AN:

Hello everyone and welcome to my new fanfic!

I love the romance aspect of Twilight but let's be real, the only characteristics those disco balls have in common with real vampires are immortality and drinking blood. I was wondering if I could manage to write a classic vampire story in the Twilight universe, while still keeping the romance as an important aspect.

Thus this baby was born! We've got a human vampire servant serving her master. We've got a dashingly handsome, very much human-drinking vampire trying to seduce her. We've got coffins and crosses and lethal sunlight (or do we?). All of that mixed with a big splash of Dance of the Vampires! (Which I can only recommend, go watch that musical right now if you haven't!)

The Cullens will play a minor, almost non-existing role in this story. We're starting out with two OC's and eventually play around with the Volturi. If this story is well-received, I may add more content later.

Just to be clear: The characters in this story will not have the high moral standards of the Cullens. There are going to be dead bodies and nobody will care. Twilight portrays the Volturi as the villains and of course from a human perspective, they are. However, they're also really interesting and I figured that they probably don't see themselves as the bad guys. And sure they have supernatural gifts brainwashing everyone to get along. But just because those feelings are artificially induced doesn't mean they don't feel real and that they can't act like a family just as much as the Cullens do. They just so happen to also eat tourists for lunch.

If you like the story, please leave a review! I've got eight chapters of 10.000 words and more in store for you already so a follow will also bear fruit for you!


Chapter one - The job

"Dracula searching for Renfield. Ghulish services include coffin-watching, dealing with mortals and scouting prospective prey. 100$/day."

Ria read the ad again, raising an eyebrow. There was a lot of weird stuff on Craig's list. Most of it had to do with sex. Some had to do with searching for roomates, flats or a job but this? She bit her lip and scrolled down, past a lot of other disgusting stuff. Eventually though she came back to that strange job offer.

Ria was not doing well and she knew it. She'd been thrown out of her parent's house when she'd gotten pregnant at age 16. Having dropped out of high school and giving her baby up for adoption she'd tried to keep her head over water by working in fast food restaurants or as a cashier in supermarkets. But the money was never enough, even in a shared flat in the worst part of Sacramento, with junkies and prostitutes as neighbors.

She didn't want to sell her body. She really, really didn't. She'd lost her virginity on a party while drunk and the result had cost her her family and her future. That experience had spooked her off the dating platform for a long while. And yet she had reached a point where she was starting to hate being poor more than she hated the idea of letting a stranger touch her. She hated the shithole that she was forced to call home. She hated the leaking roof, the moldy ceiling, the spiders she just couldn't get rid of and her roommates who never did any cleaning. Well no, that wasn't quite true. Her mates were alright but she'd hardly call them friends either.

Ria had almost, ALMOST reached her breaking point. She needed another job or at least a side job. But any applications she wrote always came back negative. She didn't want to prostitute herself. Ria knew too many in that business by now and knew it was hard to get out of.

Yesterday Ria had accidentally dropped her phone, breaking it and she had no money for a new one. So she was here now, in an internet Cafe late in the evening, searching for a side job that didn't include sex. She scrolled up the page again. Dracula searching for Renfield. Was that code for something kinky? A role play perhaps? 100$ per day was not bad. It was better than what she was earning now. Ria's gaze wandered over the short text again. It didn't sound like something sexual. It did insinuate something sinister though, especially the 'scouting for prey' part. Underneath was a phone number. She hesitated a bit longer but in the end she thought it wouldn't hurt to at least get more information.

Decision made Ria noted down the number on a small paper sheet and took it with her to a nearby payphone in a corner of the cafe. She dialed it and it only took two rings for someone to pick up.

"Yes?" a male voice answered. Her heart sped up. It sounded neither very old nor very young. It was a deep, sort of smoky voice and for some reason it sent shivers down her spine.

"Uhm, h-hello", she stammered. "My name is… Claire", she made up on the spot. "I read your message on Craig's list. I'm calling about the job as a, uh… Renfield?" She gazed to the left and right uneasily, making sure nobody heard her. Thankfully nobody seemed to pay her any mind.

"That's right, the position is still open. You're interested?" the man on the other side said.

Ria swallowed. "Can you… Can you tell me more about what I'd have to do?"

"Yes but that will have to be in person. It will involve nothing illegal and nothing sexual. I basically just need a secretary", the man said and it sounded bored and slightly annoyed, as if he'd had to explain that many times already. Ria felt relieved. A bit suspicion remained – why formulate it in that weird way if he just needed someone to run errands for him? Of course the thought crossed her mind that it was a trap, that she was about to run straight into the arms of a rapist or a drug dealer or something. But she was desperate… and she decided to ignore her inner voice.

"Then I'm interested. When can we meet?"

"Tonight, 10pm would be good. Plaza de California. Come wearing something red so I'll know it's you."

Ria wet her lips with her tongue nervously. "10pm? That's pretty late…" It was already getting dark now. Plaza de California, right in the middle of Sacramento, was a big public place. That was good. Meeting there after dark though, not so much.

The man chuckled. "Well, we can't very well meet during the daylight hours. You're applying as a Renfield – you know what that makes me, don't you?"

Again Ria swallowed thickly. Of course she knew what he meant but she didn't know what he meant. It wasn't like vampires were real after all. It was just a metaphor, a reference to an old book. But a metaphor for what?

"Of course… no daylight, silly me", she replied, playing along for now.

"No crosses either and take care not to eat anything garlic for dinner. I can't stand the stench", the man continued, sounding amused.

Ria couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well. "Of course, Master", she replied mockingly. Maybe it really was just an eccentric nerd with too much money and too big an ego who wanted to mix his work with his hobbies. She'd be fine with that as long as she wouldn't be touched.

"Hm, I like the sound of that. 10pm. Don't be late, Renfield." A click and the phone went dead.

Ria returned to her place with her heart pounding. She cleaned up her place, left the cafe and hurried home.

Home in her case was a tiny three room apartment in a run down part of town. She shared it with Jason, a thirty year old veteran with only one leg, addicted to morphine and other pills and the main reason she had to wade through beer cans when she opened the door. Bark, Jason's dog greeted her with loud barking. He jumped up at her and Ria held up her hands fearfully, torn between disgust – she could smell from here that Jason had once again failed to take him out in time – and apprehension. Bark was not a small dog. He was a mixed blood but at least one of his ancestors must've been a German Shepherd. The dog wasn't quite large enough to bring her down but even when he was acting friendly, his claws were perfectly capable of ripping her clothing.

"Bad Bark, out!" a voice shouted and the dog finally let go of her. Ria looked ahead and spotted her second flatmate come out of the kitchen.

Caroline was tall, blonde, her face plastered with make up and her eyes had dark bags underneath. She took a drag of her cigarette and ignored Bark as he hurried towards her and past into the kitchen, giving a whine.

"I was just about to feed him. God knows Jason won't", Caro muttered. "You okay?"

"Oh… sure", Ria made. She swallowed, gazing at the other woman, at her sparkly top and the short pants and ten inch heels.

"Back from work? Or did you just start?" she asked nervously. Caro worked irregular hours so it was hard to tell.

The blonde scoffed. "Why, you need me to put a word in for you?" Caro went into the kitchen to feed Bark, not waiting for an answer. Ria hesitated, then followed. Jason was grumpy and unfriendly but he'd gone through more than Ria could possibly imagine so it was hard to blame him. Caro on the other hand… Ria had the feeling that the older woman looked down on her or resented her for not entering sex work. Like she thought Ria thought herself too good for it. That wasn't it, it was NOT, she just… It wasn't something she wanted for herself and yet sometimes, especially when the bills started to pile up, it felt like it was her inevitable fate. THAT, she resented, a lot.

"I don't… I actually have an interview later today", Ria said.

"Congrats", Caro made disinterested. She filled Bark's bowl and the dog dug in, making a mess out of it.

"Yes… It's a weird one though", Ria admitted. She was desperate but she also wasn't completely stupid. If she went to meet a weird stranger tonight, she wanted someone to know where she'd be going.

Caro finally looked up and towards her. "Weird how?" she asked suspiciously.

Ria shrugged. "Just weird. I found it on Craig's list. Dracula, looking for Renfield. I phoned the number and there was a man... He said he was looking for some kind of secretary. Nothing illegal, and nothing sexual. But he was staying in role the whole time, saying we couldn't meet during the day and when I meet him I shouldn't be wearing a cross and stuff like that."

Caro's eyes widened incredulously. "And you agreed to meet him!?"

"I.. I did?" That wasn't supposed to sound like a question. "I mean", she hurriedly defended herself, "the ad said 100$ per day. I could really use that..."

Caro kept staring at her as if she was stupid and Ria crossed her arms in front of her.

"You think I should've run for the hills?", she guessed.

"Well... yeah", Caro made. "I mean... It is weird. I can think of three reasons why someone would make an offer like that. Reason 1: It's a psychopath and you're running right into a knife. Reason 2: It's a sugar daddy with a weird kink, which could actually be great for you, if you weren't so against the general idea. Reason 3: It's a weirdo or a crazy who just wants someone to control and dominate. Like a dom looking for a sub but with less sex and more slave work. Again, that can be a great deal but only if you're into it. You don't strike me like that kind of girl."

"I'm really not...", she admitted, eyes cast down.

Caro sighed. She was silent for a moment, then came over to her and awkwardly patted her arm. "Look, if you want I can come with you, watch from nearby. I'll call the cops if it looks dangerous. If it looks like it's the second or third type, hey... Just point him in my direction. 100$ a day does sound good." She smirked and Ria felt a wave of gratefulness.

"Thank you. I... I didn't expect, I mean, I wouldn't have asked you to..."

Caro waved it away. "It's alright. Women have to stick together. When do you meet the creep?"

"10pm, California Plaza", she mumbled.

The blonde nodded. "That's enough time to dress you up then."

"What? No - I don't want to give the wrong impression!" Ria protested.

"Girl, every outfit is a message. You don't have to wear one that says 'fuck me' but you can't show up to an interview looking like that, even if you're meeting a creep. On the contrary, looking professional might make him think twice about messing with you."

Ria looked down at herself. Her blue jeans sported a hole at her knee and her green T-shirt had a logo so faded you couldn't make out what it was anymore. Reluctantly, she agreed.

Caro took her to her room, which was marginally cleaner than the corridor. She had an entire rack of clothes out next to her wardrobe with various outfits. Ria told her about the request to wear red and together they selected a pretty sleeveless red top with a beige jersey to go over it. Caro also lend her bright red tights that she could wear together with a black skirt that went just past her knees. It was casual but not too sexy. Afterwards Caro chased her into the bathroom to take a shower and then sat her down to do her make-up and hair. Red lipstick, some black eye shadow and blush but not too much. Ria was Caucasian but had a healthy tan. Caro worked her straight brown hair into soft curls that she piled on top of her hair, securing it with many pins. She added in a hair clip with a fake rose and lend her some fake golden earrings and necklace with red stones in it. They went nicely with Ria's grey eyes. When she was done and Ria looked in the mirror, she thought for the first time since she'd been thrown out by her parents that she looked... pretty.

"There you go", Caro pronounced, her hands on Ria's shoulders. "Now you're ready for anything. If it's a hot guy and you wanna jump in with him anyway, at least you won't embarrass yourself. You're still on the pill, aren't you?"

"I... I am but I won't-"

"Take these anyway", Caro said and stuffed a couple of condoms into a small red handbag that she shoved into Ria's hands. "You don't want to catch anything."

Ria sighed but didn't protest. This was the nicest Caroline had ever been to her. As anxious as she was about the meeting and what would be demanded of her, she had to admit that prettying herself up like that had been... fun.

"Thank you. I... I know I haven't always been the easiest and yet you're helping me. Thank you", she said earnestly.

Caro patted her head as if she was Bark and smiled. "It's alright, sweetie. I hope for you it's really just a weirdo that's into roleplay a bit. But just in case, let me show you how to use this..." She reached into the bag and Ria was mortified for a moment, thinking Caro wanted to show her how to use a bloody condom - but she pulled out something else instead. A small can of pepper spray.

"Do make sure to always point it away from you and aim for the eyes - but only when he actually makes a move. You can easily blind someone permanently with this stuff and you don't want to be sued if there has just been a misunderstanding." She showed her how the can worked and Ria listened attentively.

Caro wanted to send her to her room in order to freshen up herself a bit, just in case Ria wanted to hand over the job to her after all. However, at the last moment Ria's eyes fell on the cheap jewellery on Caro's vanity.

"Uhm... Could I also borrow this please?" she asked with a sheepish smile and grabbed a big ugly silver cross pendant full of fake stones.

"Seriously?" Caro dead-panned at her.

Ria shrugged. "If he's sticking to the script it might work to drive him away?"

"Sure sweetie, whatever makes you sleep at night" Caro allowed. Ria slipped the cross into the handbag.

About an hour later Caro was ready too and the two women went to catch the bus together. They arrived at the Plaza twenty minutes early. Caro had taken Bark with her so she could pretend to be out on a walk with 'her' dog when really she'd be keeping an eye on Ria. They agreed on a couple of signs: Ria should start pacing back and forth if she wanted Caro to come in and seduce the stranger in her stead, should step backwards away from the man if she wanted her to call the cops and if danger was imminent she was to just scream and then they'd both start running. For an 'all clear' she was to stretch and raise one arm as if tired and a stretch with both arms raised meant she'd go home with the stranger and Caro shouldn't worry if she didn't come home until tomorrow. (The blonde insisted on that last one even though Ria thought it quite unnecessary.)

Then it was time. Ria took position at a statue in the middle of the plaza, stepping from one foot to the other, watching her surroundings.

And then, exactly at 10pm, there he was. Ria spotted a tall man approach her from the shadows in between a couple of nearby trees. He was wearing a long trench coat and mud-caked boots. His face was barely visible underneath a hat he'd pulled into his face and a pair of round sunglasses hiding his eyes. She did note that his skin was deathly white, so much so it almost glowed in the dark. He came straight at her and Ria had to consciously remind herself not to step back lest Caro call the cops right away.

"I believe you're waiting for me, child", the stranger said with a thin smile. Ria caught herself staring at his mouth, pearl white teeth barely visible but not enough to to discern if he had fangs or not.

"Y-Yeah... I'm Claire. We talked on the phone?" Hesitantly, she offered her hand.

The stranger merely watched her, amused, hands buried in the pockets of his coat.

"Not when you're working with me, you're not, Renfield. Come. Walk with me and we can talk."

He turned around without another word. Ria stood there lost for a moment. Her eyes flittered over to where Caro was letting Bark examine a lamp post while she lit a smoke. Only after she caught her eyes and was sure she would follow at a distance did Ria catch up to the stranger.

"I'm looking for a servant who will do whatever I want, whenever I want, no questions asked", the stranger said once she was only one step behind him. "Like I said on the phone, I will not request anything untoward from you. I need someone who can work all that modern technology for me. I have no patience for those things. You'd have to take care of anything involving daylight opening hours, like buying or selling things for me. You'd be in charge of keeping my lair clean and in general be ready to run errands for me whenever I need you to."

"I, uhm, I already have a full time job. I thought this would just be an evening thing or on weekends", Ria said.

The stranger shook his head. "If you take the job, you take it full time. I'm not in town all the time, sometimes I'm gone for weeks. When I am in Sacramento, I won't have work for you every day. And if I do have work for you, it might not always fill eight hours. Yet even so I will pay you 100$ a day, every day. You can consider the time I'm away paid holiday. In return, I expect that when I say jump, you'll be at my side to ask 'how high?'"

Ria swallowed. That sounded like a great deal actually. Where was the catch? He seemed intent on staying in his role as 'Dracula' so she decided to play along.

"What about your, uh... diet?" she asked. Everyone knew that vampires drank blood. If this whole Dracula-Renfield thing was a metaphor for something, this man might be involved in something violent that he pretended had to do with some bogus vampiric condition.

The stranger smirked at her. "I make an effort to stay inconspicuous so I don't leave any bodies behind. I do drink blood but I don't kill anyone for it. My preferred hunting grounds are night clubs, homeless shelters, junkie dens and the like where nobody notices if a tenant falls unconscious for a bit. I might send you out occasionally to scout those locations. I also pay 75$ per blood donation, 50$ for the donor and 25$ for you for bringing them in so feel free to spread the word amongst your friends. Mind you, I consider discretion part of the price. You keep your mouth shut about my nature and you make sure the donors do too. I may be lenient to you in the beginning as you're new to this but if you mess up, you won't be fired. You'll be my lunch."

Ria felt a shiver run down her spine. That was a threat as much as anything and yet she couldn't figure out what he meant. Vampires weren't real. It was all a metaphor. But for what? Would he actually kill her if she made a mistake? But what kind of mistake would provoce such a reaction? He said he didn't kill people for blood, which didn't surprise her. She'd have to call the police if he outed himself as some kind of sick serial killer. But nothing he'd said so far implied he'd ever committed any crime. He'd threatened to kill her, sort of, but it could also all still be part of some kind of role play. She couldn't figure out if he was serious or not.

"So I..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "So I'll come to your place to clean every other day and I run your errands and do your shopping when you need something. And I'll see if I can find any... blood donors. That... That's it?" If he was telling the truth that was not actually that bad. Not for that kind of salary. The death threats worried her, of course, but seriously... she lived as dangerous as one can be just by virtue of her flat being in the wrong part of town already.

He gave her that sideway glance, like she was terribly amusing to him. "If you do agree to become my ghul, my vampire servant, your main responsibility will of course be protecting me during the day. Therefore, when I'm in town and I have not given you any specific tasks, you will watch over the coffin I sleep in. You can spend the time however you want, so long as you let nobody else inside my lair, don't make too much noise and don't enter my personal chamber. That will, technically, come up to twelve hours and more per day depending on the season. I you like you can sleep in my place during the night or you can keep your own flat and return there every sundown. If you do decide to move in though, note that I will allow no visitors, even when I'm not in town."

Ria was stumped. Twelve hours and more a day was insane. True, it wouldn't really be work, just having to be present, but it would mean having to do all her own shopping after dark or having it delivered. The latter could get expensive really quick. And what about time off and holidays? She remembered Caro's warning about a dom seeking a sub to play slave with. That was not something she was interested in.

"Uhm, would I be allowed to leave for my own errands and such during the day?" she wanted to know. "What if I want to, like, meet friends and such?"

"You will have to schedule time with your friends and family for the periods in which I am absent. There will be enough of that, I assure you. Otherwise, use the night. In regards to errands, that's what deliveries and that internet thing is for, isn't it?" the stranger returned.

"Um, getting groceries and such delivered costs a lot of money too..." she protested weakly.

It was hard to tell with the sunglasses on but she thought he was rolling his eyes. "Money is not an issue. If you're worried about that, just save the bills and I will reimburse you for any extra costs that comes from not leaving the house."

She was silent for a moment. They had walked down the street for a while now, though Ria was still acutely aware of Caro and Bark following them at a distance.

At last, the stranger stopped.

"Well, what do you say? Will you take the job?"

Ria was torn. The work sounded easy and paid really good. But it was just so weird. She still wasn't sure if this guy was a criminal, an insane person or just a weirdo who was into role play.

"If I... If I say no, will you kill me?" she asked, half serious.

"No. Like I said, I don't leave bodies. But if I let you into my lair and let you see my face and know my name and you lead the hunters straight to me by blabbing about your work for me to the wrong people, then I can't vouch for anything."

"Hunters?", she squeaked.

He deadpanned again, as if she was asking a stupid question with an obvious answer. "Vampire hunters."

"T-Those exist?" Just a metaphor, she told herself. Just a metaphor. But a metaphor for what? Was he wanted by the police? Hunted by other criminals?

"Of course they do, have you never heard of Van Hellsing?" the stranger returned.

"I... I thought that was a fictional character", she admitted. She could take role playing as vampire and servant but if he was pretending to be the actual Dracula and kept calling her Renfield... "I won't have to eat insects or rats, will I? Cause... Cause that's where I draw the line!" Ria absolutely hated spiders.

The stranger laughed at that. Actually laughed and yes, he did have fangs.

"No, you won't have to eat insects. Calling you by that name is for your protection, for my anonymity in case anyone tries to track you and to let other vampires know you're claimed. Of course they're all fictional characters. My real name is Balthazar, though you will call me Master. But the story has enough truth and is widespread enough that we use them as code language to attract servants. Unfortunately, that also means messages like the one I left for you sometimes attract real vampire hunters too so it is important that you don't talk to anyone about me, unless you think they might be willing donors."

She nodded hesitantly. It did all make sense in a weird way, following its own weird internal logic. If he continued to be this consistent... She decided to test him.

"I... I think the job sounds good. I can keep a secret and I'm good at housework. Maybe we could have like, a test period? Say two weeks for 50$ a day in which I run your errands but I won't yet, uh, watch your coffin. So you don't have to worry about me knowing where your lair is either. Then I can get a better feeling about what kind of work you have for me."

The stranger, now identified as Balthazar, tilted his head a bit, thinking. "I believe that sounds reasonable. I will call your phone when I need something from you. You will need to be ready to receive my call or meet me an hour before sunrise and an hour after sundown though."

Now came her test. "Right, of course. I uh, it's just... I don't really have a mobile phone right now", she stammered. "But! I thought, uh... Maybe we could sort of, like seal the deal, with... Well... you said it's 75$ for a blood donation, I could buy a new phone for that..."

Her heart was pounding so damn hard. This was it. If he insisted on leading her into some dark alley or motel room or whatever to 'drink' from her then she knew what that really stood for. She would let Caro know that she could step in and that would be that.

Balthazar seemed surprised for a moment but then slowly a grin formed on his face.

"You know, little child, I think you'll make a great Renfield. I won't say no to that offer. Mind you, you won't be able to feed me more than once a month, as I can't take too much from a single human without affecting their health."

She tried to hide her uneasiness behind nonchalance. Play along, Ria. You're still in the game.

"Uhm, biting me won't... won't turn me or something, will it?"

The grin widened further. God, those fangs. They had to be fake of course but they looked so real.

"No, you won't turn from just that. I have no desire to have a child of my own, so don't even think about asking for it either. You're a Renfield - not a bride."

That... was strangely reassuring, actually. Ria had never read Bram Stoker's Dracula but she'd seen a movie adaption and she vaguely remembered some rather sexual insinuations between the lead vampire and those female vampire brides. This guy wanting her to do 'servant's work' was actually better than the alternative in her mind.

"So, uhm... then..." Ria pulled a bit at her jersey, showing more skin of her neck. If he really was going to bite her, she had to insist he do it here, were they were relatively open. It shouldn't be a 'conspicuous' act, from afar, they should just look like two lovers making out. He had mentioned leaving his victims unconscious but that was assuming he drank a lot. If he wanted her to work for him tomorrow, he couldn't drink much. Well, of course he wouldn't. Humans couldn't actually stomach blood. It could only be a pretend sip at best, to continue the game. If it was any worse than that, Caro would call the cops and they'd put the sicko behind bars.

The stranger, still smiling, took her hand and pulled her towards him, out of the direct light of a nearby lamp post. Ria started to protest but he shushed her, one hand raised with a finger to her lips, the other wrapping around her waist.

"Close your eyes..." he whispered.

Without wanting to, Ria complied. He was so close now. She could smell him. The leather of his coat and a strange sweet, flowery smell. Her heart was pounding so fast as if it was going to jump out of her chest any moment. She felt dizzy and maybe a tiny bit aroused.

Then she felt a sharp prick in her neck and she gasped. And then... It was the strangest feeling. She felt weak all of a sudden, as if all energy was flooding out of her. Her knees went all wobbly but the stranger held her in his arms securely. The feeling lasted for a few moments. She felt weaker and weaker, as if... As if all life was leaving her.

Then, abruptly, it stopped. There was that pain in her neck again as something was pulled out of it. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Balthazar's face hover over her. His tongue flickered out for just a moment, licking his lips. He looked... hungry.

"That was delicious, my dear Renfy", he purred. Slowly he lowered her onto a nearby park bench. Ria just stared at him, dazed and weak. For the first time during this crazy encounter, she considered that maybe it was not a game at all. Maybe she'd really just actually let a real fucking vampire drink her blood.

She heard the flutter of paper before she saw it. A couple of bills being dropped in her lap.

"You have my number. Call me tomorrow at sundown for your first task."

Dazed and weak, Ria slowly nodded. "Okay... tomorrow then."

Balthazar leaned down to her, his face blocking out the light from the lamp post behind him. He had long dark hair, bound in his neck to a ponytail but a few strands fell into his face.

"That's 'Yes, Master, good hunt, Master.'"

Ria's tongue felt like lead. She felt so weak, like a helpless kitten. All she could think about were those fangs and the pain in her neck and ohgodohgodohgod vampires were real.

"Yes Master. Have a good hunt, Master."

He gave her that grin again and Ria was so confused. Scared and in shock and strangely drawn to him still. Vampires were real. Or were they? Fuck, she didn't know anymore.

Balthazar left her there on the bench and she could do nothing but watch his retreating back. She watched him for every step he took, walking down the street with no hurry at all. Except then he entered the shadow between two lamp posts, he should still be close enough for her to see but she blinked and he was gone.

A few moments later she heard the hurried click-clack-click-clack of Caroline's high heels. Her flatmate knelt at her feet and put her hands on her arms. She turned Ria's head this way and that, calling her name. Ria mumbled a reply. She was so tired.

Caro put her arm around her shoulder and helped her up, stuffing the loose bank notes into Ria's handbag as she went.

Later on, Ria would remember little of the way back, having fallen asleep during the bus drive back. She was vaguely aware of Caro helping her to her bed and pulling her shoes off her feet. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.


XxX

When Ria woke up the next day it was already past lunch time. She should've been at work in the little McDonald's restaurant hours ago.

So she quickly dressed herself, putting on a light shawl to hide the two small puncture marks on her neck (oh my god, it was not a dream) and went to work.

Of course when she arrived there her chef was furious, shouting at her for a good ten minutes. And maybe it was stupid and naive but Ria stormed out of there after quitting the job and showing the asshole her middle finger.

After all, she had a new job waiting already.

It still seemed like a dream. Vampires couldn't be real. But with the pale skin and the fangs and the biting and general unwillingness to go out during the day... Even if he was a crazy person. If it looked like a vampire and behaved like a vampire and gave her the creeps like a vampire - wouldn't it, at some point, be reasonable to call it a vampire?

Ria's heart was pounding so fast as she made her way back home. Yesterday she'd been afraid but today, looking back, she only felt excitement. A real life vampire. It was a scary concept but... She hadn't met him as prey. He wanted her on his side. He wanted her to work for him. Immortal creature of the night, there were some things he could not do himself - he needed her for that. It was just the right amount of scary and forbidden that made it exciting when at the same time, knowing he didn't actually kill people by ripping out their throats made her feel safe and not like a horrible person for aiding him.

Caro was off doing her own work when Ria returned home. She used the day by buying a new phone and, feeling a bit giddy, saved Balthazar's phone number from the announce under 'Master'. She got herself an app that told her the exact minute the sun would rise and go down every day and set up alarms for sundown and one hour to sunrise every day for the next two weeks. She spend hours in a Cafe sipping the same coffee, using the free wifi to research vampires, how often you could safely donate blood as well as physical and psychological conditions that might provide an alternative explanation to Balthazar's behavior other than vampire. When she did her grocery shopping in the late afternoon she took care to buy more meat and fresh fruit to help her body replenish her blood faster. She even set up a new social media page next to her barely used real one under the name 'Claire Renfield'. It itched in her fingers to blog about her experiences but she left the page mostly empty for now. Discretion, Balthazar had warned her, was very important to him.

By the time Caro returned for dinner though, she couldn't take it anymore. She just had to talk with someone about it and well, Balthazar had said it would be alright to tell a potential donor. Considering Caro had been willing to offer up more of her body than just her blood when she'd first heard of the salary, Ria figured she would be game.

"Wait, so he actually bit you and drank your blood?" Caro exclaimed incredulously after Ria was done recounting the events of the previous evening.

Ria nodded excited. "Look, I even got a bite mark and everything! And I got 75$ for it." She bend her neck to show off the puncture marks.

Caro was fascinated. "That's wicked... But it doesn't sound very sanitary. Who knows where that mouth has been. Have you disinfected it yet?"

"Uh...", Ria made. She had not, but probably really should have if her Master occasionally fed off junkies and the homeless. Fortunately they had disinfectant and band-aids in house so that was a matter quickly taken care of.

"So you really want to take that job? Be the errand girl for that weird role playing guy?" Caro asked while Ria was busy in the bathroom cleaning her wound.

"Well... yeah. It pays good and I kind of lost my old job today because I slept in anyway. He didn't touch me, much, even when he bit me. Of course it was weird, playing along like that but he was very professional about it all."

"Damn, now I wish I would've found that ad first..."

Her neck freshly taped up, Ria came out of the bath and smirked at her flatmate.

"I'll offer you up as a donor if you want. That'll be an easy 50$ for you."

"You said he gave you 75!" Caro protested.

Ria flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"That's because I'm his new Renfield. I'm special." She laughed at Caro's grimace but eventually the other woman chuckled with her.

"Well it's still 50$, I'll take it. Let me know the next time your creep is hungry for a real woman", Caro said and wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ugh, you're horrible!" Ria exclaimed and laughed.

Eventually the sun went down. Ria's alarm went off first and then, around ten minutes later, her new Master called.

That was the start of her new job.

The first two weeks went by agonizingly slow. Balthazar would call her every evening to give her her tasks for the following day. Sometimes he'd call shortly before sunrise too in case he had something to add but mostly that was it. The tasks he had for her were always different and rarely really filled her day. She was to open a new bank account for his Master to use, prepare everything and bribe the staff with an extra fee for them to make a late evening appointment for him for when he had to go there himself for identification. Ria accompanied him to the appointment and did all the talking for him, feeling a bit like a grandkid explaining stuff to her grandpa. Ria also applied for a locker near a public train station that would be their transaction point going forward. Balthazar would leave her cash pay here and she'd drop any bills she needed to be reimbursed for for her work.

Over the course of the week Balthazar also dropped several caches of goods, mostly jewelry, in it to be pawned off but never at the same place. (She didn't ask were they came from.)

Aside from that Ria also brought tickets for cinema, theater and other entertainment. Twice she was sent to scout out a night club and report on where there were cameras and she brought in two donors for Balthazar to meet - Caro and one of her colleagues.

Twice she met Balthazar in person again, each time in a public café. Once was to help him set up a new laptop he'd ordered as well as explain how he could get his hands on illegally downloaded music and movies. Ria got a list of books she was to check out of the library and brought flights tickets and hotel reservations for him.

Slowly but surely she started to make a picture for herself about what the vampire's nightly life looked like.

He didn't go and meet a lot if people and when he went to a public event he was just one face among many. He liked music, arts and was obviously well off. Once she asked where all his money came from.

"Real estate", was his dry answer over the phone,

"So you, like, rent out houses and stuff?", she clarified.

"I've got a lawyer or a company take care of the details but yes. Of course every couple of decades I've got to fake my own death and pretend to be my own heir but interest accumulates over time and time is something I have plenty of."

"H-How long have you been doings this? I-If you don't mind me asking, of course!"

"I'm more than seven centuries old. You're meeting me at the start of a new life cycle, a new identity. I do tend to orientate these things at my human servants. When I notice the obvious signs of aging in them I know it's time to move on."

"A-And what happens to the servants then?"

"Most are smart enough to use their pay to build up a life for themselves. It is something I encourage. Occasionally I send out my new servants to check if the old ones keep their silence. Other than that I do not care to check how they are doing."

The more her Master talked about the futures the surer Ria grew that she would have one. Thus when the two weeks were over she'd already decided to keep the job. It was important to her to make a good first impression when she started for real so she asked Balthazar a bunch of questions about his preferences and tastes.

Then finally the day came.

They met in the same park as they'd done at that very first day. Ria was extremely nervous when she sat down next to Balthazar in his shiny black SUV with dark tinted windows. The house he took her to, his 'lair' as he called it, was an older but well-maintained single family home. The mailbox read 'B. Lewis'. They arrived there at 11pm and the entire property was dark. Balthazar gave her her own secondary key before they entered and a small tour through the house.

On first glance it was all perfectly normal. The furniture was all dark leather and wood, some brand new and some looking pretty old. There were some odd details though that hinted at the person living here being not normal. There was no proper dinner table in the whole house, only a low coffee table in the living room. This was the biggest room, sporting both a great TV screen as well as an ancient looking gramophone. The cabinets at the wall both held DVDs and records. The first floor also held a bathroom with one giant tub but no sink, no toilet and no mirror.

The first floor held a small reading room with comfy chairs, the walls lined with bookcases. The room next to it was a guest room, holding the only bed in the house, as well as a desk, some empty wardrobes and a telephone.

In the entire house, all the shutters were closed.

"This is the room you'll be staying in if you decide to spend the night. There's a small kitchen and a second bathroom on this floor too for you. I have no need for them but the houses are hard to rent or sell later if they don't carter to human needs", Balthazar explained.

Ria took a look at the rooms, noticing here too everything looked untouched and there were no mirrors.

"Uhm, you don't have a reflection, do you?", she wondered, feeling silly.

Balthazar chuckled. Ria heard a rustle behind her. When she turned her Master had taken off his hat and dark round sunglasses and she got her first good look at his face.

Whatever she had expected, it was not that. His skin was pale but not sickly so, rather it was smooth and shimmering a bit, like marble. His nose was perfectly straight, his rose lips perfectly kissable, his dark maroon hair was shimmering as if he stepped right out of a shampoo ad. He was without doubt the hottest guy she'd ever seen, despite looking a good ten years her elder. His most striking feature though were his eyes. They were red - a dark, burgundy kind of red but it was so obviously not a natural eye color, Ria found herself speechless for a moment.

"I do in fact have a reflection, dear Renfield. However I have no use for mirrors. My appearance hardly needs adjusting."

"Yeah, I'd say", she said without thinking.

"Come along, little one. I've yet to show you the basement."

Nervously, Ria followed him down the steps. The stairs lead to a short corridor. To the right he showed her a small storage room, filled with tools, gardening supplies, a couple of boxes and a safe. He told her that this would be what they'd be using instead of the locker at the train station to drop off items, bills, quotes and cash.

"My lawyer has drawn up an official contract for you as my cleaning staff that you can use as a front for your work here. The terms will be different than what we agreed on of course, including the salary. It's just a means of explanation on where your money comes from. If anyone asks, I'm tipping you generously."

"Thank you, that... That actually makes me feel loads better about this whole deal", Ria admitted.

They left the storage room. Directly opposite of it the corridor was blocked by a black curtain. Balthazar pulled it aside to reveal a closed door. A very suspicious closed door. It was made of steel, for one, sporting no less than three locks and wouldn't look out of place in a nuclear bunker.

"Behind this door is where I'll be spending my days. Entry is of course strictly forbidden. If I catch you so much as touching this curtain, you're fired."

Ria gulped. "Understood."

"There are a couple of more rules", he went on as they went up the stairs again. "The shutters remain closed during the day, no exceptions. You'll be airing the rooms at the beginning and end of your shift, when it's still dark. I'm not much for gardening so feel free to use that, as well as the rest of the house when you spend the day. No TV and no music though, unless you use headphones and don't touch my gramophone. When you use the kitchen to cook for yourself, make sure you do it close to sundown so you can air the room immediately after. Human food in general smells disgusting to me. You are not to bring in any fast food and especially nothing containing garlic. No visitors during the day unless they're technicians who need to do work on the house. No visitors at night unless they're donors. No calling me during the day, unless it's a life or death situation, like if you come across a vampire hunter or another vampire who threatens you. Keep in mind that I wouldn't be able to help you anyway, the most I could do is tell you what to do or say. Waking at day is extremely uncomfortable and always leaves me... thirsty. So don't do it."

"Uhm, how likely is that that I'll run across a hunter or another vampire?", Ria worried. "And what should I do if I meet any?"

"Moderately likely. I only just started a new circle so nobody should know I have claimed this city as my territory. A hunter will probably not bother approaching you and if they do, they usually leave you alone if you claim to know nothing, you just clean the house sometimes. With vampires it's a bit more tricky. They will sense that you've been close to me. Those that I am well acquainted with will recognize you as my servant if you introduce yourself as my Renfield and will not harm you. Simply point them in my direction. If you come across a traveler or worse, an enemy of mine you do the same but with more begging for your life."

"Lovely", Ria muttered sarcastically.

"If you have no other questions I will leave you to get situated. We will talk again in the morning."

Ria had simultaneously too many questions and no idea what to ask so she merely nodded. Balthazar hid behind his hat and glasses again and locked the door behind him.

Ria was alone.

She'd brought her backpack with her with a few necessities. Knowing that traveling to his lair and touring it would make it too late for her to return home and get enough rest, she'd decided to spend the night. As such she went up to the bedroom, sorted away her things and went to bed.

Her alarm rang at 4am sharp. Blearily she opened her eyes, remembered where she was and flew into activity. The kitchen was entirely empty but she'd brought her own dishes and other things to prepare everything. Ria even texted her Master to learn when exactly he'd be returning. At 4:30 sharp she was standing in the corridor, awaiting her Master's return.

A wide grin spread on her face when she heard the key turn in the lock. Balthazar opened the door, saw her, and froze immediately.

"Renfield, what have you done?" he asked warningly, eyes narrowed.

"I prepared a little surprise for you, Master. To celebrate our contract!" Ria held out her arm invitingly, motioning for him to come to the living room.

Regarding her with suspicion, Balthazar followed her directions. Once he entered the living room, he stopped. Not a single muscle was moving, as if he were a statue.

On the coffee table Ria had placed a number of candles and a few dried lavender flowers in a small vase. There was a single place setting, a shallow bowl of fake silver and a wine glass.

Both held a dark red liquid.

Ria stepped past her Master, who she noticed stared at the setting with dark, almost black eyes.

"I've taken the liberty of preparing breakfast for you, Master", she chirped happily. "Today's main course is 32 year old male body builder on a meat-based protein diet. As a side course we have 18 year old female vegan with a love for citrus fruit."

Ria blinked for only a second and suddenly Balthazar was sitting at the table, rubbing his hand, glancing between the bowl and the glass. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest, she was so startled. If she had ever needed any more proof that he wasn't human… But at this point, she honestly didn't.

Balthazar raised the glass to his lips and took a single sip. His eyes were practically glowing, despite their darker color.

"Exquisite. However did you arrange this, little Renfield?" he wanted to know.

Ria relaxed a little, her chest swelling in pride. "It took a lot of flirting, a few night club visits and some money. I drew the blood fresh yesterday and stored it in my fridge, transported it in a cool box and warmed it up to body temperature in a water bath shortly before you arrived."

Balthazar took another sip and licked his lips. Ria felt herself grow hot at the image he presented and shifted uneasily. Then he smiled and she had trouble to prevent herself from swooning. Damn, he looked so good.

"Renfield, I believe this occasion warrants a special exception. You may turn on my gramophone. Wagner's Rheingold would be lovely right about now."

He directed her in how to use the ancient device and soon, classical instrumental music filled the living room. It was obvious that Balthazar was thoroughly enjoying his meal.

"This is quite the lovely surprise, Renfy. I have to say I haven't had a meal like that in nearly three hundred years. And even that was a lot… messier. We had so much cleaning up to do afterwards. Whatever gave you the idea to such a thing?" he wanted to know once he was done spooning even the last drop out of his bowl.

Ria ignored the shiver that went down her spine at the word 'messy' and made sure to sound professional and imitate his way of speech when she explained:

"You seemed to enjoy music and arts and you're obviously well off, Master. I thought it strange that the one thing you never did was visit any restaurants. For you, I imagine drinking from the addicted must be like fast food and donors like delivery. A person like you seems to belong in all the best, fanciest places. I never had much time or money to indulge in such things but I do love the opportunity to eat out when I can. It is not just the superior food. It's the atmosphere, the waiters, the music, all of it plays together to give you an experience that goes beyond mere sustenance. I wanted to give you that kind of experience too."

"You do continue to impress me, Renfield. I would like to enjoy your 'cooking' more often. Well done!"

Ria grinned. Her excitement took over and she plopped down on the chair next to her Master unprompted.

"I do have a whole bunch of ideas for that, actually! I know I have to be careful about the whole who-do-I-tell-about-vampires kind of deal but if you'd allow me to build up my social media platform, I could attract more healthy donors to draw blood for! I could even build a whole bank of them to chose from eventually. Oh, and I was wondering about whether it would be possible to mix different kinds of blood. Do you not do that at all because of the different blood types clumping together? And what about animal blood? Can you find any variety in that?"

Balthazar chuckled at her child-like enthusiasm. "I will give you free reign to attract donors however you wish but you have to do so in private conversations. Only subtle hints may be left in public written word. To answer the other question, two different blood types can't typically be mixed without ruining the blood, at least not in a 1:1 manner. Animal blood is disgusting and inferior. I only tried it once and never again."

Ria leaned forward, eager to ask more. She kept prodding and poking, asking the vampire to closer define the different tastes. She was surprised and maybe even a bit appalled that Balthazar didn't even know the answer to some of her questions. He was a vampire, wasn't he supposed to know everything about blood?

"I do admit I never thought about using animal blood in such small volumes to 'spice things up'", he mused aloud. "I suppose it is worth a try. Why don't you make that your task for today, Renfield? Gather all the necessary appliances you need to draw, store and prepare different kinds of bloods. I'll hunt down some wild life and we'll do a little taste-testing together."

"Oh, I'll do that! It will be so much fun", she gushed. Then her gaze fell on the clock on the wall behind her Master.

"Oh, it is almost time for sunrise! You must be tired, Master. Let me take care of the dishes. I'll have everything figured out by this evening, you just leave it to me."

Again Balthazar seemed amused and pleased by her. He stood and wished her a good day. Ria was carrying the bloodied dishes upstairs into the kitchen while her Master made his way into the basement.

XxX

Ria grew to really love her new job. The pay always came on time, some of it as described in the contract they used as a front straight into her bank account, the rest was left in the safe for her in cash. When Balthazar was absent for longer durations she'd get get paid in advance. Her employer treated her often professionally and polite but also praised her and showed his affection in small ways such as patting her head when she did especially well.

The taste-testing was a huge success. Ria learned that you could liken different kinds of blood to different kinds of human food ingredients. Drinking animal blood was disgusting, just as eating pure salt or pepper was, but adding just a drop of it into a bowl of human blood could change the taste in new and exciting ways. Even the blood that clumped up didn't always automatically ruin the meal. If you added just the right amount of lynx to AB positive for example, it formed little clumps that a vampire could bite down on to release the taste inside – sort of like drinking bubble tea.

This way, Ria experimented and mixed up blood in different kinds of drinks and dishes, keeping note of every one of her Master's judgments meticulously.

About three months into her employment Balthazar even took her with him on one of his journeys. He was going on vacation to Hawaii and he wanted to have blood cocktails on the beach. It was an empty beach, only illuminated by the full moon and the bright stars but it was still very lovely. Plus, Ria got to sleep in a five star hotel and all of her holiday activities were paid for in full. She got to take surfing and sushi courses. Also, she got to see her Master half naked and damn, that was a sight for sore eyes. He even brought some whale, shark and dolphin blood with him when he returned from his midnight swim.

It was the best vacation she'd ever had.

Ria build up her identity as Claire Renfield on facebook and started to attract more and more donors. She would post pictures of herself in Gothic outfits that she could now afford given her new pay, as well as a lot of poetic nonsense about the night. Occasionally she'd leave subtle hints taken from stories her Master told her, about famous people or places he met and historical events he witnessed. Ria would then send friendship requests to other users that were all into healthy lifestyles and write them personal messages, first just small talk to get their trust and then eventually come out with her offer of paid blood donations.

After about half a year she decided to move in with her Master for good and had a tearful goodbye with Caro, though she promised to invite her over as her Master's dinner often enough so as to not loose touch. She laughed and said Ria had grown entirely too morbid but that she'd gladly take the money anyway.

Of course not everything was always perfect.

Once she met with a buff guy she'd met on the internet as a possible donor but all he really wanted from her turned out to be sex. She blinded him with her pepper spray and kicked him in the balls – and the guy had the nerve to sue her for it! Ria complained to her Master about it, who assured her he'd let his lawyer take care of it and she shouldn't worry about it. She never heard of him again, other than that the lawsuit was put on hold because apparently the plaintiff went mysteriously missing.

"Do you have anything to do with him being gone?" she'd asked her Master, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer but feeling like it was somehow her duty to ask anyway.

"I told you not to worry about it. I do take care of my own. You have full plausible deniability – that's the most important thing", was his answer.

Ria didn't ask again. Whether her Master used the law to get rid of her assailant or of he'd killed him and dropped his body on the bottom of the Sacramento River – she wouldn't be sorry either way. Her Master was a vampire – she was glad that he didn't kill every human he drank from. But for a creature of the night that had lived that long, to expect that he never disposed of annoying mortals was ridiculous. She was entirely aware of that. And maybe, possibly, that even gave her a little kick, to know that a being like that was looking out for her. It wasn't just that though which let her turn away and ignore his darker sides. She genuinely liked Balthazar. He was gorgeous, of course, but she didn't have a crush on him or anything. Well, no more than she had a crush on any famous actor or singer, anyway. He was such an otherworldly creature, existing on a completely different plane than her, someone to be admired from a distance.

Even so, there always lingered the doubt within her about what would happen to her when her Master moved on. When she mentioned her concerns once Balthazar encouraged her to use her salary and the time off provided to her when he was traveling to further her skills and studies so she could find a job when it was time for him to move on. Ria decided to focus on her cooking skills and applied to a number of restaurants as a temporary help. She only got rejected though. However then suddenly one day she got a letter from a fancy four star restaurant, asking her to return for a second interview. Her first there already hadn't gone well so she didn't have high hopes. When the restaurant manager met her, he had one arm in a cast, a bunch of band aids in his face and appeared extremely nervous to meet her. The questions he asked were very shallow, the interview short and in the end she got hired for however long she wanted, whenever she had time.

Ria prepared her Master a special four course meal in thanks.

A bit more than one year after she started working for Balthazar, he handed her an invitation to a Thanksgiving dinner.

"It's from old Knock, one of my previous servants", he explained after she read it. "We had an agreement that he'd send me a letter or card once a year, to let me know he still keeps our deal and his silence. I usually ignore them of course, I don't meddle in my servants personal life after they leave my service. Most start to get too clingy for my tastes over time anyway. But I think it would be good for you to go this year, exchange experiences if you will. Give him my greetings."

'Old Knock' turned out one Frederick Bowers, 62 year old, celebrating Thanksgiving with his wife, two daughters and five grandchildren. When Ria arrived the whole family welcomed her with open arms. Frederick knew her Master as Barton Lunefield and she had a wonderful time talking to him. He privately claimed (and Balthazar later confirmed) that he'd gotten permission to tell his wife about his employer's nature but that his children only thought of it as scary bedtime stories. Frederick ("Call me Freddy!") was astonished when she told him of her cooking experiments. He admitted that he'd always been a bit squeasy when it came to blood and the search for donors had always been his least favorite part of the work. Ria however found that she had no problem with it at all. Some donors, especially those her Master drank from directly when he was more thirsty, ended up being spooked and avoided her like the plague afterwards. Some returned despite that for the money. The ones that Ria drew blood from with her syringes to bag it for her special meals had no problem coming back at all. After a while, she got into a routine of cooking for her Master at least once a week as well as to special occasions, of which there happened to be many. Everything from Christmas to father's day to half-year anniversary of their contract counted as special and had to warrant a multiple course meal. Her Master praised her highly for her skills, even going so far as to calling her his favorite Renfield.

Even so their relationship remained professional. He never actually asked for her real name and she didn't ask him for his either.

There was one occasion though when Ria doubted her choice to work for the ancient vampire. It was Christmas time and for the first time in four years, she got an invitation from her parents. Ria was extremely conflicted about it. Her parents had kicked her out when she'd needed them the most. She'd been poor, homeless, pregnant and struggling with her growing loss of faith. If they heard so much as a whisper of the kind of life she lived now, they would be utterly appalled. She couldn't find it in herself to care much. Growing up she'd always been sure of the love of her family but to be discarded so quickly had hurt her deeply and she was far from ready to forgive them. If god existed, she was convinced he was a vicious two-faced prick. Honestly though, the only reason she didn't call herself an atheist was the fact that Balthazar was extremely adamant of her never wearing any crosses and to never pray in his house, that would offend him. Surely if creatures such as vampires existed and they feared the sign of the Lord, there had to be some truth in the Bible. But god had abandoned her when she'd needed him the most and if the creature that had picked her up was working for the other side, then maybe there was truth to the saying 'history is written by the winner'. Heaven was a pretentious club of prejudiced assholes anyway, at least down in hell she'd be in good company.

Even so, she missed her parents. Despite her better judgment, she accepted the invitation. It was the first time she requested for vacation when Balthazar was still in Sacramento but he was generous in allowing her to go. It took Ria weeks to prepare for the visit. She had to grow out the black color she'd dyed her hair with and buy a new outfit, seeing as she knew her parents wouldn't appreciate her new Gothic style that she used mostly to attract donors.

The Christmas dinner itself was incredibly awkward. Ria was an only child but her aunt and uncle and two cousins came to visit as well. Her mother greeted her with a tearful hug and her father welcomed her with an uncertain smile but conversion was very stiff.

"So what do you do now?" her uncle asked her as they sat together for dinner.

"I have two jobs, one in cleaning the house of a client and one helping out in a local restaurant", she answered, trying to sound nonchalant. "I make do."

"You are independent and have a roof over your head, that's the most important thing", her mother said nervously.

"No intention of going to college? Or at least finishing high school?" her father prodded.

"I don't have a need to right now and I don't have the time either", she evaded.

"You're not taking drugs though, are you?" her uncle asked.

"Arthur!", her mother admonished her brother.

"What? It's a fair question! Getting knocked up at such a young age, shaming her family, it is to be expected! When was the last time you've gone to church, young lady, huh?"

Ria gripped her knife and fork so tightly her grip turned white.

"I don't go to church anymore, Uncle Arthur", she pressed out. "They don't welcome me there."

"Well you're coming with us to church tomorrow, that is for sure", her father insisted.

"What's the point, I'm bound for hell anyway", she muttered rebelliously.

"Maria!", her mother exclaimed.

Ria stabbed her meat and didn't look at her mother's scandalized face.

"Why don't we talk about something nicer?" her aunt suggested nervously. "What about your daughter, Ria? Now that you have a job, have you checked up on her?"

Ria felt a giant clump form in her stomach. She did her very best not to think about the child she'd given up for adoption. It had been a clean cut, she'd made sure to remain anonymous as the mother. That way she figured the baby would have better chances of actually getting adopted instead of being forced into foster care. But of course that also meant it was impossible for her now to find and 'check up on' the child.

"No Aunt Rosa, I have not. I gave the child away anonymously. I was in no state to take care of her and I still am not."

"I'm just saying, you can't trust those orphanages! What if she goes to a horrible family? You hear all kinds of nasty things about the foster system."

"Rosa, I think that's quite enough", her mother stopped her.

After that conversation thankfully steered away from Ria but she felt bitter and hateful the entire rest of the meal.

They did force her to come with them to church the next morning and it was almost like Balthazar's dislike of crosses had rubbed off on her. She scowled at the display of their savior the entire time. How weird was it that the symbol of this religion was an ancient roman torture device? No wait, on second thought that made perfect sense. Their stupid doctrine was ripping families apart. Ria had never wanted a baby. It had ruined her life and if she'd had the choice, she would've aborted it. But her family had wanted to hear nothing of it. They had looked down on her and scolded her for getting pregnant but in their mind, getting an abortion would've been even worse. In the beginning they had promised they'd help her with the baby and support her but the farther along she went and the worse people in the neighborhood and at church started talking, the more their support waned. Finally when she'd been abandoned, it was medically too late to get an abortion, even if she had had her parents permission and monetary aid.

It had been stupid of her to come here and expect anything to be different.

And yet. And yet there was a part of her longing for her old life back, longing for a time when everything had been simpler. There was a part of her that wished to cry and beg for forgiveness like she'd done back then and hope that this time, with time to heal over the wounds, she might receive it. There was a part of her that looked up ahead at the cross and feared the fires of hell that would burn her soul for aiding a literal blood drinking demon.

She didn't stay with her family for the rest of the day. She said her goodbyes to her mother, who cried for her, and she returned home to her vampire Master and she cried herself to sleep.

XxX

Ria was twenty four years old, having worked for her Master for nearly four years now when she met another vampire for the first time.

She was returning from a meeting with one of her regular customers, a collage girl earning some cash at the side by giving blood donations. It was the third meeting she had that day. Tomorrow was St. Patrick's day, which held no significance to her Master at but was enough of an excuse to have nice breakfast prepared. Thus she'd gone around drawing blood from a number of people to offer him some variety. Her wallet now lighter by a few hundred dollars and her icebox heavier with a couple of liters of human blood, she walked down the street, humming the tune to 'Carpe noctem', a song from her favorite vampire musical 'Dance of the Vampires'. It was already getting dark but her Master was out of town and wouldn't return until midnight anyway so she had all the time in the world. She only had to get this blood into the fridge, get a couple of hours sleep and then start cooking shortly before sunrise. The meals never took very long to prepare anyway, it was just important to get the quantities right.

Suddenly however, just as she was walking past a narrow alleyway, something hard pressed against her mouth. She grew all dizzy and her vision blurred as she was suddenly jerked back. The next thing she knew she was standing way inside the alley, someone's cold chest pressed against her back and a hand closed over her mouth. She'd let go of her icebox, which had spilled its contents all over the alleyway. One of the bags had ripped and blood spilled over the floor.

Ria was frozen in fear, recognizing immediately the situation she was in. Over time, her Master had become more and more careless in keeping up his human pretense in her presence. She saw him move at superhuman speeds plenty of times. She saw him just standing there, unblinking, like a statue. Sometimes he was commenting on something she'd eaten or come in contact with because he smelled it on her.

She recognized a vampire, even if she didn't see his red eyes.

So Ria stood frozen because she didn't know if this was a friend or foe of her Master. He held her mouth closed, a clear order not to make a noise so she was silent as a mouse. She was good at following orders.

"What the fuck are you doing?" the foreign vampire hissed into her ear.

Ria was trembling. She had never felt so scared but she repeated in her head over and over how everything would be fine, how she only had to explain that she was 'claimed' and nothing would happen to her. Her Master had said so.

Eventually when he noticed she didn't struggle, the vampire took his hand off her mouth.

Ria gasped, taking a deep breath. She didn't turn around but she did take a few seconds to calm her racing heart. She was a professional. She was a Renfield and she was good at what she did.

"I am taking fresh blood to my Master. He's thirsty and expecting a meal. My name is Claire Renfield and I work for Balthazar Lewis – that's what he goes by in this decade. If you are here to visit him, I will happily announce your presence in his city."

A few seconds went by. She still didn't turn around. Finally…

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" the vampire exclaimed and she had just enough time to wonder about his vulgarity and how unlike her eloquent Master he was before she was roughly whirled around, undead fingers leaving bruises on her arms.

This vampire was stuck at a younger age, maybe nineteen years. He had dark hair and even darker eyes, which she knew by now meant he was thirsty. His clothes were dirty and he stank, which she noticed even past the flowery smell that she had only ever associated with her Master. She wished he hadn't forced her to turn around. She knew his face now, which was never a good thing when dealing with creatures that were so used to spilling blood.

Ria whimpered a bit at the pain in her arms from where he was gripping her too tightly. "Please, Sir – I'm sure my Master wouldn't mind if you helped yourself to a bag or two, if you're thirsty. But please let me go. If you hurt me my Master will be very upset!"

She saw the vampire's eyes glance over to the icebox. He hesitated – then he let her go. Ria didn't think twice, she turned around and ran, as fast as her legs could carry her. She turned around only once when she reached the entrance of the alley, spotting the young vampire kneeling next to the ice box. Ugh, that was nearly 200 dollars down the drain, plus the ice box itself. What a rude vampire!

Ria kept running until she reached a street with enough people for her to feel relatively safe. Only then did she pull out her phone to call her Master. The sun had only just gone down but she couldn't be sure if the other vampire was hunting her and she didn't know when Balthazar would be back in town.

"Renfield, it's awfully early for a call", her Master complained when he picked up.

"I apologize, Sir", she replied, knowing that she had to be careful what she said while surrounded by people. "I just met one of your… colleagues. Or perhaps not, I'm not sure he recognized your name when I introduced myself and told him who I worked for. He didn't give me a name though. The meeting was rather sudden. He was rude and… And I'm afraid he ruined the ingredients I had gathered for your breakfast."

There were a few seconds of silence. Then:
"Are you well, Renfy? Did he hurt you?"

"No… I managed to get away and onto the street. Should I head straight home, Sir? I may be able to spend the night with one of my friends if you think that's better", she offered. Ria was quite friendly with some of her regulars. Or she could always pay for a motel. The balance between discretion and advertising her service was quite ingrained in her by now. She wouldn't lead a hostile vampire to her Master's lair.

"I'll be in town in an hour. Make sure to remain among people until I call you back. Do not enter the house until I give you permission."

"Understood, Sir", she replied. Then her line went dead.

XxX


Henry heard him before he saw him. He whirled around, too late to see the other vampire drop down behind him.

He'd tracked the scent of the other to this neighborhood. The scent of the girl was nearby too but she herself was not. He'd lost her in the crowd but it didn't matter. What he was looking for had come to him.

"You know, it is extremely rude to intrude on another's territory without announcing yourself", the other said. Henry gazed through the dark at the tall figure, his form hidden by a wide coat, a hat drawn deep into his face and a pair of dark glasses, which he now took off, letting it slide into his pocket.

What a pretentious dick. He was here now to announce himself, wasn't he? It's not like there was a vampire address book to consult whenever he entered another's territory. And what was with the whole getup anyway?

"What the fuck are you supposed to be?", Henry scoffed, crouching slightly and following the other's every movement with his eyes. "Do you think you live in a horror movie? I met your little vampire servant. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

The other sighed, leisurely stepping closer, hands hidden in the pockets of his coat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, youngster. My name is Bartholomew. May I ask whom I'm speaking to?"

"...Henry. Henry Cole", he revealed reluctantly.

"Well, where do you come from, Henry Cole, and what brings you to my city?"

Slowly, Henry relaxed his stance, though he still watched the other closely as he stopped a few steps away from him.

"I'm from Mexico. Was just passing through."

"A child of war, I presume?" Bartholomew asked.

Henry nodded tensely. The southern vampire wars were hardly a secret and neither were the sheer numbers of vampires sired there. It could only be to his advantage. If the scars littering his skin wouldn't prove it, the fact that he survived the wars should certainly tell this one that he wasn't to be messed with.

Bartholomew nodded. "Sacramento is my territory. I will allow you to pass through and feed once but then you must move on."

Henry scrunched up his nose. Something in his tone rubbed him the wrong way. He hadn't planned to stay here for long. There was too much sun, it was a hassle to hide out the whole day. But he didn't like this guy and the way he made him feel like he was talking down to him. Henry was over a century old and nobody had dared to talk down to him like that since the wars.

"Sacramento is a big city. I'm sure there's plenty to go around. Or do you have a particularly large coven?" he challenged. Henry hadn't smelled any other vampires around and he was pretty sure he was close to the other's temporary hideout.

"It is my territory and you will have left it by sunrise", Bartholomew said warningly.

"Oh come on. You even have a human bring you blood to feed, how could you possibly miss a couple of mortals?" Henry grinned as he saw the other vampire stiffen slightly. "Yeah, she's a pretty little thing, isn't she? I thought I didn't hear right when she just outright told me all about you. You do realize our kind is supposed to remain secret, don't you?"

Bartholomew just started at him with eyes dark with anger and Henry grinned even more widely. "I wonder what the Volturi would say if they heard you told a human all about your nature. They'd surely put an end to both of you. But hey, if you let me stay here for a few days, I might just forget I saw her..."

Henry wasn't even blinking but suddenly Bartholomew was standing right in front of him, grabbing him by the throat. Henry had barely enough time to grab the arm that held him and thus reduce the momentum before he was slammed into the floor, asphalt cracking beneath his back. Years of instincts kicked him and he wrapped one leg around his opponents, forcing him to fall with him. Then he raised his knees to kick his assailant off but he was too strong. Henry felt himself growing weaker, which made no sense at all – the danger of a fight usually made him feel stronger.

Then he felt fangs at his throat and he whipped his head around, bashing it against the other vampire's.

His throat was aflame. If his vampiric brain hadn't had the capability to process a hundred thoughts at once, the pain wouldn't even register in the middle of the fight. But oh, he was so thirsty all of a sudden. He'd drank about two liters of blood just hours ago, though the blood he found in those bags was disgusting all cooled down. Still he'd taken it. He didn't enjoy killing people and it was free blood.

But right now he was so thirsty and his throat was on fire and he lashed out blindly, moving his head rapidly to prevent his opponent from sinking his fangs in and trying in vain to kick him off. A part of him noticed that Bartholomew's eyes were red now when he'd been 100% sure they'd been black just seconds before.

Henry was growing weaker still. Bartholomew kept strangling him, despite his lack of need for oxygen. Henry didn't understand. He'd fought so many other vampires before. Why was it so hard to throw this one off of him?

"Foolish boy", Bartholomew whispered into his ear. Henry felt so weak now the other could've bitten him, used his fangs to rip off his head. For some reason, he lingered. It was then that Henry's gaze went down to the hand clutching his throat. The hand was glowing. A red mist was gathering around the sharp nails. A red mist flowing from Henry into Bartholomew's hands.

"You are so young. So naive", the other whispered and Henry wondered why the fuck he wasn't dead yet.

"You think you can tell on me? I used to be with the Volturi. A child like you has nothing on me."

Henry's vision grew blurry. For the first time since he'd been human, he felt like he was actually loosing consciousness. Everything became darker. The only thing still glowing brightly were Bartholomew's eyes and the red mist surrounding his hands. Then that too was gone.

XxX

Bartholomew dropped the body with a disgusted sound. He flexed his hands for a moment, feeling the life coursing through them. Then he grabbed the youngster's head, gently at first, holding his body down with one foot. The head came right off. The arms and legs followed shortly after. There was no struggle, not anymore. The vampire before him was completely motionless, his skin pale even for a vampire. It looked almost translucent.

"You didn't really think I would let you go, did you?" he asked rhetorically, holding up the head in front of him, despite knowing the other wouldn't be able to hear him. "You ruined my meal and scared my cook. That's just rude."

He put the head underneath his arm and gathered up the other body parts. At least the youngster had made sure to meet him in a deserted road but for the little bonfire he was planning, he would have to make sure to seek out a more private spot. The junkyard would do well, he mused.

Bartholomew checked his watch. It was already 1am. Renfield would be asleep by now. He could wake her up but he doubted she'd find any donors at this time. That was one ruined St. Patricks's day. He sighed. Oh well, in three days it was World's Frog Day. That would have to do.