Appreciate the favourite - letterstorulerule - means a lot as I love your story and have read your favourite stories. You're one of the people that have inspired me to write this.

The third paragraph is going to be about the Grand High Council. I have done some research for this and will be laying down what we know about the council and then writing my own perspective about what happened next. Hope you enjoy.

"I love you Ingrid" said Pierce, with a wicked grin.

"I know, I'm great aren't I" she smiled back "I love you too of course".

"So ... what do you think will happen with those two" Pierce inquired.

"Ha, you know what I would love to happen but Vlad is too stubborn, he wouldn't give me the satisfaction. I definitely am impressed though, he was going to drink that blood, if Talitha wasn't there ... we have some exciting weeks to come" Ingrid smirked.

"So, what's next then" replied Pierce.

"I don't think we need worry about any plans to convert Vlad, I think time is already doing it's job on him. This was inevitable! I did warn him and I think he is gradually coming to his senses. But ... it can never harm to temp him now and again, now can it?"

They both smiled and vanished through the window on their daily hunt.

--

Vlad took one sip, after another, after another, until the glass was empty. Talitha had just stood there watching, she didn't know what to say. She certainly didn't want to join him with the other glass but she didn't know how to respond either. She was shook, everything she thought about Vlad ... his innocence, his morality ... was unfolding in front of her eyes. What would come of him? Ingrid was bad enough, so was the count, but if Vlad became even more like them ... she wouldn't be able to recognise him.

Looking up at her, his eyes were red, not black but red. Like his body was rejoicing but also angry at how long it had waited for this moment. He blinked and his eyes returned to normal.

"Let's see what they've done to Dad's old room!" Vlad stated, not addressing what had just happened and he whooshed off. Talitha remained in the room for a few seconds, looking around and recalling the events that had just unfolded. Then she gave in and followed after Vlad.

--

The Grand High Council had changed a lot in the last ten years. Vlad had made sure that Adze was removed as Head of the Clans, a position she acquired when her Dad Ramanga was defanged by Count Dracula. Vlad had cunningly kicked her out using all the other members of the council, rather that his direct power. It was far better this way as they were all in agreement with her removal. Vlad wanted to avoid trouble and revealing the extent of his powers where possible. The council still had no idea of what he was capable of, Vlad kept many things a secret, even from Talitha and his family. That was part of the reason the council had recently made him train much more, because they thought he was far weaker than he was. Vlad secretly loved this, he had the element of suprise if needed.

Therefore, George Lansley had replaced her. But then Vlad discovered his breather farms and staked him, thus leaving the position open for Ingrid to fill.

Ingrid has remained Head of Clans since. Despite Vlad being unsure of her, he could certainly trust her more than any of the other members and having Ingrid mostly on his side, it made things run far smoother than they had with Ramanga.

After being destroyed by the blood seed, Morgan left the position of Leader of the High Council open. Warnock had also left the position of Head of Education open when Ingrid staked him over her rivalry. This left only two members, Hack as Head of Resources and Roquelaire (Talitha's Dad) as Head of Security. Therefore, Vlad, Ingrid, Hack and Roquelaire all agreed it was safer and safer to promote those they knew and had knowledge and experience and to recruite for the smaller positions. They agreed on Roquelaire being the Leader of the High Council, Hack being Head of Education. Originally, the four believed head of security to be more important than education, but they came to conclusion that security was the responsibility of everyone and actually the role was more of a caretaker role that they could trust with a newbie.

With the council looking to recruit for both Head of Resources and Security, they started with those they could trust. Roquelaire immediately approached Talitha because he could trust her and it would keep their circle small but she declined. She didn't want to be involved with council business, she didn't want it to hold her back from travelling and she didn't want to have any conflict with Vlad or her Dad. This upset Roquelaire but he understood. Hack approached Count Dracula at one point and he just laughed in his face.

It took the council 2 years to fill the positions and they eventually settled on Barty for Head of Resources and Alexander for Head of Security. Both were 100 something vampires but had substantial knowledge in their areas. Barty was previously Head of Resources at the Vampire Times and Alexander had been working for the council for the last decade on secretive missions. Vlad didn't even know the full extent of these missions but where the missions were deemed to small or insignificant for Vlad, they were given to Alexander. He was a highly skilled fighter and had honed his abilities. Vlad wondered if he could been more skilful that his Dad in a fight but he would ensure that would never be tested, just in case ...

Therefore the council composition now looked like this:

- Grand High Vampire - Vladimir Dracula

- Leader of the High Council - Roquelaire

- Head of Clans - Ingrid Dracula

- Head of Education - Hack

- Head of Security - Alexander

- Head of Resources - Barty

It was a small but mighty group of individuals. They were all overworked as they needed a few more individuals on their team but they had to be the right fit and Ingrid was set on ensuring the next member was a female.

--

'3 AM - Old SG HQ'

Roquelaire telepathically sent the message to Hack, Alexander and Barty. He needed to meet with them and discuss Vlad's developments and he couldn't trust Ingrid to be there. He knew this meeting went against their code, all members had to be invited, but sometimes rules had to be broken.

--

Roquelaire arrived at the old Slayers Guild Headquarters at 2.20AM just to check the place was clear. It was just how he left it last time - abandoned. Some slaying equipment sprawled over the floor, broken glass from the broken windows decorating the floor and a blackened fireplace from where hundreds of sensitive documents had clearly been burnt in a rush. He sighed as he picked up a small stake that lay by his foot. 'SQ' so beautifully carved into the bottom. Roquelaire had some admiration for the slayers, he didn't like them but he respected their dedication and willingness to do what it took to 'make their world a better place'.

"Good day Quel" said Hack as he slowly walked down the steps into the room.

To be continued :)