Liz decided to wear a formal skirt suit. As she examined her clothes in the mirror she began to recount the events of the past seven days. The week had flown past, a whirlwind romance in which her feelings for Jurgen only grew. Under his violent savage façade Jurgen had a bruised but beautiful soul, Laura was right when she had said chivalry wasn’t dead, when he wasn’t trying to kill Liz Jurgen was a perfect gentleman. They had wined and dined every night and spent hours just talking.

Jurgen was also dressed in a formal manner, all be it a more archaic one, he wore sensible trousers, a well fitted white shirt, silken waistcoat and cape. He looked more like the Phantom of the Opera than a werewolf, but Liz decided not to comment.

The hall of the elders was a facetious place. The outer building was a fairly imposing manor in an out of the way part of Essex. The inner building however looked more like an office of local government. There was a queue of grizzled old bikers outside an office marked “Identities”, Jurgen explained every half a century or so a werewolf has to “die” and become another person to avoid suspicion. Suddenly Liz understood why the biggest and hairiest men seemed to be bikers.

The actual meeting room of the elders was a well lit almost mock court rather than the dungeon that Liz had expected and the council members were even more of a shock. One was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her thirties, one was a man who looked younger than she did and the others were an assortment of middle aged men who looked to be more at home in an office than an occult government. Liz and Jurgen were separated and sat in holding cells at different sides of the room. The young looking man stood up to speak, his voice unusually deep for a man his size.

“Jurgen Q Mudveins, you stand accused of breaking the first law of hunting. You failed to make a kill and you deliberately made a vampire aware of the brotherhood, what is worse is that you knowingly took her to a safe house and spent two weeks educating her about intimate brotherhood secrets. How do you plead to the charges?”

“Guilty”

“You admit that you have committed a crime against the brotherhood, due to your seniority in the order you will not be killed. If you have any reason that this vampire should not be destroyed immediately I suggest you put your case forth.”

“Gentlemen and Lady. I am Jurgen Q Mudveins, I have been a soldier in the fight against vampirism for over two centuries, my kills number in the thousands. I have seen much carnage at the hands of these creatures, I have lost friends and I lost my wife. However this young lady stood before you is not evil. She has never even fed on human flesh. I call upon the council to allow myself, the huntress Laura O. and the tailor Philip M. to prove to you that this young lady is an innocent. Many times in the past a young hunter will fall for the charms of a vampiress only to be destroyed, but let’s face it Lady and Gents this little girl couldn’t destroy me if she tried. Allow us to prove she is no threat, rather she is a great opportunity.”

“You mean to research? You know we have hundreds of captives we can experiment on” The portliest member of the council spoke; he was a short, balding man with glasses.

“No my friend. During our history we have constantly strived to create a society of civilised werewolves while eradicating vampires due to their prolific procreation. What I suggest is we now begin to create a society of civilised vampires who do not procreate and who can ergo live in harmony with our society. The longer our battle takes, the more it escalates the more likely we are to be discovered by the populous at large. But if the night races can gather to form a unity council then we can be safe in anonymity.”

“What you suggest is heresy against the brotherhood. Civilising vampires indeed! How dare you!” The younger man stood up and roared. Liz was beginning not to like him, he was small and petty, much like his veiwpoint.

“What say you? Give me the chance to save this innocent. Yay or nay?”

There was much muttering amongst the council members, most of it seemed to be negative. That was until the only female member took to her feet.

“When I was inducted into this order I too was threatened with destruction because I was different. Not because of my species but because I was a woman. I fought long and hard to get to where I am now, I am an elder in the brotherhood. I for one applaud Jurgen’s sentiment and say with the pride: Yay.”

The council was suddenly furiously debating in hushed voices. After much deliberation the final tally was four in favour and Jurgen’s wish was granted.

“Liz Hicks. You are a vampire correct?” The small man began his interrogation of Liz.

“Yes sir” Liz squeaked

“As such it is your natural desire to feed upon human flesh, thus replicating your species. That is the nature of your virus is it not?”

“I suppose so. But I’ve never fed on human flesh, only a cat, some rats and some chickens.”

“The viruses that affects humans to create vampires and werewolves are deadly to all other species, as such that lifestyle is perfectly acceptable under brotherhood law. It is after all how all members of the brotherhood live.” Jurgen interrupted before the small man could say anything.

“Thank you Jurgen. Now if I may continue to question this creature uninterrupted. So you have never procreated?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“What were the circumstances of your rebirth?”

“I was attacked by a vampire in an alley. I woke up in a morgue and had no idea what I was.”

“This is very typical of vampires. Which is precisely why they must all be eliminated” The small man’s eyes lit up as he said this.

“Not so. I’ve never created anyone; all I’ve done is eat small animals, that’s not a crime.”

”Your very SPECIES is a crime” The small man was once again on his feet, relishing in Liz’s torture.

“Settle down councilman. We’re not here to debate her species; we are here to listen to a plea for mercy from an innocent. We’ve heard enough from her; it is obvious she isn’t the typical enchantress vampiress we have had to deal with in the past. Nothing personal dear” The Lady turned to Liz “She is fairly obviously not trained in the arts of manipulation and most definitely not to the degree it would take to trick Jurgen. The court of the elders calls the huntress Laura O.”

Laura was brought in, flanked on either side by a burly security guard but Liz got the feeling Laura could kill them both without breaking a sweat. Laura wore a formal trouser suit, her legs looked amazing and Liz couldn’t help but be a little jealous, but far from her normal state, Laura seemed to be deadly serious and not aroused in the least.

“I am here M’Lady and Gents of the council.” Laura sat behind a desk in front of the elders.

“Laura O. Do you know this vampire?” The small man was talking again, acting as interrogator.

“Yes sir I do. She is Liz Hicks.”

“How do you know her?”

“She was in the company of Jurgen when we first met.”

“So you admit Jurgen introduced you?”

"Not really, it was in the neutral bistro in Kings cross. She was sat a few tables away but not making a very good job of looking like she didn’t know Jurgen."

“Have you had sex with her Laura?” The small man's blunt manner caused mutterings.

“What!?”

“You heard the question, have you and she had intercourse?”

“Well yeah, we have.”

"So she isn’t the innocent Jurgen tries to portray her as? She has already begun fornicating within the Brotherhood, corrupting our members." The small man seemed sure this was his victory and was revelling in it.

“Now come on, that’s hardly fair councilman. If you remember not thirty years ago you and Laura were sexually involved. I’m certain you are aware of Laura’s overt sexuality, frankly I don’t think she could be corrupted any further in that department, no matter how talented this young lady was.” The Lady winked at Laura who blushed. “Furthermore I don’t think bringing the sexual history of a brotherhood member is pertinent to the investigation”

“Yes M’Lady. I shall continue. In your opinion is this creature a threat to the Brotherhood?”

"Hells no. She’s too weak." Laura looked at Liz and mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’

“So you think that this creature in no way poses any kind of threat to the Brotherhood itself or any of it’s members? What brings you to this conclusion?”

“Hours of girl talk honey. Liz and I spent two days conversing about various things. She is not threat to any member of the Brotherhood nor anyone else; she was a vegetarian and doesn’t like to hurt animals let alone people. She’d make a pathetic hunter.”

“So you’re saying she could serve no purpose to the brotherhood?”

“I never said that and you know it. I said she couldn’t be a huntress. She studied Law and is very skilled with computers so she could be a great asset to the brotherhood.”

“This council has heard all it needs to from this witness. Laura you are excused. Bring in Philip the tailor.”

Philip shuffled in, no guards for him, his clothes fashionable yet low key. He sat in the same chair Laura had just vacated. The small man sat down and one of the other members of the council began to speak. He was slim, tall and had a wizened look about him. His voice was raspy.

“Philip, what is your species?”

“Well technically…” Phil stood to speak but was interrupted by the small man.

“The species of Philip is not the issue here.”

“On the contrary councilman his species is very much the issue at hand.”

“I am, technically speaking, a vampire M’Lord.”

“And you are a vampire in the employ of the brotherhood?”

“Yes M’Lord”

“So vampires can coexist with werewolves. How did you come to be in this extraordinary position?”

”Due to some genetic defect I was partially immune to the draculis virus so I did not become a true vampire. I am a ghoul. I suffer from the hyperactive immune system of a vampire and my body is eating itself. Unlike vampires I don’t need human flesh to live; I need vampiric flesh to repair my body with. I found that by hunting vampires I could live, transplanting their organs into my body to replace the ones that have rotted away. I was caught by the brotherhood, by Jurgen himself in fact. He would have killed me but I explained myself and he brought me to the council in the same manner he has brought you Liz.”

“So you’re saying Jurgen has a history of weakness?” The small man’s ears had perked up.

“No. He had the presence of mind to see a useful person, albeit one with an affliction, that could be utilised by the Brotherhood.” Phil was calm, composed and obviously used to the small man’s tactics.

“Have you any reason to believe that Liz is a danger to the brotherhood?”

“No M’Lord, I personally believe that she could be utilised in a manner not to dissimilar to myself. She could be employed to collate records if need be, she could assist the legal department, she could be useful in many areas.”

“Thank you Philip. You may leave.”

“Before the council retires to deliberate we ask that Jurgen answer a few questions.” The portly man spoke and the small man stood ready to ask them. Jurgen stood.

“Jurgen, have you had sex with this creature?” The small man smirked

“No actually I haven’t” Jurgen replied and the small man’s face dropped.

“You mean you are helping this thing and you’ve not even had sexual intercourse?”

”That’s precisely what I mean. Liz is very attractive but I have not had sex with her. She hasn’t offered and I haven’t made a move.” The small man was getting more and more annoyed.

“So why is it you insist that she must be brought into the brotherhood?”

“Because that is the right thing to do. She was an innocent denied her only real chance at a human life, it is wrong to destroy her.” There was a murmuring of agreement in the council, but the small man continued.

“You are a respected hunter. You could have killed her in an instant upon first meeting her. Why did you fail to get the kill?”

“She was pathetically weak and you are right I could have torn her apart without any problems. But I noticed she was weak. It’s fairly normal to talk to prey, in the interest of finding a weakness or lulling them into a false sense of security so I feel it’s perfectly acceptable to inquire as to why an opponent is so weak. She had only been reborn a month beforehand and hadn’t eaten anything for two weeks. The only meal she had eaten before we met was a cat that had the misfortune to be outside the morgue and not fast enough to escape her. I decided it was only right to try and educate her the way the brotherhood did me. To make an unholy creature of the night into a civilised member of society can’t be that hard. It worked on me right?” there was a murmur of agreement and what Liz swore was a giggle amongst the council.

“Very well. We shall now retire to deliberate your fate. We will meet here again tomorrow evening.” The wizened man had spoken before the small man could begin his obviously angry rebuttal.

Jurgen and Liz left the Hall. In the corridor Liz hugged Jurgen, but the moment was ruined when she was torn from him by the same burly guards that had escorted Laura into the court.

“You are to be held here until the verdict is given tomorrow.” One of the guards spoke, he then turned to Jurgen “I’m sorry Jurg but it has to be this way”

“I understand, but let me say one thing. If ANYONE harms her in ANY way I am going to wear your skin. Do I make myself clear Jake?” Jurgen roared. The werewolf stood to attention and saluted sincerely. Liz correctly assumed that this Jake was a protégé of Jurgen’s. He spoke of how Jurgen had trained him and gave his approval to what Jurgen was doing. All of that was of no solice to Liz who cried herself to sleep in a pitch black holding cell.