Old Habits Die Hard

- “My Sire?” Derek asked, trying hard to keep his voice from shaking and from showing the panic he was feeling right now.

- “Yes, the one who made you,” Vincent said, “I would have thought that he would have accompanied you here?”

- “He is gone” Derek said flatly

- “Gone? He just made you and left?” Vincent asked.

- “Yes – he stayed for a few days to show me some things but one night I awoke and he was gone.” Derek said.

- “Hmmm”  Vincent said as he turned around and slowly walked back to the chair at the head of the table.  He sat down and looked back at Derek,  he tilted his head to the side and said, “how odd – what did he tell you about us?” he asked Derek.

- “He said he made me, that I was Ventrue, and he taught me how to hunt Deer.” Derek said feeling confident in what he was saying because he wasn’t technically lying.

- “I see.” Vincent said looking at him, “You wouldn’t be lying to me, now, would you?” He said looking at Derek intently.  Derek could tell he was trying to do something but Derek couldn’t tell what.  He stared back at Vincent for a while, feeling like the man was trying to intimidate him.  He more he felt that, the angrier Derek got and the more resolute he was that he would not be bullied or intimidated by this man no matter what he did.  The staredown between the two of them went on for about two to three minutes, in complete silence.  Finally it was broken by Vincent bursting in laughter.

- “Haha!” He said, “I am glad to see another Ventrue with spirit!” he said with a smile.

Derek was getting tired of these games.  All he wanted to do is leave and go home before Vincent’s meal arrived, but this man continued to try his patience.

- “So your sire has left you – so you are on your own now – what have your learned about your abilities so far?” Vincent asked.

Derek felt he was on dangerous ground.  Claude’s words kept echoing in his mind about how other Kindred would covet his blood for his power.  This Kindred was trying to size him up almost like one would a meal or a piece of property.

- “I have not had time to meddle with such things,” Derek said, ” As you can imagine, after the tragedy that fell upon my family, I have had to take on responsibilities that I did not have before, and this alone has been been difficult.  I am sure once I am able to settle into my new life so to speak, I will have more time to discover such things.” He said to Vincent in an aggravated tone.

Vincent gave Derek a broad smile which made Derek even more upset.  This man was toying with him – every question was nothing more than a test to gage his reaction.  He was quickly reaching the point of just telling the man he was leaving and he did not care what else there was to it.  Derek could feel his anger boiling up inside and he did his best to contain it.  The last thing he needed was to lose his temper here.

- “So what killed your family?” Vincent said, “I have a feeling the story I heard of a plague is not based on facts?”

- “No.” Derek said, keeping his anger in check now was getting more and more difficult, “I am told that it was a group of vampires – much like you and me – who tore through my lands, slaughtered my family and everyone in my household.  And from the rumors I heard on my way to London, I believe that my lands were not the only ones hit.” Derek said with a clenched fist at his side.

Vincent saw the complete change in body language from the boy.  The anger that welled inside of him as he spoke of his family’s death was apparent.  Vincent recognized the hatred and the drive for revenge that the child would probably have.  This amused him – young angry Kindred were always amusing to say the least.

- “Ahh yes, I take it you heard of our young Prince Edward then?” Vincent said, “a pity really, for I had planned to take him as my own childe but someone killed him before I could.”

- “Yes.” Derek said between gritting his teeth, ” I heard about Edward.”

- “And you wish for revenge now?” Vincent said in playful tone with a smile, “For your family and for your friend?”

- “Yes.” Derek said angrily, “I will have justice and those guilty will pay.”

- “That is bold statement for one as young as you,” Vincent said still smiling, “how do you plan to achieve this justice?”

- “I do not know yet,” Derek said trying to calm down – he knew the man was goading him into getting angry – although being aware of this and not falling into the trap were two separate things. “I plan to learn about my abilities – as you put them – first.  Then I plan to track them down and kill them”

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Derek.  It was obvious that this kindred knew very little of Kindred society and of their ways and this amused Vincent even more.  It had been a long time since he had seen a childe abandoned by their sire, and he wanted to watch in delight as he stumbled through centuries of protocols and customs.

- “Well, I wish you luck in your endeavor, my young Lord.”  Vincent said with a smile.  Just then the door in the back of the room opened and Phillip arrived with a palace guard.  The guard had a young peasant girl in chains that he dragged into the room.  The girl was wearing a simple white cotton dress, she had long brownish hair and big blue eyes.  Derek put her age around 17 or 18.  She was struggling against the guard, who upon dragging her inside the room, slapped her so hard and in so doing, knocker her to the ground.  Derek’s rage exploded and he rushed to the girl’s side to help her up.

- “STOP!” Derek said as he yelled at the guard.  The young guard looked back at him and Derek could see pure terror in the man’s face who dropped the girl and ran out of the room screaming as he ran back the way he had come in.  Derek bent down and helped the girl to her feet.  She looked up at him and smiled and for a minute Derek forgot the purpose of why she had been brought here.  Derek heard a clap from behind him and got a sinking feeling in his stomach.  He turned around to see Vincent mockingly clapping at him.

- “For someone who has not been working on their abilities, you surely seem to have some natural talent!” Vincent said smiling at Derek, “You are very much like your father, my young lord. always concerned of the welfare of others.  It is a noble sentiment.”

Derek managed a weak smile, “Thank you, My Lord – that means a lot coming from someone who knew my father. Now, I really must go and I should leave you to your… meal.”

Vincent felt this meeting had been very informative.  He smiled at Derek and looked at Phillip and said, “Please, Phillip, escort our Young Earl of Kent out.” he said and then turned to Derek, “I expect to see you here again tomorrow, for the second half of the council’s meeting.”

Derek smiled and nodded.  He would have done anything and agreed to anything just to get out of there.  He nodded at Vincent, turned around and followed Phillip out of the room.  Once they were out of the room, he took a deep breath and immediately started to feel himself calming down.  They started to walk down the large stone hallway and Derek remembered the hatred he had seen in Phillip’s eyes.

- “Phillip, why are you here?” He asked Phillip as they started to walk out, “why are you acting as a servant?”

Phillip looked at Derek with disdain.  He stopped in the middle of the hallway and finally said, “I was chosen – it is a great honor to serve here.”

- “Honor? What honor is there in serving the needs of creatures like this?” Derek said.

- “Like this? You mean like you?” He asked Derek, “My reward is that I will one day, be like you – I will be gifted with the power of Kindred if I do my job well.  It is well worth the sacrifices I make now.  The gift you so casually dismiss is what I am hoping to attain one day.”

Derek was stunned.  The boy actually wanted to become a monster – he wanted to be a vampire.  Derek at first thought that he was out of his mind and then he became angry with the boy.

- “You wish to kill people to survive? You want to become a monster?” Derek asked angrily.

- “They are only peasants, and there are plenty more where they came from,” Phillip said to Derek, “the real question is why do YOU care?”

The boy’s casual attitude towards killing peasants upset Derek more than he thought possible.  His instinct took over for a split second, and he grabbed Phillip by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall in the castle.  The boy was gagging at Derek’s grip around his neck, which was quickly tightening.  The thought he would have killed Phillip made him snap out of it.  He loosed his grip but got really close to the boy and and said in a very low and angry tone, “They are people and they do not deserve to die – you are an embarrassment to your family.”

Derek finally let go of Phillip and who fell to the ground coughing and gagging.  He stood up and looked at Derek and now instead of hatred and disdain, Derek saw fear.  Derek felt remorse when he saw he had gripped the boy so tight, that he left the mark of his hand on the boy’s neck.  He didn’t know what to do – every time he saw a display of his own power, it scared him.

- “Go” he said to Phillip, “I do not need an escort.”

Phillip  reached up to his own neck with hand hand rubbing the area that Derek had grabbed trying to sooth his cough.  Derek couldn’t even bear the sight of the boy.

- “GO NOW” Derek yelled at the boy and pointed back the way they had come.  Phillip turned around and started to run back.  Derek’s thoughts were racing.  Claude was right – coming here was a bad idea – Kindred were terrible people and he had no desire to return here ever.  He did not care what he told Vincent – he would not come back.

He managed to walk back to the front of the castle.  Once he was there the stable boy brought his horse back to him.  On the way back to his family’s house, Derek was lost in thought.  He wanted to leave London as soon as possible and go back to the countryside.  There was nothing left for him here – he knew this now.

He arrived back at his house, put the horse in the stables, brushed him down and gave him some feed.  As he turned around to go inside, he saw Claude standing at the doors to the stables.

- “So, you are still alive – that is a good sign,” Claude said to Derek with a smile.

- “Yes.” Derek said and pushed past Claude into the house.  Claude came up behind him.

- “So how did it go? What happened?” He asked Derek.

Without looking back at Claude Derek walked into the house and up the stairs.

- “I do not wish to discuss it – we leave tomorrow to return to Kent.” he said as he disappeared upstairs.

Edward who was sitting in the library reading, came out and looked at Claude, “So he wasn’t burned or dismembered – what happened?”

- “I do not know, Lad” Claude said, “But we should leave him be for tonight.”

———————————————————

Phillip’s neck was sore as he made his way back to his master’s room.  Derek could have broken his neck easily and that only made him hate that uptight ass even more.  Phillip’s father had always told him that the Kent’s would bring problems – they gave the people ideas – and now – it seemed that Derek had been handed the gift that Phillip was working so hard for, with absolutely no effort.  Oh how he hated the Kents!   He had heard the whole lot of them were dead, he was sorry to see that one had survived.

Not only that, but it seemed that Vincent had taken a liking to Derek, which upset Phillip even more.  It seemed that the more time he spent with Vincent, the more he wanted Vincent’s attention for himself only – and the thought of sharing it with someone – especially with a Kent, made his stomach turn.  He walked back into the room to see Vincent dropping the body of the dead girl on the floor, after draining her.  Phillip couldn’t help but smile when he saw that – to know that he would one day have this power, made him feel as if his insides were warm and glowing.

- “So, Phillip, what did you think of our Young Lord Kent?” Vincent asked with a twinkle in his eye.  He had seen the hatred in Phillip’s face and couldn’t help but to toy with the boy.

- “I think he is an arrogant ass, My Lord – just like his father.” Phillip responded as he walked up to Vincent.

Vincent saw the marks on Phillip’s neck and pulled the boy closer to him by the shoulder to get a better look. “Did he do that to you?” , Vincent asked Phillip with a grin.

- “Yes,” Phillip said flatly.

- “Why? What did you say to him?” Vincent asked – this was probably going to be better than he had expected.

- “He was upset that said I said something about feeding on peasants.  He is a madman – you should kill him and take his power before it grows, My Lord.” Phillip said – he could feel the hatred welling up inside of him.

Vincent’s smile quickly turned sour and he grabbed Phillip by the neck, pretty much the same way that Derek had earlier, and pulled the boy close to him.  His fangs came down and he stared into Phillip’s eyes stirring fear in the boy.

- “You are a servant in my house – do not presume to tell me what to do.”  Vincent said to Phillip between gritted teeth.   Then dropped the boy on the floor and walked away from him for a moment towards the table and took his seat at the head of the table once again.  He could hear Phillip coughing and gagging behind him.  That made him smile once more.

- “You are young and foolish, Phillip” Vincent started, “that is why I brought you here, to teach you” he said without looking back at the boy, “Derek is may be young and new but his blood is old, powerful – I could sense it – I could feel it.  He was not afraid of me, this tells me he has spent time with a kindred more powerful than I – most likely the one that made him.   His sire would not have left him out in the open all alone.  Even if the story he tells me is true – which of course, I do not believe – even if his sire abandoned him, he still watches from the shadows.  Of that I am sure.”

Vincent turned around to look at Phillip who was slowly getting to his feet.  His choices for new kindred as of late had become worse than they used to be and this child was hardly worth his time.  Unfortunately he was the best of what the latest crop of Lords had to offer.  He had considered going to France to make his choice but felt that the trip would hardly be worth it – the quality of their crops were probably just as bad.  The new dutch royalty that had moved into the castle was even worse than the nobles.  He had waited too long to take Prince Edward and he missed his opportunity – which was regrettable.  But now he wondered, if Derek was not dead, perhaps Edward and the others may possibly be still alive.  If so, he would take one and bind it to him and get rid of this useless child in front of him.

- “What you fail to understand, Phillip, is that young kindred are foolish like you – they make mistakes.  This one has a powerful sire watching over him, so all I have to do is wait for him to make a mistake and create a situation where his sire will have no choice but to come out of the shadows to save him.  Considering his temper and pride, this should be too difficult.  To bring a kindred this old into the light will earn me great prestige within the clan,” Vincent said with a dreamy look in his eye, “and to have a boon from such an old kindred, will be even better.”

Phillip hated Derek even more now.  Not only was he given the gift without having to work for it – but apparently the one that gave it to him was more powerful than Vincent.  Phillip couldn’t wait until he was embraced as well so that he could put that Kent in his place once and for all.  He could not understand why his master would allow Derek to live.  If his blood was that powerful, surely it was worth more than prestige and a boon. Surely.

- “And how exactly do you plan to trap him into making a mistake, My Lord?” Phillip asked with a raspy voice.

- “Me?” Vincent asked with a laugh, “I will not have to do anything, lad – Young Lord Kent is a volcano waiting to explode – all I have to do is be there when he does …” Vincent said with a broad grin.

———————————————————————————–

Derek awoke and came downstairs eager to be out of London.  He went into the stables, hoping to see Claude already half-packed.  If they were quick, they could be out of the city within the hour.  He found the horses in the stables as they had been left the night before – nothing was packed or ready.  He remembered quite clearly telling Claude they were leaving.  He didn’t particularly like having to repeat himself – especially in the mood he was in.  Derek closed the door to the stables and stomped back inside looking for Claude.  He found Claude reading in the library.

- “Why Are we not packed yet?” Derek said angrily, “I thought I was quite clear last night, we are leaving London.”

Claude looked up from his book – he saw the anger in the child’s eyes looking back at him.

- “What happened last night, Lad?” Claude asked.

- “Nothing that I wish to discuss” Derek said, “now we must pack and go.”

- “Not until you tell me why you wish to leave.” Claude said calmly.

- “I will not justify myself to you or anyone else.” Derek said angrily, “We are leaving and that is final.” he turned around and started to walk out of the room.

Claude moved quickly and stood in the doorway in front of Derek.  He knew this would anger the boy more, but he needed to know why the boy had decided to leave the city so quickly.  This young one may not understand how kindred society works, but Claude did and he was afraid that the boy may have started something and leaving so quickly would make things worse.

- “Lad,” Claude said, “I know you are angry and upset – but I need to know what happened for your safety and ours.” He continued, “You wanted to come to London and present yourself – and so you have.  There are protocols that must be followed, there are customs that you do  not know about or understand and leaving in a fit of rage can end up making whatever situation you encountered, worse.” He stared at Derek intently for a while, “now, tell me what happened.”

Derek stared back at Claude, and saw genuine concern in his eyes.  He did not want to talk about what happened – he just wanted to forget that kindred existed and go back to his castle in Kent and live out the rest of his life in peace away from all of this.  He should have listened to Claude before, and stayed away from Kindred society.  He would never admit to Claude that he was wrong to come to London, of course – but now that he had met Kindred and seen that Claude was not wrong, he valued his opinions a little more.  Derek sighed – nothing was working out the way he had wanted it to.

- “Fine.” Derek said finally and walked over to the chair behind the large Oak desk.  He sat down and with a resigned look in his face, told Claude everything that happened the night before.

- “He was horrible, Claude – and Phillip – there is something wrong with that boy.” Derek said after he finished telling what happened the night before.

Claude started to pace and think in the room.  So the trap had worked – he was sure that Vincent was going to try to bait Claude out of hiding now.  In order to do that, he needed for Derek to stay alive.  In the end, it was all about keeping the child alive and he was relieved the Ventrue took the bait.

- “Alright and so he said he expected to see you there tonight then?” Claude asked.

- “Yes,” Derek replied, “But I am not going – I am not going back ever, Claude.”

-”You must, Lad” Claude said, “If nothing else, to keep up appearances.  One more night cannot hurt – and then we can go home.”

- “Why?” Derek said, “what appearances am I keeping up?”

- “He is the regent of this area, Derek – which means this is his domain and he runs it however he wishes.  You are part of his domain – not going would be a large act of disrespect that could prompt him to come after you to kill you or give him rights to imprison you.” Claude said.

Derek sighed, “Fine” he said, “I will go one more night – but we leave tomorrow.”

Derek seemed to do fine at his turn at feeding.  He was amazed at the amount of self-control he was able to manage if he really focused on it.  They went to three more Inns for the night before they all had their fill. Derek’s ability to use his powers of mental domination were improving, although he did not feel any better about using them on others.  However, the way he looked at it, this small mental intrusion was much better if it meant his victims get to keep their lives.  He already couldn’t wait to get back to the country where he could go back to hunting animals.

And so today was the important day – they were planning to go to the castle, so that Derek could let the House of Lords know that he would be taking over his father’s affairs.  Although Derek was nervous and worried, he did feel better that Edward was coming as well – Edward was not only more comfortable around large groups of people than Derek was, but he knew more about Noble behavior than Derek did.  Derek came down to the library, eager to see what Edward had managed to scrounge up to make himself look like a servant.  He walked in and saw Edward and Claude sitting across from each other and Edward was still dressed in his father’s clothing, which was far from looking like a servant.

- “Why are you not ready?” Derek asked sounding annoyed.

- “Ask your pal Brutus here, ” Edward said pointing to Claude, “he said I can’t go.”

- “You have to go” Derek said almost in a panic – he looked over to Claude, “He has to go!”

- “He cannot go, lad” Claude replied, “the castle will be full of Kindred – they will see another kindred coming a mile away – he will not pass as your servant.  It is safer if he does not go.”

Derek looked back and forth from Claude to Edward, the panic in eyes was visible, “But I do not know where to go – I do not know where anything is! There has to be a way!”

- “I’m sorry, Lad” Claude said, “you have to do this alone.”

Derek made an attempt to hide his panic and walked over to the window, to look at the people outside.  He was going to walk into a castle full of Kindred, without any idea of where to go, what to do or even who to talk to.  He tried hard to keep his panic under control – he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands both fisted at his sides.

- “See I told you he would be scared to go alone, ” Derek heard Edward remarking to Claude behind him.  His fear quickly turned to anger and he swung around and glared at Edward.

- “I am NOT scared,” he said, “I simply had not planned for this.  But it is fine,” he said, “I will be fine, just tell me where to go.”

Edward proceeded to give Derek a detailed description of where the Great Hall was where meetings generally took place.  He was actually amazed at himself for remembering everything in such detail.  He offered to draw Derek a map, but the angry look in Derek’s eyes made him quickly put his quill down and look away.

- “Now one thing you need to remember,” Edward said, “all that this meeting is, is like a whole bunch of posturing.  Everyone talking about how great they are and how rich and how much they squeeze out of their people.  There is never anything really decided in these things – its just a bunch of talk.” he explained.  He then thought for a minute, the idea of Derek in the midst of all of this was almost ludicrous.  He was sorry he was not going to be there to see it unfold “and if you just sit in the corner and shut up – you should be fine.” he said to Derek finally.

Derek seemed to take Edward’s advice to heart and listened intently.  Although he was intimidated by the entire prospect he was determined not to let it show.  The idea that Edward would think that he was afraid of anything, was all the motivation he needed right now to keep from panicking at the whole situation.  He kept telling himself, he was here to put his father’s affairs in order and that is exactly what he intended to do and one little meeting of Lords couldn’t possibly be all that bad.

- “Alright”, Derek said, “good evening then” he said and started to walk out of the room.

- “Not so fast, Lad” Claude said, “You are going to meet kindred there too – probably Ventrue – more from our clan.  They are going to ask you all kinds of things, what are you going to tell them?”

- “The truth,” Derek said, “I plan to tell them the truth”

- “No” Claude said, “you can’t do that, lad”

- “Why not?”

- “Remember when I told you about blood – and age of blood? Remember when I told you your blood is old and how other Kindred will covet this? You remember when I told you that other Kindred can never know about me? Do you remember any of that?” Claude asked.

- “Yes I do” Derek said, “but what does that have to do with anything?”

- “You will tell them that your Sire,” Claude said, “me” he pointed to himself, “ran off.  You will tell them that I saved you, I made you and I ran off.”

- “I still do not understand why” Derek said, “how are they even going to know the age of my blood just by looking at me?”

- “Because this is your best chance to make it out of there alive.  You can tell them everything else, but do not tell them I am here,” Claude said, “you must tell them I ran off and you have not seen me since.   Different kindred have different gifts, Derek – you do not know what powers they have – they may be able to tell your age just by looking at you. You must tell them that you do not know where your Sire is. You must promise me this.”

- “Ok, if Vampires in the castle are like you two,” Edward started pointing at the two of them, “then won’t they be able to read minds like you two can do and know that Derek is lying? Won’t they be pissed to be lied to and then like burn or dismember him or something?”  Edward asked.

- “No” Claude said, “Derek can keep his thoughts private – he has a gift”

- “What gift?” Edward asked quizzically looking at Derek.

Derek sighed, he didn’t like the idea of lying – even if the other kindred would not be able to read his thoughts, he knew that he was never particularly good at it and it always made him feel dirty.  His father had always told him that they were nobles – and lying was beneath them.

- “I can steel my mind so to speak,”  Derek said to Edward, “trust me, I have practiced it plenty.”

- “Ok” Edward said, “even so – you are TERRIBLE at lying – anytime you lie everyone can tell – how is that going to work?” He said looking back at Claude.

Claude sighed at both the boys in front of him.  He had over one thousand years of experience in this and yet everything he said was always questioned.  Sometimes he wondered if he had not taken a more direct approach as kindred of old if he wouldn’t have saved himself some aggravation.  And now he had not only one but two young clueless kindred questioning everything he told them.

- “Just trust me on this, lad” he said to Derek, “You MUST promise me – give me your word.  Have I lied to you or led you wrong so far?” he asked.

- “No.” Derek said flatly, “you have been said disturbing things, but you so far have always been right.  Therefore, I will do as you say – I give you my word.  Now, excuse me, I must go” he said as he walked out of the room before he could even notice the look of shock and surprise in Claude’s eyes from his statement.

Once Derek was out of the room, Edward looked back at Claude and raised an eyebrow at him, “You know they are going to kill him right?”

- “Not if they are as greedy as I think they are – and if there is one thing I have learned over the years, Lad,” Claude continued, ” its to never underestimate the greed and lust for power in the heart of every Ventrue.”

—————————————————————————————————–

Derek went into his father’s room, to find his Letters Patent – the documents issued to his family over a century ago from the king,  that granted them their title, land and rights as British nobles.  At first he couldn’t find them, since his mind was mostly on dreading what was about to happen at the castle.  But he finally found them.  He was dressed in his best and most proper clothing, which was uncomfortable to say the least.  He often preferred his riding pants and boots, but for this he would need all the help he could get.

Armed with his Letters Patent, he went back downstairs, through the kitchen and to the stables once again.  He mounted his horse and was ready to be on his way when he say Claude standing there at the doorway.

- “Remember your promise,” Claude said.

- “Yes,” Derek said sounding annoyed, “I am not stupid, you only have to tell me once.  And I keep my word so back off.” he said angrily.

Claude smiled broadly at the boy – he was trying not to show any concern because the child didn’t need anything right now to shake his confidence.  ”Good luck, Lad” he said to Derek and watched as the boy moved past him and into the streets.  As soon as Derek was out of sight, Edward stepped up behind him.

- “So if he doesn’t come back we know they killed him right?” Edward asked.

- “Stay here, Child” Claude said angrily, “I will make sure he comes back.”

- “Wait,” Edward said raising his hand at Claude, “I thought you said that they would spot a vampire just by looking at him and that’s why I couldn’t go – won’t they know what you are then?”

- “They will not see me,” Claude said grinning, “like you, I also have gifts – now wait here and cause no problems.”

Claude slipped out of the stables and into the street.  Edward walked up and looked up the street where Claude had gone and he apparently managed to just disappear into the night.

- “Why do I always have to stay here – bored for eternity – what a great life…” Edward mumbled to himself as he went back inside.

——————————————————————————-

Derek made his way to the Palace of Westminster per Edward’s directions.  He moved across the river and arrived at the Thorney Island where he saw the large fortified wooden gates guarded by men in Royal uniform.  This palace was fairly new and from the stories that Edward told him, he knew it had been his brother’s pride and joy.

He moved in towards the gates, and a guard stood in front of it.  The guard didn’t say anything but Derek knew he was waiting for some type of identification.

- “I am the Earl of Kent,” Derek said, “come to join the council for their meeting.”

The guard, a young man probably not much older than Derek,  looked him up and down, and walked over to him.  Derek could tell that although he did not recognize him, he did recognize Derek’s clothing as being of some station and was not about to question it.

- “The guards inside will need to see you papers, My lord” the guard said to Derek.  Derek nodded at the young man.  The guard turned around and waved at someone at the top of the gates, where Derek could see a small platform where guards walked back and forth.  One of the guards at the top of the gate, waved to someone behind the gate and after about a minute, Derek said the huge doors slowly start to open.

Derek rode past the gates slowly, he saw many more guards inside, all staring at him as he moved past them.  He kept his attention focused forward – he was an Earl – all of these guards were beneath him.  He moved past the castle’s courtyards to the front entrance, where another guard, dressed more richly than those at the gates, approached him.  The guard walked quickly towards Derek, who dismounted his horse and stood by it.  The guard bowed once he reached Derek.

- “My Lord, welcome to Palace of Westminster” he said, “with all due respect, my lord, I must request to see your papers.” he said to Derek.  Derek handed him is Letters Patent and watched as the guard closely inspected them.  He rolled them back up and handed them back to Derek.

- “Thank you so much, My Lord,” he said, “please follow me inside and I will have one of the heralds announce you to the council.”

Derek said nothing to the man, who  motioned to someone behind Derek with his left hand.  A few seconds later, Derek saw a young boy, no more than 13 or 14 come running out to take the reigns of his horse.  Derek inspected the boy who was bowing deeply at him, and finally handed him the reigns.  As the boy took his horse away, he started to follow the guard inside.

The castle was mostly built out of stone and the corridors lit by torches.  As they walked in, Derek saw an inner courtyard, with flowers of all types, benches and paths.  They walked past the courtyard into the main castle building where he saw another man come out to meet them.  He could tell this man was not a soldier like the other – he was dressed in a red and gold uniform.  He bowed to the guard that Derek had followed, and the guard turned around, bowed to Derek and walked out.  The man in front of him – the Herald, Derek assumed – looked to be in his early 30’s perhaps, with blond hair and big blue eyes.

- “This way, My Lord” the herald said.  Derek followed him.

They went further into the castle, through stone hallways and corridors, and more doors that Derek could possibly imagine.  As he walked he kept thinking that all of this – was rightfully Edward’s.  Actually had he not suffered the same tragic fate that Derek had, he would now be King and Derek would be visiting him here just the same.  His thoughts distracted him from how intimidated he was by the size of this palace of by the meeting he was dreading which laid just beyond one of the large wooden doors.  He thought about what it would be like to see Edward walking these halls, telling everyone what to do but before he got too far into his daydream, they Herald reached for one the large wooden double doors on the left and turned around to face Derek.  He could hear loud talking and multiple voices coming from inside the room.

- “Are you ready, My Lord?” the herald asked.

- “Yes.” Derek replied.

The herald opened the large wooden doors and stood inside.  The room quieted and Derek stepped in behind him.  The room was large, with a large fireplace on the left side, which was lit and a heavy wooden table running across the center of the room.  He saw over two dozen men sitting around the table, all richly dressed some drinking and some eating.  He saw faces he somewhat recognized from years back and some he had not seen before.  However, all of them were now looking back at him expectantly.

- “My Lords,”  the herald said, “I give you the Earl of Kent” and he bowed at everyone.  He then turned around and bowed deeply at Derek and motioned for him to come inside.  Derek’s legs felt like they were made of pure stone and he had a difficult time moving them inside.  There were murmurs, and stares – some friendly and some not – all in all too many people for Derek to focus on.  He decided to just look straight ahead and keep his head high and walk in.

- “Young Lord Kent!” a man said from the back of the room room.  Derek searched the room to see where the voice was coming from.  He saw a man who was actually at the head of the table.  He had graying hair, properly trimmed and was dressed in very noble attire.  Derek recognized the man from one of his trips to England when he was young, but he could not place his name of title.  The man was staring at Derek intently with his steel gray eyes and dark eyebrows.  Derek managed a meek smile at the man.

The man stood up and motioned for Derek to come to him.  Derek gave him another nervous smile and walked past all of the other nobles, fairly slowly to arrive at the very end of the table.  The man smiled broadly at Derek, and motioned for him to sit at empty chain next to him.

- “I heard about the tragedy at your estate, and I am deeply sorry – I see that I was misinformed as I was told that you had perished as well.  I am glad to see that was not the case,” he said and as Derek sat down nervously, the man sat down as well, “you do not remember me, do you? I knew your father, probably not as well as I should have, but I knew him. I am Vincent, Earl of Hereford.”

Derek could tell by the way that the others were looking at him and at Vincent that he must somehow be in charge.  The looks he got in the room now varied from amusement to jealousy.  The entire was room was now silent, waiting for Derek’s response to what Vincent had said.  Derek wasn’t sure what else he needed to say, as his first instinct was to bolt out of that chair and make a run for it.  He smiled at Vincent and at everyone in the room.

- “Thank you, My Lord,” Derek said to Vincent, “I was very young the last time I was in London, so all of this” Derek motioned around the room, “is new to me.  I did not mean to interrupt your discussions.” he said looking back at everyone in the room.

Vincent smiled at Derek and looked over at everyone else and waved his hands at them, “well, you heard him – continue!” he said.  Derek was thankful that the first part of this was over.  Now – according to what Edward had told him – all he had to do is sit quietly in this chair for the remainder of the meeting and not draw attention to himself.

As the meeting progressed, Derek thought more and more that this was an absolute waste of time.  The men argued over things that seemed very silly to him, ranging from the borders of their lands, to how many dresses their wives and mistresses bought to other things that Derek did not understand.  The meeting was made even more uneasy by the fact that Vincent kept staring at him and smiling.  It was innerving to say the least.  Derek looked back at him a few times, managed a weak smile and went back to staring at the room and the discussions around the table.  Even when he was not looking at the man, he could feel the man looking back at him.  All he hoped for now was for this meeting to be over.

Suddenly, and without warning, he felt someone trying to enter his mind – he realized it was Vincent.  Derek was used to Claude’s intrusions which seemed much stronger to him.  Blocking the intrusion from Vincent was barely a challenge.  He looked over to Vincent who continued to smile at him and continued to try to enter his mind.  So this was the kindred – if Vincent had not tried this – Derek would never have known his true nature.  Claude had told him that Kindred could identify other kindred, but this was a task that obviously Derek had not learned to master yet.  He started to wonder how many more of the nobles at the table were also Kindred.  After about 15 minutes of unsuccessful attempts to enter Derek’s mind, Vincent finally stopped.  Derek was now aggravated more than anything – even though Vincent had not gotten in, it was still incredibly rude.  Vincent smiled at Derek who stared back at him with flat look – after this man’s rudeness he did not feel the need to smile and be civil.

- “Fascinating!” Vincent said finally looking at Derek.  He began to laugh, “absolutely fascinating!” he said in delight.

Derek didn’t find anything fascinating about this intrusion – not at all.

—————————————————-

Derek sat in the room for almost two hours, having to endure the endless chatter of the nobles as well as Vincent’s constant stares.  After two hours, a wave of relief washed over him when Vincent finally got up and announced that the meeting was over.  All of the nobles immediately became quiet and looked up at him.

- “Thank you, My Lords for your presence and participation here tonight, but I grow tired and must retire for the night – we shall continue tomorrow evening.”

The nobles stood up and bowed to Vincent.  Derek saw this as his queue to make his own getaway, so he stood and bowed as well.  As the mass of nobles started to make their way out, Derek quickly started to follow the group – if he could at that moment, he would have bolted up past all of them all the way back to the stables.  However an exit like that would draw too much attention, so he walked slowly behind the mass of Nobles leaving the room.

- “My Lord Kent,” Derek heard from behind him, “I wish to speak with you further, so if you would stay and give me the pleasure of your company for a few more minutes, I would greatly appreciate it.” Vincent said.

Derek felt a chill run down his spine.  The last thing he wanted now was to speak with this Kindred – and even worse – to be alone with this Kindred with all the Nobles gone.  He stopped, took a deep breath and braced himself – and he turned around to face Vincent.

- “As much as I would enjoy your company, My Lord” Derek said, “As you can imagine with the recent tragedy in my family, I have many things to tend to, so I must take my leave.” he said with a smile.

- “I promise not to take up too much of your time, my young Lord,” Vincent said, “please, I insist”

Derek knew that if he left now at the very least it would be rude, at the most he would not make it to the front gates, so he decided to play along for now and see how far Vincent would take this.  He was starting to really dislike the man – or Vampire or whatever he was.

- “Of course, My Lord,” Derek said, “It would be my pleasure” he forced a smile.

- “Excellent!” Vincent said getting to his feet.  He walked over the doorway in the back of the room and called out, “Phillip!” a few moments later, a young blond boy, looking about the same age as Derek stepped out.

- “Yes, My Lord?” The boy asked.  Derek recognized this boy – he was the son of the Earl of Cornwall but Derek hadn’t seen Phillip for years now.  Derek wondered what the boy was doing here – acting as servant nonetheless.  His family’s lands were quite vast and prestigious, Derek couldn’t think of any reason why he would be here acting this way.

- “Bring me something to eat Phillip.” Vincent said and looked at Derek and asked, “have you eaten tonight, would like something as well?”

Derek could feel the panic welling up inside him.  He had a feeling this man was planning to ‘eat’ in front of him and he was afraid of how horrific this would be.  He wasn’t sure if he could watch it – but he knew he couldn’t leave.  Derek felt trapped.

- “No, thank you – I already dined” Derek managed to say without sounding squeamish.

- “Very well then – just for me, and make haste, Phillip” Vincent said to Phillip.

Phillip looked at Derek and seemed to recognize him as well. The look of hatred and jealousy on the boy’s face upon seeing Derek was undisguisable.  Derek wasn’t sure why that was.  He quickly searched his memories of the boy to try to remember if he had done something in the past that was rude or that could have generated that level of hatred he saw in the boy’s eyes.  He couldn’t even remember seeing the boy more than two or three times in his life – and all times they were formal settings where he did not even have a chance to interact with him.  Nothing he could remember of the boy justified the hatred he saw directed at him now.

- “Yes, My Lord” Phillip replied as he left the room.

Vincent turned to Derek once again, and walked back towards the table where Derek was standing.

- “So, young Lord,”  Vincent said, “where is your sire?”

Derek felt like all of the blood had drained from his face.

Finally after all the planning that had taken place, Derek was finally in London and ready to settle his family’s affairs.  The responsibility of it was overwhelming.  They had been in their town home now for 3 days and he was ready to throttle Edward, who obviously was bored and had decided to annoy both him and Claude in order to amuse himself.   Claude did not seem bothered by Edward, but Derek had come close to losing his temper a few times already.

Edward followed Derek inside the house from the stables.

- “So, it has been 3 days and you have yet to answer my question”, Edward complained.

- “Which question is it today?” Derek said, “you seem to have an infinite supply of them”

- “Ha, funny – you know you are funnier now than when you were alive – you have never really had a sense of humor” Edward snapped, “my question was, what are we going to do about me? How are we going to explain me” Edward sighed, “or am I to never leave the house again? I am really bored, I am not sure I can just stay here indefinitely.”

They moved inside the house past the kitchen, the great hall and into the library finally.  Derek was silent and Edward followed him awaiting his reply.

- “Well?” Edward asked as Derek walked into the room and sat down at his father’s desk.  Edward stood in front of the desk looking at Derek intently.

Derek’s plan of ignoring Edward hoping that he would stop bothering him had not worked, which had annoyed Derek even more.  This plan had worked in the past, where Edward would eventually get bored and go find something else to amuse himself with.  However, now that was very little else to draw his attention away and Derek was stuck having to deal with thing he did not wish to deal with.

Edward waved his hand in front of Derek’s eyes, “Hello? Can you hear me or are you off in your own little world again?” He asked.  Derek looked up at Edward, looking quite annoyed but said nothing.  Edward looked like he was not about to be put off by Derek’s annoyed look, “Derek?”

- “I DO NOT KNOW!!” He finally yelled at Edward, “MUST YOU CONTINUE TO PRESS ME ON THIS? And why must I be the one to decide what YOU should do? Can you not decide that for yourself?”

Edward looked surprised at the response he got from his friend, “Well first of all, you don’t need to yell – I am standing right here” he said, “second” he continued, “you seem to be the one with all the plans – all ‘do this’ and ‘we’re doing that’ and all that crap.  If you don’t want me around then fine – I will go and do my own thing then.  Bye. ”  Edward turned around and started to walk out of the room.

Derek felt first a wave of guilt for letting his temper get the better of him, and second a wave of panic, for he knew that Edward’s judgement was questionable at the most – even in the best of circumstances.

- “Wait, Edward”, Derek stood up and stepped around from behind the large oak desk, “I should not have snapped at you, I apologize.” he said, “I do not wish you to go.”

Edward stopped at the door and turned around to look at his friend, “God you’re moody – you didn’t used to be this bad – what happened to you?”

- “I haven’t been locked in a house with you for this long – ever”

- “What?” Edward looked back in surprise, “You came to visit me many times and stayed much longer than 3 days – I remember you brooding at times but never this bad”

Derek smiled, “I am sorry” he said.  What he really wanted to tell Edward was to go away and stop asking all of these questions that Derek had no answer to yet, but he knew that if he truly wanted Edward to leave him alone, he needed to come up with something else for him to focus on, so he decided against saying anything of the sort to Edward, “I am in a bad mood because I am not looking forward to dealing with my father’s affairs” he said, “I do not even know where to go to present myself at the house of Lords”

- “Well,” Edward replied, “If you would actually ASK someone, instead  just walking around pouting, someone like , say… oh … ME… – maybe I could help you?” He continued, “I am the prince after all – I know where all that palace crap is.” he said

- “You are not the prince anymore.” Derek replied, “they crowned your cousin” Derek said with a smirk.

- “I know,” Edward said, “I even went to the palace to see – it’s like some long lost dutch relative I didn’t even know I had – its crazy” he said, “but it’s for the best, you know I didn’t want to be king anyway”

- “I know”

- “Ok so I can go with you the day after tomorrow to the House of Lords – they will be in session again”

- “How can you go – will they not recognize you?”

- I will go disguised as your servant” Edward replied and as he saw Derek start to smile he quickly corrected himself, “I am not REALLY your servant – it’s just pretend” he said as Derek continued to smile, “No, don’t smile like that – It’s just make believe” Derek started to laugh and walked out of the room, “Wait – no – Derek – why are you smiling – you don’t smile – you never smile – and you REALLY don’t laugh – now you are scaring me – this is just pretend you know that right…”

As they walked down the hall, all that could be heard was Derek’s laughter and Edward’s pleas. Claude who was in the other room had to step out to see for himself what was happening.  He had never heard Derek laugh until now, not since all of the time he had known the boy – he did not believe that it was even  possible.  If he had not seen it with own eyes, he would never have believed that it had actually happened.

—————————————————————————————————-

Edward now seemed to have a purpose which suited Derek just fine. He spent most of the day brooding in his father’s library and Edward was off somewhere doing whatever he did on his spare time which was great so long as he was away from Derek.  He sat in his father’s chair, looking out of the window for most of the night, thinking about what to do.  He began to realize that perhaps it would have been a good idea to pay attention when his father had asked him to. Unfortunately, business and politics rarely interested him and he never imagined that he would have to deal with both at the same time and with both this soon.

He heard Claude walk into the room behind him – and he didn’t bother to turn around and kept looking out of the window – at the carriages that passed by, at the people walking down the street and going about their normal lives – at all of the normal things that people did – things that he had taken for granted for so long – things that he longed for now.

- “You need to feed” he heard Claude say behind him, “it has been almost 5 nights since we have been in the city and you have yet to feed.”

Derek knew this – yet another thing he had been dreading over the last couple of days.   There were no animals to feed on here, unless they rode out of town and that would take a while.  Up until last night it he had not even thought about it – but when he rose tonight, he knew that if he did not find food over the next couple of days, things would become dangerous.

- “I know” he said

- “You need to feed before you go to see the others – you will need to be at your full strength or they will see the weakness within you.” Claude said

Derek closed his eyes, he dreaded this – but he knew that this day would come.  He had decided to stop fighting Claude on all things Kindred and just do what he needed to do to learn how to survive.  He got up from the chair and turned around to face Claude.

- “Very well,” he said, “where do I go – what do I do?”

Claude had braced himself for an argument even before he entered the library.  The response the child presented him now was the last thing he expected to hear and it caught him off-guard.

- “Erm, ok? You mean you will go without argument?” Claude asked.

- “Yes”, Derek said, “do not sound so surprised – I told you I would do what I needed to do and I know I must do this.  So let us do it.”

- “Do what?” Edward said from the doorway, “What are you both going to do?”

- “Feed”, Claude replied turning around to look at Edward who was leaning against the doorway with the same smirk he always had on his face.

- “Great!” Edward said, “I’m hungry – let’s go!”

- “Wait” Derek said, “why are you so happy about this?”

Edward looked at Claude and then turned around to see if anyone was standing behind him – because in his mind Derek couldn’t possibly be asking him that stupid question, “Uhm – who you talking to? Me?”

- “Yes, you” Derek said.

- “You want to know why I am happy not to starve to death since its been almost a week since I ate?” Edward asked as he walked into the room, “Is it me or is that like a dumb question?”

- “It is not a dumb question,” Derek said in an aggravated tone, “you do understand that for us to feed someone else will have to be harmed in the process? Why are you happy about that?”

Edward looked confused and walked up to the two men and looked at Claude, “Did he by chance fall down and hit his head in the way into town? Because I don’t recall him being this much of a whiner.”  Claude smiled and looked at Derek with an eyebrow raised.

- “Derek,” Edward continued, “I do not recall you complaining for the life of the deer, or chicken or cow in the past before you ate their meat? Ok, so we eat people now – its no different – the key, my friend – is to pick those people who deserve to die.” he said proudly with a smile on his face.

- “Deserve to die?” Derek said angrily, “No one deserves to die, Edward – no matter what they did – it is not our place to pass judgment on anyone.”

- “Well good, because we’re not” Edward said, “last I checked, we were eating not putting on magister’s robes and handing down sentences,” he continued, “look you can feel all guilty if you want – but bottom line – its either us or them – either we starve and kill some innocent bystander when the hunger takes over, or we pick who we are going to kill and make sure its at least someone who deserves it in some way.” he looked at Derek in the eye, “you can feel all guilty if you want, Derek – but I won’t.  I didn’t pick this – I didn’t choose to be like this – it happened – it was forced on me – and I refuse to punish myself for the rest of my life for something that is out of my control.  So instead, I will just deal with it and try to do best I can with it.  You can sit here all wracked with guilt if you want – but by the end of the night you will still have an empty belly.”

- “Boys,” Claude said, “if I may” he said as he walked up to the two boys who looked like they were about to start arguing, “no one needs to die.”

Both Edward and Derek looked back at Claude with a puzzled look, “I won’t eat rats” Edward said finally, “so if that is your plan you can forget it.”

- “We can survive on rats?” Derek asked in a hopeful tone.

- “No” Claude said with a chuckle, “no rats” he turned to Derek, “You may be able to survive on rats, but trust me you will need dozens and dozens of rats every night – so if you wish to spend all of your time hunting rats you MAY be able to survive on that alone.”

- “First they are disgusting,” Edward said as he looked at Derek, “trust me, I have eaten rats and its gross and they hardly have any blood at all” he said as he looked back at Claude, “sorry to interrupt but I just saw that ‘Oh I want to eat rats’ look in his eye.” he said pointing to Derek.

- “As I was saying,” Claude continued, “it is possible to feed on humans without killing them,” Claude said, “you just have to be careful and not take too much blood as to cause them to die.” he said.

- “Ok genius – so then what – they bleed to death after?” Edward said sarcastically looking at Claude.

- “Did your sire not teach you how to feed in the city?” Claude asked Edward.

- “First I don’t know what a Sire is, and second, I have been feeding in the city for the last 6 months so I know how to feed here thank you.” Edward said to Claude in an annoyed tone.

- “If you lick the wound once you are done feeding, it will close so long as the human is still alive,” Claude explained.

Both Derek and Edward gasped – although the idea seemed ludicrous to Derek he had decided to stop questioning insane notions until he actually tried them.

- “Lick the wound,” Derek asked, “you are sure this will work?”

- “Wait,” Edward said, “that sounds too stupid to work …”

Claude sighed – the last thing he needed now that Derek was finally being cooperative was to take on another child to question everything he said.  He ignored Edward for a moment and looked back at Derek, “yes it will work,” he said, “you can use your power of the mind to have them come to you, drink a little, then close the wound and make them forget you even did anything.” he said.

- “That sounds simple enough,” Derek said

- “The difficult part will be stopping after a just a little bit so you do not kill them,” Claude said, “I will not lie to you – you may end up killing your prey the first few times, but eventually with practice you can do it.” he said.

- “That is a risk I am willing to take, if it means I will not have to kill every time I feed for the rest of eternity” Derek said, “we must try this tonight then.” he said grinning back at Claude.

- “Wait,” Edward said, “what mind powers?” he asked, “I don’t have any mind powers…” he said looking at Claude and then turned to look at Derek, “and eternity – could you be more dramatic?”

- “You cannot control the thoughts of others?” Derek asked Edward with a puzzled look, “I thought this was something all vampires could do.” he continued, “And I am not being dramatic – you do know we live forever right?”

- “I told you Derek,” Claude interrupted, “Each kindred will have different gifts.  I am sure Edward’s gifts are different than yours,” he said as he looked at Edward, “what have you been able to master so far, Edward?”

- “Yeah, I have gifts,” he said looking annoyed at Derek, “lots of cool things I can do,” Edward said looking back at Claude, “I am fast, I can hear stuff far away and see in complete darkness, and I sometimes can see where things have been or what happened to them when I touch them” he said, “but I didn’t know mind control was part of the whole vampire thing.”

- “The gifts we each have are based on you and your bloodline.” Claude said, “the one who made you,” he continued as he looked at Edward, “did he or she tell you what your bloodline or clan is?”

- “She didn’t tell me anything,” Edward said, “but hey – I can adjust – are you sure this licking thing will work?” he said changing the subject.

- “Yes” Claude said, “quite sure.”

- “So how fast are you?” Derek asked Edward.

Edward looked back at Derek and grinned, “really fast” he said and disappeared from the room before Derek could even reply.  Derek was sure that Edward had moved even faster than even he thought Claude could move.  He looked back at Claude who was grinning back at him, “Impressive,” Claude said, “and he is faster than you – perhaps you can learn from him.”

- “Great”, Derek said with a sigh, “bloody lovely.”

—————————————————————————-

As they debated where to go, they decided that the best place would be one of the higher quality taverns in the city.  Most of the taverns of ill-repute in the city would most likely recognize Edward right off the bat.  Although Claude did not believe this was the best of plans, he did not really see many alternatives if Edward was to come along.

They arrived at the Fleur-de-lis, a Tavern well known as a good meeting place for some of the Nobles in the city when they were not at parties.  As they came in, they asked for a table in the corner, away from the rest of the guests.

- “Great, now what?”, Edward asked.

- “Find your prey,” Claude replied

- “Well shouldn’t we get a room or something in case things go bad? You said it would be bad at the start,” Edward noted.

- “That is probably a good idea,” Claude said, “Derek you should go and request a room.”

Derek got up and spoke to one of the tavern maidens who directed him to a man in the back.  He spoke to this man for a bit and then came back to his table with a key.

- “Alright,” he said, “we have a room – what do we do now?”

Edward looked at Derek, “have you not been to any Inns lately? We go to the room, go upstairs and ask them to send a bar maiden upstairs to bring us ’something’ then we go from there – at least I would assume so? I mean, if this licking thing will work?” he told Derek.

Derek looked at Claude for confirmation.  Suddenly it occurred to him that he was taking advice from Edward – there was something terribly wrong with this picture.  Claude looked back at him in agreement and they all made their way upstairs to the room.  On the way up, Derek stopped and spoke to the man and asked to have his dinner brought up – and the Innkeeper agreed.

The three of them were sitting in this room, trying very hard not to stare at one another.  This entire situation made Derek uncomfortable – right now, the idea of hunting down dozens of rats did not appear that bad.

- “Alright,” Edward said, “who goes first?”

Edward and Derek looked at each other for a moment and then both looked at Claude.  Before Claude could reply, there was a knock on the door.

- “So?” Edward asked in a whisper, “who goes first?”

- “You go first,” Derek whispered back and opened the door.

The bar maiden smiled at bowed at Derek.  She entered the room and put the plate of food on the table for them.  Once she saw the three men in the same room, she looked concerned.

- “My lord, I apologize, they did not tell me you had guests”  she said, “I will bring meals for your guests as well, I am very sorry, My Lord,” she said bowing to Derek.

- “That is alright,” Derek said and looked up at Edward waiting for him to do something, “they are not hungry”  he said.

- “Yes, My Lord” she said and started towards the door.  Derek looked at Edward and motioned for him to do something.  Edward just stood there staring back at Derek wondering what he could possibly do to stop the girl from leaving.

- “Wait,” Edward said and she stopped at the door.  He walked up to her, and took her hand.  She looked back at the three men and gave them a very nervous smile.

- “Would you like me to bring you something, My Lord? ” she asked Edward.

He smiled back at her, and without even thinking, his fangs came out, “you already did” he said.  She looked horrified to see and looked like she was about to scream.  As she opened her mouth to scream, within the blink of an eye, Edward moved behind her and grabbed her putting his hand over her mouth.  She started to cry and struggle against him.  He looked at Derek and Claude, a bit confused, “A little help here?” he asked.

Claude stood up and walked up to him and the girl.  He looked at her and smiled, and as soon as he did, she stopped struggling.  He pulled Edward’s hand away from her mouth as she continued to stare at him.  He gently took her by the arm, and brought her to the bed, “Sit down” he said to her and she did, “good girl, now lay down and close your eyes, my dear” he continued,  and she did.

Edward was stunned at what he saw – he had never seen a vampire do anything like that – not that he had met that many vampires to begin with – but still it was very impressive.

- “Since you cannot dominate, it would probably be a good idea not to scare your prey before you feed” Claude said to Edward.

- “Sorry,” Edward said, “I didn’t mean to do that – it was an accident.”

- “You need to control yourself better” Claude said, “accidents like this would have resulted in you killing your prey if you were alone, which is what I thought we were trying to avoid?”

- “I know,” Edward said, “Like I said, I am sorry – I am not used to this – I have hunted… differently,” he said sounding a bit annoyed, “how long will she stay that way?” he asked Claude.

- “As long as I wish it,” Claude said, “but there is no need to dawdle, so go ahead” he said to Edward.

Edward nodded and sat on the bed next to the girl.  It would be a relief to know that he could feed and not kill someone.  He felt his teeth come out and he bent down at the girl, trying to be gentle.  As he got close, the smell of her blood was intoxicating, and he could feel the hunger taking over.  The struggle for control was so difficult that he backed off for a moment.  He took a deep breath to clear his head and tried again.  He bent down and bit into the girl’s neck.  The taste of her blood was sweet and innocent.  He was used to the very palpable taste of fear in his prey’s blood and immediately he knew that he liked this better – a lot better.  As he began to drink, more and more, the taste drew him in and the rest of the world seem to fall away.  He heard Claude’s voice in the background, telling him to stop, but it seemed so far away, like he was yelling at him across a field in a rainy day.  He could hear something being said, but he could not make out the words.

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, pull him back and jerk him away from the intoxicating blood that was so freely flowing into his mouth.  He turned around to hiss, but the further he got from the girl, the more of himself he was able to recognize and get back.  Claude’s words were finally making sense and he blinked at Claude for a moment and then looked down at the girl.  He saw the small bite marks on her neck, and he was surprised at how little blood was pouring out of the wounds.

- “Is she still alive?” Edward asked Claude.

- “Yes” Claude said, “now seal the wound”

Edward suddenly remembered the licking thing which sounded so stupid to him.  He bent down towards the girl, but the closer he got he once again felt the smell of her blood trying to pull him in.  He pulled back and looked back at Claude, “I cannot” he said under his breath, “I may kill her.”

- “You will not,” Claude said, “Now close the wound before she starts to bleed out onto her gown”

Edward bent down again, steeled his mind and decided to do it fast.  He quickly leaned in licked the wound and pulled back.  He stood up looking at her and there, before his very eyes, he saw the wound close.

- “I’ll be dammed,” he said.

- “Now,” Claude said to Edward, “clean yourself up” he said as he threw a cloth at him.  Edward wiped his mouth down, and his neck.  He looked in the mirror to make sure he didn’t miss anything.  He handed the cloth back to Claude who wiped the girl’s neck down with it as well.

- “Ok now what?” Edward asked.

Claude walked over to the table and knocked the food that she had brought in to the floor.  He then approached the girl, and sat down on the bed next to her.  He gently grabbed her shoulders and whispered something in her ear.  She opened her eyes and slowly sat up on the bed.

- “My dear, are you alright?” He said, “you just fainted.”

- “Oh” she said looking at the three men in the room nervously.  Then she looked to the left and saw the food on the floor and started to blush, “I am so sorry, My Lord, I am not sure what came over me.”  She got up from the bed and tried to quickly run over to the mess on the floor, but lost her footing as she stood up.  Claude grabbed her and helped to steady her.

- “You are still weak child,” he said, “leave that, and have the Innkeeper send someone else up – you are not well, you need to rest” Claude said to her with a smile, “perhaps you have been working too hard.” he said.

She smiled nervously back at him, her face was now bright red with embarrassment, “I am so sorry, sir, truly,” she said, “thank you for your kindness, My Lord”.

- “It’s alright”, Claude said, “I will help you downstairs so you do not fall” he said.

- “No, I am alright, My Lord” she said nervously, “I have inconvenienced you enough for tonight” she said as she tried to pull away.

- “I will not take no for an answer,” he said to her, “wait here, My Lord” he said to Derek, “I shall return shortly, I will just help her downstairs” he said.

Derek did not say anything, he just looked at her and at Claude – the entire situation began to sink in to him and he realized that once he got the hang of things, this would not be so bad.  He would be easily able to do that, and there would be no need to harm anyone.  A wave a relief washed over him.  Soon Claude was out of the room and the door closed again, and Derek sighed with relief.

- “That was bloody brilliant!” Edward said and walked up to Derek with a broad smile, “I guess since I do not have mind tricks, I will have to use my charm instead” he said, “It is a good thing you can dominate – because if you had to rely on your charms you would be in trouble.”

Derek smiled back at Edward.  He was so relived with the whole situation that even Edward’s annoying and sarcastic comments were not about to ruin his enjoyment of this realization.  It took about 10 minutes for Claude to return to the room – he walked in slowly and closed the door behind him.

- “The Innkeeper is sending someone else up, to clean this mess,”  Claude said to Derek, “I hope you have seen enough to understand what you are supposed to do since it is your turn now” .

- “Yes, I believe so.” he said with a smile just when there was a knock on the door.