise within him. "If they die the vampire gets isolation. For at least a year." I was a bit surprised that that rule was in effect. "I have my rules in place for a reason." He came right up to me and with his fingertips grasped my face, "I don't need an angry mob coming up here and ruining everything that's built here." I wondered on that.

"YOU have so many guards though why worry about a mob?" I asked him. He took that information into account, "Because…we may have guards yes but angry mobs come in large droves tend to at least get one of not dozens killed." I couldn't help but agree to that. "And I don't want to have any of my people or that many humans killed. It gives our coven a bad name that we couldn't keep ourselves private. We live in privacy for a good reason. Less people know about us and the less we have to focus on them and more on our war."

Now those words shocked me, "Our war?" I asked. He nodded, "We vampires have been at war for hundreds of years. Since the 5th century…" I was astounded. "We had heard rumors of such a fight going on in the underworld but nothing conclusive was ever stated." I said, realizing how true the so called rumors actually were. Someone was right and others just spread it for gossip rather than for the purpose of warning.

People like my papa didn't believe it per say but since he couldn't explain certain disappearances away he would simply away from the bars to late at night though mama did tell him if he was just out with his friends a few times she didn't mind. Stating that men still needed to be men and give the housewife a little break to. "The more home bound ones home at night would go back home in favor of taking that chance…like papa…" once again the thought of my family hit me and I missed them so much.

I tried pulling myself away from the thought and looked around once more, seeing the vast lush land that surrounded us, "This estate has been in my family for generations." He began. A new subject as he didn't want to talk about my family. The ones that he nearly murdered a few mornings ago. He was cold and calculating and for the time being I had to figure him out as a person so that I could avoid setting him off.

"I plan to keep it running as smoothly as it is and having vampires out making half assed decisions that could result in us being found out here doesn't bode well for me." He explained. I wondered how long Diamond would be in isolation for. "What about Diamond?" I asked. I still cared for him even if he was becoming something deadly. You can't help how you feel towards someone. Did it excuse what they did no. Did it make it okay, not even in the slightest…but it doesn't make that care go away.

It saddened me that Diamond was going through this the way he was. I wish he would just calm down long enough for me to talk to him and to talk to him alone. His focus was never fully on me and that was something I needed to talk to him. To reason with him on. I already felt sorry for the poor maid that suffered at his hands. I didn't want any more bloodshed to occur. "We'll work on Diamond." He conceded. I nodded my own head and walked with him further but still wondered if things would be as simple as that.

We went back inside and I wondered how my parents were doing in this whole thing? Freaking out. Crying…the list goes on for their reactions. Hours later I decided to try and remove my head from the world. To give me a chance to allow decompression to happen. So much had occurred over the last few days that I needed a chance to let my head catch up and process everything. I had given up everything I knew and things were finally starting to sink in.

The coffee with blood in it was really doing wonders to help me focus and keep calm. I decided tomorrow to do it going forward with tea instead as it would give me some semblance of my old normal life. I went to the library and searched the stacks which were many for a book that could catch my interest to read. Finding a two seater couch I got on and curled up with my chosen book as a maid came in, "Would you like something to drink Miss. Serenity?' she asked.

"Some hot cocoa please." I would prefer teas but tea had caffeine and my intention was to ease my mind and be able to sleep at night. She left the room. I began to read the book when the maid came back in what seemed like moments later with the hot cocoa in hand, "With some fresh warm blood in it to." She remarked. I nodded my thanks and began to lightly sip. The room was beautifully decorated and had an eerie glow to it that normally I would have felt fearful of but now I felt no need to fear anything.

I was reading the book when the raven-haired girl, Rei I think it was showed up, "Hello." I respectfully greeted. She looked at me oddly. "He doesn't keep girls for long you know." She replied. I had recalled earlier when she didn't seem to be too crazy about my presence, so I instead replied, "Not a problem. I'm only here to have my family spared by him." She looked stunned at my response, "So you hold no care to be with him?" she asked.

I looked her dead in the eyes just to ensure that my point was made pretty clear, "No. I only hold care to ensure that Diamond is taken care of and that my family is unharmed. I'm not here for want I'm here for the survival of my family and if that means my freedom for their safety then it's a life I can handle living." Rei now looked at me with more respect than the annoyance that was there earlier. That's when it struck me. She was jealous of our positions now. She must have had her eye on him for some time.

"Tell me what is it about him that makes you want him so much?" I asked genuinely. Rei smiled, it was almost like being school girls chatting it up about a boy. Yet it was so much more than that. She came over and sat next to me on the couch I was on. "Besides the fact that he's devastatingly handsome…" she quipped and for the first time I let out a smirk. I did have to admit he was a charming looking man.

Any other time I'd be giggling like a school girl but under the circumstances a smirk was all she was getting. Not after the reason why I was here and what I had been turned into and what was happening with Diamond. "He's strong, powerful, one of the strongest of us in fact." Good to know…it could become helpful later on… "He's smart and daring…and a god between the sheets." To that I blushed. I was not used to such frank remarks.

Rei seemed to however be completely smitten with him. He was her crush and love but I had a strange feel she wasn't his. Either that or he wouldn't ever see what a devoted woman he had in front of him, within his midst, and instead tried to be with others. If anything, not that I knew her well or at all to be honest but if anything, he didn't deserve her if he picked new girls randomly and turned them. Had he done that to her and she fell in love with him?

"I wouldn't know about that sort of acts…" I explained to her. I had hoped she would stop talking about it yet part of me wanted to know more about the actual act. Not with him specifically but just the act. I had at one point tried to fantasize about making love, but I didn't know how it was supposed to go along so I couldn't visualize it very well. "Seriously?" Rei asked me, shocked by that admission.

I nodded, "There is so much for you to know." she went into a descriptive account of many deeds she had done with him, boasting about it to be honest and I couldn't even say a word. I felt hot under the collar due to the nature of her words but was also thrilled at the same time to. To hear of what we could feel as women with the right man was beautiful but as she also described if there are no feelings there it won't be that good.

"Make sure it's with a man that you at least like in order to gain some pleasure form it or else…" she looked like she was having a hard time talking about it… "What is it?" I asked. "While just sex is good…making love is so much better." She stated. I nodded, "You and Damon made love?" I asked, confirming what she believed in for herself. She looked off, "Sometimes we do…other times…its sex…but still in those moments…it is just us…" she really looked like she was content with it and didn't mind it.

"Anyways you'll find out soon enough yourself." She remarked and stood up. The tone had grown somber as we spoke upon that. I wish I hadn't made the mood so lower but I had to know more about who he was. The more I knew the more I could evade him without it being to suspicious that I was. I still was keeping up my end of the deal here but I needed to make sure that I could give myself enough time to be mentally prepared for the act.

As it is the man she just described would be taking me in that same manner whenever he felt the urge to. "I'd trade places with you if I could…" I told her, my voice low as she began to walk out of the room, "I know…" she understood and now we were at an understanding. We weren't the best of friends but we had that frienemy friendship going on. I heard the door close but didn't notice the presence that came in after her.

So when I was given another coffee mug as mine was nearly gone and becoming cold as Rei and I did talk for a length of time. Or rather as she described how good Damon was in bed. I didn't resist as Damon came in with one. I took a deep relaxing sip that warmed me up. The blood was something I was still getting used to as I had been given it in low quantities. It was almost as if I were being dosed properly but Diamond wasn't.

I scratched that thought as Diamond was a male and males tended to be treated differently than most females. Tended to be trusted with more and seen as more capable. I disagreed with it but what could I do for now? Men were assumed automatically to be the leaders of the world so maybe they thought he could handle the straight to person method better than me. It would make sense in that regard.

Some part of me knew it was a lie though. Lying to myself that they were helping us both when it really felt like I was getting more help than he was. Then again I was wanted here…he wasn't and has even been fighting everyone tooth and nail since his arrival. I haven't posed a problem at all. So then I ask myself, is it due to his lack of understanding that were different now and trapped here or are they mistreating him…or both?

As I pondered this Damon sat next to me as I sat still with my feet curled up beneath me. I sipped the coppery taste of the coffee with blood in it and wondered what would happen next when Damon touched my leg. His hand inching closer to my center. I had the near knee jerk reaction to push it away but I couldn't and wished that Rei hadn't left the room. As he was touching me he said, "You'll respond to me soon enough." Before standing up.

Straightening out a collar that didn't need straightening out he says, "I have some matters to attend to. Tomorrow will be your first day." I wondered what that all entailed and included but didn't voice my question. He looked at me and my attire, "You might want to get some sleep in for tomorrow will be a-long day." he commented before nodding to the guard at the door to make an appearance.

The guard came in, "He will be seeing you to your room." I was slightly stunned by that but didn't argue having my own room. If I got to sleep by myself for a little while I'd take it to sharing a bed with him. I just hoped he spent more time with others rather than on me. Whether he be handsome or not he was still the man that ripped me from my only home and made me into a creature of the night.

"How long will I be granted my room?" I asked the guard. He shrugged his shoulders, "Not for me to decide." He started to take me around the corner when Damon made one last remark, "Don't think you being alone will last for long…" I looked back to find him downing my new cup of coffee. The second one I didn't touch. He drank it like a regular morning cup. I just hoped that someone didn't have to die for me to feed like I was.

A few weeks had now passed since my entry here. I was getting used to the now familiar corridors and even getting used to the resistance of the blood lust. I kept that carefully controlled and I knew the human staff at the estate was grateful for the control I had. Diamond had already made the vampires have no choice but to dispose of one maid they didn't want nor need another incident happening.

Though I did learn over those first few weeks I learned getting used to being a vampire wasn't that easy. There were many things to learn such as the limitations I now had. Like say I couldn't walk out in direct sunlight but I could be out in the green house which had a special painted on film on the glass to prevent the sunlight from being deadly to us. I also learned that Damon had his own little private army to protect him and his family.

I ended up overhearing from some of the guards as they were talking amongst themselves about how Damon had a taste for gorging every few years on human blood. Not just simply taking some but destroying families and gorging out on their blood. They were secrets that I felt were necessary to know. So my family was going to be another gorging session until I gave my bargaining chip.

So when he came to my own family that night so little time ago he was too far removed from the estate to call for help should the occasion a rise. Thankfully one didn't cause even if we had had help I doubted my family would have survived. A private army within arm's reach could do any number of things to the regular townsfolk. He just tried to avoid bloodshed. Save for those occasions every few years. That had me frowning in response to it.

He did only used his army as a last resort. He preferred peace over violence but that was also due to his own violent nature. He could be ruthless, I had seen that first hand, but he could also be aristocratic in nature. Nice even. I just didn't trust him hardly at all since my stay here. I did as asked but nothing more. I didn't want to get into any trouble. I was still fairly new and the other vampires didn't seem to favor having me around.

I was training with a few of the guards on a daily basis to better handle my own skills as a vampire. It was tedious and hard but it was necessary. I learned better how to hone in on my new senses and how to control them. The bloodlust was strong and I was getting more of a dose of that. I was given a smaller female to feed off of and counted to ten on each time I feed from her, not wanting to over-do it.

I think that was one of the few things that my trainers appreciated about me. I was trying to control the urge to give in and I now had a strange feeling that Diamond hadn't after all. His hatred for them so deeply integrated that he was refusing their help and it hurt my heart to know that they were trying to help him out after all. I watched them give him controlled doses but then for him to either refuse on certain days or demand more. He didn't seem to know how to handle the urge and didn't want to learn.

That became his problem. He didn't want to learn. He wanted to rebel and when you're at an estate full of vampires its best to NOT rebel and see what being calm and quiet can do for you, like me. Not to say that I'm better than Diamond but I see things differently than he does and because of that I'm able to learn more and gain better control. The control would take years but I didn't mind as long as I had help to keep me strong in this process.

Thankfully I was building a growing friendship with Rei. We weren't quite on best friend terms yet but we were growing into it slowly. Her want of the man that wanted me was an oddity right now. He had yet to take me in his bed and while I was grateful for the reprieve I was on pins and needles waiting for it to happen. Luckily he was still bedding Rei which meant more time for her and more alone time for me.

Like for instance I got to think about my family. I just wished I could see them one last time. Just to know that they are able to rebuild after my decision to leave. I sighed and closed my eyes as we took a five minute break from learning differently bow and arrow angles and tricks for using them. I looked out into the horizon of the estate and saw the vast lands that surrounded us. There were miles and miles of forest and country out here. So I knew there was no way of sneaking out to go see if they were okay.

I still felt guilt over that. I couldn't even see my own family again. I had gone over it in my head several times on seeing if there was a blind spot to slip out on but there wasn't. He had the grounds covered to keep us in and keep intruders out. I had no exit anywhere and I was trapped in my own beautifully decorated prison. Just because it was nicely decorated didn't take away from the reality from within.

I still kept thinking about that night this all happened over and over again. I feel like there was another way and I still can't see it. No matter how many times I try to visualize it differently I can't. The results are always the same. I get taken and have to let my family go. I managed to make a small map for myself to try and learn the grounds better but even that has its various points of being inaccessible.

Damon wasn't lying. There really is no escape for me here. The few survival tricks papa taught me were useless right now. They were only really useful if I was out in the wilderness and I wasn't. I couldn't escape here because it was like a fortress. Guards all over and I wasn't skilled enough to find a way out. I had to let go of that idea for now and focus on what I could do and I had to make peace with that to.

It was a work in progress to be honest. I managed to stop crying myself to sleep a week ago once the settling part happened. Once what happened fully sunk in. I made sure not to let anyone see me cry so I kept to myself for the most part but I was beginning to branch out. The headaches were finally beginning to stop from not drinking blood from the source itself. I made Damon promise me that he wouldn't ever kill a human just to feed me.

He stated that they had regular humans that 'donated' their blood, besides the maids that worked there, and were released unharmed and memories of the events erased. While the maids were good for the blood being given people needed to regenerate their own blood surplus and so it wasn't just maids but also people that were insisted on making 'contributions'. At least that's what Rei expressed to me at one point.

People from nearby villages were given their villagers back relatively unharmed and were given the memories of falling asleep nearby so as to avoid suspicion on who they were last seen with. I was only a part of one of those pick up's as I didn't have the heart to see the fear on a person's face again. Damon ensured that it was all donated as I refused to drink anything that wasn't, it just felt wrong.

I still ate regularly as offered. Though my need for food was outweighed by my thirst it wasn't as strong as Diamond's was like. My thirst was tamable but his was something that the other vampires around here referred to as near 'cannibalistic'. Especially when he went after another vampire for blood. Luckily the vampire was much stronger and older but still he went after another vampire for blood.

I could only imagine what kind of devastation that could have caused both parties involved. I had even gone to Rei as she made me feel more comfortable to be around, odd as that was, for answers. Vampires couldn't feed off one another due to the dead blood coursing through the veins already. It would make the biter incredibly sick till death took over and the one who was bitten would die as well as a vampire cannot be bitten twice.

Diamond for his continuous actions wasn't let out of his holding cell much if at all and was given a very controlled amount of blood to drink and food to eat. The guards didn't want him to have to much as he was now just trying to attack anyone that was human for vampire. I went to visit him once and that was it. Reason being, Diamond was trying foolishly to get me to release him so we could fight our way out.

I tried to explain how futile it was. That we couldn't get free. That we had to bide our time. We were stuck and there was no escape. I hadn't been given enough access to find any form of underground freedom and he was persistent. To persistent. He wasn't being rational on staying quiet either. His voice rose too high to not be cause for concern to the guards. I was trying to explain how I knew this to be true when he reacted violently and started to question my loyalty towards him now.

I explained that I was in his corner but his lack of control wasn't helping matters. He had to be patient and I was soon finding out that previously betrothed didn't have a lot of patience. I wondered if it was from the vampirism or not. As much as I was reluctant to admit it, it could just be that the vampirism enhanced his need to be more in control and that he was already like this. It left a sour taste in my mouth. He couldn't admit that he needed to learn to control before anything more happened.

He became even more enraged when Damon, getting curious by his higher vocals, came right up behind me. His hands were delicately placed around my waist and shoulder but it was enough for Diamond who found it rage worthy. He came against the bars holding him back so hard that they bent a little bit. Damon had even noted that Diamond was letting the bloodlust control him to the point that regardless of what I wanted he might have to be put down. "Calm down." Damon ordered with a note of regret in his voice.

Diamond looked mad as hell before he nearly flung himself away from the bars and paced back and forth like a caged tiger. I touched the metal bars and found the metal to feel like it was getting slowly bent. I didn't say anything for fear that they would move him. It still looked like it could hold several of him either way. I was beginning to see that he didn't want to learn how to control himself.

"Calm down?" Diamond muttered. He was at the bars again a second later and reached out as far as he could. His fingertips though close to Damon they didn't seem to bother the elder vampire very much. Diamond simply wanted to kill Damon for taking away his humanity and turning me in the process. I understood his reasoning but he really did need to learn to control it or else he would hurt someone innocent.

Then it was blood on my hands. I just wanted to help him but it seemed my presence only enraged the man. When he saw me now, it seemed like all he could see was what Damon had taken from him. His bride to be…and it hurt him even more so. Enraged him even. After all I wasn't Diamond's to have any longer I was Damon's now. After that Damon refused to let anyone else besides his designated guards be near him.

I was forbidden from going in there. Nobody wanted him riled up and it seemed he would be in his cell for a long time to come. It was something he'd have to live with eventually if he wanted to survive. I know he wanted to kill Damon but due to Damon's age Diamond would be killed in a heartbeat. Its why I feared him right now. He had the power to kill anyone he wanted to and if I stepped out of line myself my family would pay the price.

So I did as asked and trained with the others. Honed my own senses in and used the little bit of training I had before this to utilize my crossbow skills. Show that I had some amount of skills that didn't start off with being a vampire. I know I had begun to impress them a little bit with those skills since it also meant I handled a bow and arrow with better aim than most. I worked with various blades from all over. Swords, sai's, various knives. I had an apparent gift with blades that allowed me to be sleek and even deadly.

I trained daily hoping to not only encourage others to see me as more than a guest but as someone to be trusted. Then maybe one day…in the distant future…I could…without fear or risk – "Serenity!" I heard a guard call out to me. I had been training hard today. My sword picked working out nicely for me and the trainers were noticing the improvement to. I could see hints of smiles from them as I kept going forward with it.

I laid my sword down on the ground signaling I was taking a break and they relaxed in their own stances. My trainers were good and trained me hard. He was slightly older, looking more around in his fifties than a man in his forties or younger. He reminded me a bit of my father at times but was a lot more stern and rigorous in his training method. Papa was strict but not to this degree and it had its pluses and disadvantages. "It'll be for more than five." He noted and I picked the sword back up and put it in its place on the wooden mount.

I left with the guard and was escorted to the office he had at the estate. I was rarely in here as it was for his business and you could only get in if he was there. Damon was there with Rei. "You asked for me?" I questioned. "We did." Rei remarked, she set her tea down on the little plate she had on the office desk. "We, or rather I feel that not only should you be practicing the art of swordsmanship but also the art of politics as well."

I had had some schooling, briefly involving that over the years but after the highest form of education was taught in our area I was on the farm working with papa. Besides where we lived it wasn't expected of a woman to know anything regarding politics. So even if I had been interested I would have been possibly denied the opportunity either way. I had never been in favor of that.

"I'm familiar with some but not all I - " I got cut off by a guard coming in, breathing slightly harder than most but nothing to much, "What's the problem?" Damon asked. Perturbed by being interrupted, "It's that Diamond!" he glanced at me accusingly. I turned around to ask what was going on. What had Diamond done as Damon stated, "While I do recognize Diamond as a danger it is not her fault."

He stood up in a mode that meant he was getting directly involved and not on behalf of the guard either. Damon was expressing the thin ice that the guard was on by looking at me with such anger and accusation. He blamed me. I went with him as he began to walk to Diamond's cell with the guard but he rounded on me instead, "You cannot come." He stated. Blocking my path to where they were going.

"Just let me help this one time." I tried, but he looked upset, "While I do understand your naïve need to help and protect others you will still remember your place here Serenity." He went from trying to sound nice about it to warning me with his eyes. "You don't own this property nor do you get to make demands on anything. You're MY guest and you will do as I say or would you prefer your family pay the price for your wayward tongue?"

I clamped my mouth shut as the realization dawned on me that Diamond would be getting himself killed sooner than I thought. I was hoping he'd last the next few weeks and give in but it seemed that wasn't the case. Especially as I saw a guard from behind both Damon and the other guard get thrown into a wall shocking me. Damon looked over his shoulder and at the sight. He sighed as if it were more common than most.

I half expected it to be Diamond but it was another vampire, "You impudent piece of - " Damon cut him off, "What has happened?" he asked walking up to him with me right behind him. It was instinct to want to know what was going on and Damon didn't seem to mind my presence next to him so I followed. The guard looked at me briefly before saying, "Diamond escaped." He looked then at the guard on the floor getting back up.

"He gave him an extra dose of blood and Diamond used a momentary moment to get past and get freed. He's out there now roaming. I have several vampires out there now looking for him but his direction was north." He told Damon. I gasped. I knew where north lead. His family's home was there. Many people were in the direction. "That's lovely…" the sarcasm in the dire situation wasn't wanted. He looked at the other vampire, "Why did you give him an extra dose?" Damon demanded walking to him.

The guard stood up straight, "He stated the previous guard didn't give him his round of blood. The other guard was already gone so I…" Damon grabbed the guard by the throat, "So you believed the mad vampire and gave him more blood?" he asked, well more like stated. He knew it to be true. The guard nodded his head only a little bit as Damon began to squeeze, "If even one person dies out there tonight…" Damon couldn't risk the exposure to any of us now. I stayed quiet by his side.

"It will be my responsibility sir." The guard bravely spoke. "It will be more than that." Damon responded before talking to the other guard, "The first sign of Diamond ensure that he is captured and if capture isn't possible…" he briefly looked back at me, "Bring his head in." I inhaled a little more sharply than intended. Damon glared at me, daring me to protest the act but even I couldn't fault him for it. Even in regular society, illness of the mind granted you the rest of your life in an asylum, or death.

There would be death on my hands after all…Diamonds. I wrapped my arms around my frame as Damon said, "They will go for a peaceful surrender unless he gives them no choice." His words did little to sooth or comfort me. I still felt responsible for whatever happened. If he hadn't had to try and save me… "This is my fault. Let me take the punishment." I pleaded. I knew the guard was right it was my fault. "This isn't your fault. If it was then I would have you go out there in the hunt and take him down yourself." He responded.

I looked up at him in shock, "That would have been your punishment if I believed you were in the wrong. Killing someone you care about is torturous and leaves a black stain on your soul that's impossible to erase. We can only cover it up." He stated with ease. His knowledge of it telling me that he had had his own fair share of killings over the years. "Was it worth it?" I asked him. "Most of the time…it was…others…not so much." He admitted before walking off. I watched as he disappeared down a corridor.