Written by: Shalynn Webster

Chapter seven: Payback on Mike.

The dress that I was wearing had a multilayered skirt. It had a sequined layer, and a whole lot of other layers, all made of see-through black fabric. There was a lace layer on the bottom that had a rose stitch to it. The shirt part was only one color, black, other than the fact that it was a lacey corset, with a bright, hot pink ribbon tying it together. The heels I was wearing were black and lacy, but it also had a hot pink strap, so I wore them. It was like those heels were specifically made for this dress. I was remembering last night when Adrian bandaged my cut.

"I'm fine. Really. It's just a scratch. There is no need for all of this pre-caution. I'll be fine." I said, trying to convince him that the cut was nothing, and that it didn't even hurt anymore. My words were falling on deaf ears.

"It is an open wound. It could get infected if I don't clean it and put a bandage on it." He counter argued.

"I've gotten cut many times and they never got infected." He suddenly looked up at me with wide, worried eyes. "I'm just saying that not all cuts get infected."

"Well this one could and I don't want you to suffer through pain." He was almost frantic now that the wound was clean, and there was a little more blood coming through it.

"Well I don't feel any pain, but I'm starting to get a headache." He dropped my now fully bandaged leg, and flew up to take my head in his hands. I really meant that all of his worrying was giving me a headache, but I guess he still has yet to enter the 21 century. But that didn't matter, because he had my head in both of his hands, then he leaned down and kissed my forehead. Instantly my growing headache had vanished, and I was left with a really drowsy feeling.

I jumped out of my memory because suddenly someone yelled "Boo!" behind me and I jumped, because it scared me. I turned around and it was Mike.

"Hello, little sheep, how are you feeling this morning?" he said, intensely looking at my neck with black eyes.

"I'm fine, but I am not allowing you to drink my blood right now." I said, shoving him away from me, and walking out my door. He caught up to me in the hallway. He shoved me into the wall furthest away from the staircase, and then he covered my mouth with his hand. I was screaming as hard as I could with his hand over my mouth, and the sound barley crept through. It sounded more like a squeaking sound. Looking like a tiger, his fangs crept ever so slowly to my neck. He bit into my hand first. Then just for that I bit his hand, and then he smacked me, really hard across my face. I had to say that hurt. I have had enough with Mike always wanting to drink my blood. I hated it. So for once, I attacked him. Once he smacked me I ran up and jumped on him. He was obviously taken by surprise. He hadn't expected for me to fight back. I bit into his neck, so hard that his blood came into my mouth. I tasted like the sweetest thing that I have ever drunk; it tasted sweeter than cherry kool-aid. He barely struggled, instead allowing me to drink. Then I let go, and started punching him hard into the face. He flew backwards, and then he crashed into a big glass table. I was so done with being the human chew toy, and Mike was going to pay. He started bleeding all over, and getting madder the more blood that he lost. I was happy though. I was finally able to get revenge with all the blood that I had lost to him. I was fed up, no more being the weak human. I would be the human no vampire wants to mess with. He was bleeding from his forehead now, the blood gushing out like a river would gush out of a 5- inch slit in a rock. I was smiling when Adrian finally ran up the stairs, and was laughing as his jaw dropped with awe as he saw what was happening, and then I was running into his arms as Mike started to get up. I wasn't scared, though, only, I wanted to hug Adrian because I had a sudden impulse to. Aaron had run up behind Adrian, and he was not happy with what he saw. I mean, he was happy that I stood up for myself, but he was not happy when he realized that Mike had attempted to bite me again.

"Won't this teach you that you should calm down on your intake with human blood! You just got beat up by a human girl. You should be really embarrassed." Adrian said, while holding me, pushing me back to the staircase. By the redness in his face (about the same color as the blood on it) Mike was indeed embarrassed.

"I won't be made a laughing stock. You'd better watch your back." Mike said, looking directly at me.

"You try something on me again and I swear I'll make you look worse than a laughing stock." I said with the same tone that he gave me. As I said, I was so done being a human chew toy for vampires like Mike. He won't get any more blood from me unless I offer it, which I won't.

"You little bit-" Mike started to say, but before he could finish, Adrian let go of me, ran up to him, and smacked him upside the face. Mike whirled around, landing face first on the ground. Aaron had curled up next to him. Aaron was whispering to Mike about how he should stop with how often he drank human blood.

Adrian led me down the stairs where we sat next to each other, watching some show called Pretty Little Liars, only because there was nothing else on. It was the end of the show that Mike and Aaron finally came downstairs, they're hair was all messed up, and they're clothes messy and partly undone. No it was not undone, it was ripped. They had gotten into a fight. It was not a bloody fight though, I could see that. That was what all the banging was up there. I knew that one of us four was going to have to go upstairs and clean all that glass.

"Mike, go upstairs with the broom, dust pan, and the mop and clean the mess you made." Adrian said with such authority that I couldn't help but to sink into his side.

"But she is the one who threw me into the crap!" Mike fumed.

"GO CLEAN NOW!" Adrian shouted, scaring me.

Mike when reluctantly to the cleaning closet then mumbled under his breath all the way up the stairs. His face was still red. I was eating a bowl of cereal, and as I was almost finished, when Adrian grabbed my bowl from my hands and headed off into the kitchen. I stared after him until I couldn't see him any longer.

It was now late, almost midnight, and I was so damn tired that I was falling asleep in Adrian's arms. We were watching a scary movie, called A Nightmare on Elm St. (the new one), and I was so scared that I had jumped into Adrian's arms, staying there. I was falling asleep, by the time the person (the main character guy) was stabbed. Then that Freddy character died, and I was fast asleep. Adrian carried me all the way to the upstairs room, my room. The door was now fixed, so I could open and shut it freely. I felt him lay me in my bed, I was in a deep sleep seconds after.

I woke up and felt someone next to me. I whirled around, expecting to be face to face with Mike, but instead, I was face to face with Adrian. He looked cute when he was asleep, almost like a small child. I climbed out of the bed, without disturbing him. I felt a strange comfort with him lying next to me, and there was something in the back of my mind, pushing to be remembered, but it didn't succeed. Instead, it retreaded to the back of my mind. I went downstairs to watch TV and get something to munch on. While watching my now favorite TV show, Ghost Adventures, I heard a loud thud from upstairs, and a small howl of anger. I got up and went to the fridge, thinking nothing of it. I opened the door and grabbed a bottle of juice. I unscrewed the cap and closed the door. I took one big gulp, and then I started to head back into the living room. I turned around, going to the cupboard to get a cup (the bottle of juice still open), when I felt Adrian behind me. I knew it was Adrian because I recognized his smell. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I stayed absolutely still, because I didn't know what he wanted. I turned around, and looked up at his face, his eyes staring at me with a blood red color in them. Uh-oh, he was hungry, and I was the nearest source of food. I dropped the juice and it spilled everywhere. Then I tried to run, but I couldn't because he had me cornered. He started toward me.

Chapter eight: Another Bite.

He grabbed my wrists and pinned them on the nearest wall, both hands at shoulder height. His lock was so strong that I couldn't even struggle against him. Trying to move them was like trying to move a 10 ton boulder with paper clips. I couldn't move my legs because he had them pinned too. I was helpless. I was doomed. He flashed his fangs and leaned into my neck.

"No stop. Please don't." I pleaded/whimpered, as he licked my neck, and before I could brace myself, he bit into it. The pain was like nothing I have ever felt. Then I was washed with a slight wave of comfort, then pleasure, then finally realization and pain. I knew what he was doing, and I couldn't stop him, and my body started to panic as my mind went somewhere else.

I was lying in the grass, a meadow I used to play in when I was a kid. It was so beautiful, I could just cry. There was a slight mist, and had every flower that anyone knows. They were arranged in the most fascinating patterns. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so surreal. There was a waterfall, with the most beautiful blue water ever. It was sparkling in the sun, and it would just fall, licking the rocks as it went. I walked up to it and put my hand in its water. It was cold, yet somehow warm. The green grass was wet and soft. The trees around me were swaying in the breeze, almost dancing. Then I realized that I was not alone. My parents were there, watching me. I walked up to them and they took a step back into the darkness of the forest.

"My darling," my mother's sweet voice said, "You cannot stay here. You must return to the other world. You cannot give up because we need you." I don't know where her voice was coming from, or how it was even here, but I liked it, and I started walking towards the way that they had walked.

"NO! GO BACK!" my father's voice screamed. I wanted to obey him, but since I didn't know how in the heck that I got here, I didn't know how to get back. Then reality sucked me back from the meadow. I was lying on the floor now, apparently starting to breathe again. Adrian was crying, licking my blood off of his fingers, and shaking me violently.

"Shalynn, come on, wake up." He was saying desperately, stroking my hair. My eyes were still closed, so I couldn't see his face. I opened my eyes for a blink, and he freaked. He started hyperventilating, rushing everywhere for something. I felt the bandage come around my neck more than I saw it. Well, I didn't see anything he was doing. I was still trying to go back to the beautiful meadow, but when I did, I would be sucked right back. And the first thing that I would hear when I would be sucked back was Adrian yelling I my ear, "COME ON, BREATHE, SHALYNN BREATHE!" I didn't know what his problem was, and why was it that when I was pulled out of the beautiful meadow, he was yelling at me to breathe? It's not like I was dying or anything. Then he yelled "I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL YOU!" he didn't yell it angrily, more like he was upset with himself.

He got me to stand upright, and I have to admit I did not like it. He got distracted for a second, and I slumped to the floor. I just lay there, wanting to go back to the beautiful meadow, but I couldn't any longer. My blood was now moving again. I could feel my heart pumping what was left of it, my heart pumping at top speed. Adrian held what was left of the bottle of juice, and I drank it like there was no tomorrow. I managed to mutter "Why would you do this?" before I blacked out.

I woke up on his lap; I felt the bandage covering all of my neck. He was on the couch, singing along with the Sweeney Todd movie, my favorite movie. It was at the part where they were singing about Johanna. Both Sweeney and Anthony were singing. I almost started singing myself. My movement caused him to freeze, and turn to me as I opened my eyes. I could now see that he was cradling me; holding my head at his chest, my legs resting on the couch, my butt on the side of his leg. It felt weird, but also strangely nice. I felt that I didn't want him to let go. The movie had been paused, so I said "Play it please." He did, but he started it completely over, and we stayed like that, watching Sweeney Todd, singing along with the actors on screen.

When the movie was over, we went to the kitchen, because I was hungry. He made me chicken and rice. Barbeque chicken with Mexican rice; weird combination, but it was good all the same. I noticed that I was wearing a white cotton nightgown, knee length. It had lace, black lace, around it in a web pattern. Then it had fuzzy feathers at the hem. It had ribbon straps, with bows at my shoulder blades. The bows were black, with a red broken heart pendent in the middle. I didn't know I was wearing it until now. Adrian must have changed me. As if I need any more reason to be creeped the hell out. I nibbled on my food, because I found out the hard way, if I ate too fast, I would become lightheaded and dizzy. Then I would faint, and Adrian would have a fitty meltdown, clutching me, digging his nails into my arm, until I woke up. That happened at least three times. I didn't like the fainting, but what could I do? I was just so hungry. Adrian didn't blame me; but he just kept talking away about nothing, his voice fading into the background until he said,

"So the arcade is finished, do you want to play?" I didn't hear anything about the arcade, I wasn't paying attention until he said, want to play.

"WHAT! DO I WANT TO WHAT?" I yelled, not hearing everything, wondering what he meant.

"Do you want to play in the arcade? It's finished now" he said again.

"Oh, umm… Sure. Where is it?" I asked, getting control of myself the 'want to play' part of his question that scared the hell out of me.

"It's on the first floor, down that hallway, the third door on the right." He directed.

I headed in the direction he told me to go, and when I opened that door, I saw the most awesomest room ever! It had every game I would think an arcade had. It had ping-pong, it had foosball, it had air hockey, it had a whole bunch of Pac Man like games, and it had many shooting zombie games. The colors were pink and green, squares of other colors with flowers on them all around the walls and ceiling. The floor was like an 80's dance floor; it actually light up to, in the most amazing patterns. I headed toward the Resident Evil game first. It had two gun-type objects, where its trigger worked. All you had to do was aim at a zombie on the screen and shoot, and depending on where you aimed, the zombie would either keep coming at you, or die. I made it to level 7, I think, but Adrian died instantly, which he was angry about.

"I'm a vampire. I should be well able to kill something as dumb as zombies. I have more brains than they do! I should be able to kill them! Aren't I better than some old dumb zombie! I mean come on! I can't even kill one in this game!" he was shouting, turning from the game to me, and then back to the game, ect. He did not get the fact that the game was just for fun. So we went to play Pac Man, were the same thing happened. So I decided to play something that was me vs. him. We played air hockey, I was in the lead by three. The score was me:him-6:3. He got so mad, not at me of course, but at the game, because I assisted in him getting the score of 3. He was so intent, that he would hit the puck with all his might, then watch it dance fast all around the board, then getting mad because he didn't defend his goal, as the puck slid right in. I was laughing at his angry look. I was only laughing because I knew that it wasn't for me.

"I quit." He said, finally defeated.

"Aww, I'll let you win this time." I said, wanting to play more.

"No. I want to win on my own." I think he was embarrassed that he got beat by a girl, not beat like Mike, but almost there.

"But…" I started to whine.

"No, now come on, I got something I want to show you."

He led me to another room, and it was a room that made me want to run away. It was so dusty, and so frighteningly white. I couldn't look at it, because it hurt my eyes. I saw a spider, maybe a black widow, so I did not want to go in there. It was all right with him, so I waited in the hall. He came back with a big black box, like those in the movies that held dresses. I opened it and couldn't believe my eyes. It was a ball gown, black, with a white silk fabric underneath; only showing on the right side through a slit in the fabric. The slit had a medium opening at the top, then small and slender as it went to the waist, and after the waist, it opened back up again, making a huge slit in the skirt. All around the slit, from top to bottom, it was beaded with black and white beads. There was a black and white shawl that went with it, black on one side, white on the other. It was all silk, and the skirt got bigger on the bottom. It was the perfect length and the perfect size, but I came to find out, it was the wrong occasion.

"We are going to a vampire ball. Any human is welcome as long as they are escorted by a vampire. There will be snacks for the humans, but I must warn you that some humans are only meant to come to be eaten." He was saying it in an uplifting tone, expecting me to jump up and down saying 'Yes!'

"No." was all I said as I threw the dress back in the box.

"But babe, come on! Please come. The ball is held in Paris." He pleaded, trying to convince me.

I just looked at him, and then I ran all the way up to my room. He didn't follow. I was even further creeped out about the fact that he called me 'babe'. When I was at my room, I slammed my door, and then I put my hand at my head, and started thinking. I went to the window (for a reason I didn't even know) and noticed that it was open. Like really open. So I made a rope with the bed sheets and other fabric items that wouldn't rip, and started climbing down. I made it successfully down without a scratch! I was so happy. But I didn't celebrate just yet. I took off running. Not stopping until I got to a town, and even then I didn't stop. I finally had to stop, when I was at someone's random house. So I went up (again for a reason that I didn't know) I knocked. Guess who answered the door? One of my ex-boyfriends. I was so surprised that I fainted. When I came to, I felt myself being rocked, by someone holding me that was walking. I opened my eyes to see Mason, whom I broke up with a week before Adrian kidnapped me. We had broken up because he had to move and I knew that long distance relationships never work. We were finally in his room. He shook me awake.

"How is it that you're here?" he said in surprise. "And what happened to your neck?" I felt my neck to feel that blood was running through the bandage.

"LISTEN! You have to believe me. I was kidnapped by a vampire," this made him laugh, but once he saw how serious I was, he immediately stood quiet. "He was holding me hostage in his house, but I managed to escape and come here." I looked at the door, because someone was pounding on it. "That may be him! Please run now! I can stall him while you run!" I was frantic now.

"NO!" Mason said, "I'll protect you. You can hide here." Then he picked me up and put me in his closet, he wasn't as strong as Adrian was, but he was pretty ripped. Then he went to open his front door.

"WHERE IS SHE!" I heard Adrian yell.

"I don't know who you're talking about." Mason said.

"I KNOW SHALYNN IS HERE! I CAN SMELL HER BLOOD! GIVE HER BACK!"

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Mason yelled back.

"I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T GIVE HER BACK. JUST HAND HER OVER!"

"SERIOUSLY DUDE! WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Mason was equally as angry as Adrian is.

"YOU KNOW WHO I AM TALKING ABOUT. SHE IS SOMEWHERE IN HERE. I CAN SMELL HER BLOOD. SHE NEEDS ME. NOW GIVE HER BACK!"

"WHO IS HERE? THERE IS NO ONE HERE BUT ME!"

"I'M SERIOUS 'DUDE' GIVE HER BACK AND YOU CAN STILL WALK ALIVE OUT OF HERE." Adrian was mad as hell now. Mason was in serious trouble, and only I and Adrian knew what Adrian could do.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU'D BETTER GET OUT OF MY HOUSE OR I AM GOING TO CALL THE COPS. THEY'LL ARREST YOU FOR TRESPASSING!"

"I KNOW YOU TOOK HER! I SMELLED HER BLOOD, AND TRACED IT BACK HERE! SO YOU'D BETTER GIVE HER BACK TO ME OR I'LL KILL YOU! SHE WANTS ME NOT YOU! YOU GUYS BROKE UP A LONG TIME AGO! NOW GIVER HER BACK TO ME!" Okay, with that statement that Adrian made, I learned two things: (1) Adrian thought that Mason had kidnapped me from him, and (2) Adrian was a jealous kind of guy. That (for a reason I don't quite know) made me smile. My smile immediately faded once I heard crashing, grunting, and breaking glass. Then I heard a loud scream, and someone moaning loudly, and then it softly faded.

Second later, Adrian threw the closet open and a sudden bust of light spilled over my face. I blinked, making myself look scared, and whimpered. Perfect cover-up by Mason, stashing me in his closet to make it look like I was kidnapped once again. I looked into Adrian's eyes, and again something in the back of my mind tried to push its way into my memory. I was trying to push it back, or make it push forward, but it just faded to the back of my mind.

He was looking at me with dazzling eyes, and I melted. He lifted me, comfortably, into his hands, softly stroking my hair.

"Shhh… I got you now. That ex-boyfriend," he snarled the word, "won't ever hurt you again. I took care of him. He won't bother you ever again." Oh no! What did he do to Mason! He carried me to the living room, and that was where I saw Mason's dead body. His eyes were open wide with terror, and he was all curled up like a pretzel. There were two puncture wounds on his neck, plus there was a big shard of glass sticking out of his abdomen; and they were still oozing blood. I yelped, and started crying. I cried because in a way, I still loved him. Now I was here, in a vampire's arms, staring at his dead body. Adrian must have thought that I was crying because he "saved" me.

"Shhh… it's okay, I got you now. You don't need to cry. I'm here now, I got you." Adrian was talking to me like I was a baby. Like a crying little baby. It made me feel like one. I quieted instantly.

"Why did you come for me?" I asked, still quiet.

"Because I came into your room for something, and I noticed that you were gone. Plus I also sensed that you were in trouble. So I came to rescue you. All I had to do was follow the scent of your blood." He simply explained. "Now be quiet, and go to sleep. You feel exhausted, I know. I could feel your feelings now." Funny that he should say that, because now I could feel his as well. I didn't want to go to sleep, I wanted to stay wake, and to know where the house's location is. "I know that you want to stay awake, but I'm not asking, I'm telling you to go to sleep!" Then I was filled with a sudden icky feeling, and my mind became blank. Then I threw up right on his chest and shoes. "EWWW!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry! But your walk is not helping me! It's making me sick!" I yelled, desperate for the nausea to stop. I was whimpering for him to put me down. Finally he obeyed me and set me by some trees, so that my face was on some wet leaves. That felt better. Then he ran away, fast, and was back in a few minutes. He was completely dressed, in different clothing, with a shiny new pair of shoes. They looked like old timer's shoes. Shoes men would wear in the 1900s. They were really old, but they had a unique design, like rich 1900s men's shoes. Maybe they were.

"I can't believe you threw up on me." He was muttering.

"I couldn't help it, you were making me nauseated." I defended. Although, it probably just sounded like I squealed. I almost died, died of laughter of how pathetic I may have sounded. Adrian took it the wrong way.

"Why are you laughing at me! It is not funny! It was so gross!" Now he sounded like a mix between a girl and a guy. I was laughing harder at the situation. Well it was good that I felt better enough to laugh anyway. Adrian calmed down, and loosened up to laugh too. And we were there, just laughing for about a few minutes. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, and I could say the same with Adrian, if he did need to breathe.

Later, when dark had fallen, we finally stopped laughing, and Adrian picked me up, and carried my sleeping, exhausted body home. I woke up at the kitchen table, and right in front of me was a big plate of turkey and mashed potatoes with brown gravy. It tasted like Christmas, except for the biscuits and the cranberry sauce. When the meal was done, he went to get the dessert that Adrian had made us. As he set my plate down he whispered "Merry Christmas." Could it be Christmas already! Adrian ran out of the room and brought back in a beautiful present. Inside it was a pair of earrings with a matching necklace and bracelet. It was all diamonds, with ruby roses. It was so beautiful I cried. I couldn't believe that he could get me such a beautiful gift, and I didn't get him anything. "You give me everything just by being here. I don't need a present from you." He said. Can he read my mind now! How could he? I didn't know that he could. That is not fair. Why should he be able to read my mind when I can't even have a possibility to enter his? "I can't read minds, if that is what you are thinking. I didn't have to anyway. Your thoughts came across your face." Now I remember, only a vampire that has a magical "gift" can do whatever they want. Only they could read minds, and so far, there was only one in existence that I know of. He was the one that my dad always visited. I don't know his name because my dad never told it to me. No matter how much I asked. He never spoke a word after he came home for days, only talking to mom about a man; maybe several men.

It was the day after Christmas now, and I had made my decision about that vampire ball: I would go, but only just to show off my fabulous new dress and accessories.

"Adrian…" I said that day, when we were on the couch watching TV.

"Yes Shalynn?" he asked cautiously.

"I have made my decision." I said defiantly.

"About what, exactly?" he asked, now guarded.

"I have decided that I will go to that vampire ball you were talking about. BUT only because I won't have another opportunity to wear the things that you gave me." I said in a rush.

"You will! Oh, this will be so exciting and fun. You'll just love it. It's got drinks, and, and, and, food, and, and, and, dancing. You'll have a lot of fun. I just know it!" Adrian was stammering, surprised.

"But only to wear the things that you gave me." I said again.

"Of course." He said with great excitement.

We started to pack, because we were going to go to Paris a week earlier than the ball, to miss the traffic of travelers. It was going to be great. Only I didn't get to pack my own things. Adrian packed them for me. He packed them so fast, that we could have left to catch the plane now. So that was what we did.

Chapter Nine: Paris.

The airport was crowded; I lost Adrian 18 times throughout the hour that we were there. What was worse was that I had to go to the bathroom, and every woman's bathroom was full with a 20 person waiting line, so I decided to go while I was finally on the plane. I took about 30 minutes to get the tickets (round trip of course. Adrian paid full in cash. I wonder where he got it from.), then it took another 10 minutes to find the plane terminal. Once we were finally allowed onto the plane, with passports, one gotten for me when he bought me the dress, and an "updated" on for him. They had out pictures and everything. We had to stay in our seats for a while, while everyone else was getting on the plane; which was nice, because what I didn't know was that he bought us first class ticket while he gave me an iPad to play with while I waited. I had taken many funny pictures with a photo booth app that was already put on to the thing. So I was sitting there, with a blanket on my lap and the iPad on it, just playing solitaire.

The captain signaled for us to buckle our seatbelts, and I had to have Adrian help with mine because I was all tangled up with the blanket. Then we took off. The plane looked ordinary, but some of the windows were tinted out; and the outside of the plane, I saw, was black. It was not like other planes. I got up to go to the bathroom when the captain signaled that we could walk around the plane. The bathroom was not small like a normal plane's bathroom, but I wouldn't know because this is the first plane that I have been on. It was abnormally large; larger than the movies make it out to be. There was no mirror, but there was a small cupboard in the corner. I opened it up to reveal tiny vials of red liquid inside it. I suppressed a scream. I ran out of the room to Adrian, who I could now see was face first on the ground. And on top of him was a black guy vampire. He was large, dark haired, and muscular. He had to have been at least 180 pounds, if not more. His fangs were barred, and there was the word ENFORCER written across his neck. He even wore the leather trench coat that the legends tell. I only heard about them because my dad told me stories when I was a little girl, "Don't worry," he would say, "The ENFORCERs don't exist." Then he would hug me until I fell asleep in his arms. I knew only now that the ENFORCERs weren't myth. They were very real.

A Caucasian male grabbed me from behind, and then turned to the black guy and asked "What should I do with this delicious female human boss?" he licked my face.

"We bring her with us, along with her escort." He said escort like there was no feeling at all. It was just business. This perverted vampire was still licking me, on my cheek, ears, and neck, then he kissed my shoulder blade. I've had enough, I thought, time for this guy to get off of me. I was glad now that I was a black belt in karate. I grabbed the guy behind me and flipped him over my shoulder, and made him land hard on his back. I heard a crack, and the ENFORCER faded to dust. I looked now that a single ring had pierced his back, and must have hit his kill spot. I could see the pissed off look in the black guys face.

"GET HER!" he yelled, still holding down a struggling Adrian, I turned and ran. There was another ENFORCER blocking my way of getting out of first class. Damn, now I'm going to have to fight a whole bunch of people. I turned around, and everyone on the plane (in first class) was standing behind me, poised to attack. Oh great. This was going to be fun.

I crouched down one knee, and then I sprung up at the closest vampire to me. She was a girl, about my age, and she was blond with blue eyes, her hair fell around her face in thin little waves, the strands curled. She was trying to get herself on top of me, but instead I climbed on top of her. Then I punched her in the stomach, and she puffed into dust. Wow, I thought, I thought that this was going to be harder. I karate chopped the next guy in the neck, and he didn't puff into smoke, but he still went down, knocked out. Other ENFORCERS were trying to make their way through the other vampires, but the other vampires wouldn't let them, because they all wanted to be the one to take me down. I smiled. I was now in a blur of movements, kicking and punching while cart wheeling through the crowd, taking out vampires left and right. About ten had evaporated to smoke by the time that I was at the other end of the aisle. I laughed. The black ENFORCER still had Adrian pinned down by the throat, and he was still yelling out commands, commands to anyone that was in hearing range.

There were about twenty more vampires, minus the fifteen ENFORCERS, and they were all looking at me. Their rages clear as day on their faces. They were not going to let me go easily; that I was sure of. And since we were on a plane, we couldn't escape until all of the vampires were either dead, or we make a run for it when we land. Oh great. I didn't get to fight though, because I felt someone behind me, and acting faster than I was, put his hand on my neck, then I felt a sudden pin-prick, and everything went black.

I woke up in a strange place. I was on a bed of gold satin, with four metal bedposts, with gold and black flowers on them; real flowers. Somehow, I was in a gold and black ball gown, kind of like Belle's in that movie Beauty and the Beast. Except that the gown was mostly black, with gold sashes and ribbons. I had on black heels, made of black felt fabric, and they fit exactly to my feet. I rolled out of the bed, and stood up. In the room I was in, there were no windows, just one door. It was bigger than my room at Adrian's mansion, and it had a closet the same size as my room at Adrian's house. There was nothing but ball gowns and other fancy clothing inside. There was fancy diamond jewelry to go with every dress, shoes to go with every dress, and there were even purses and tiaras to go with every dress. The clothes were all dresses of all shapes, colors, and lengths; and they were all exactly fitted to be my size. Where am I? I asked myself. I went and opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

I saw that I was in a facility with metal walls, no other windows, and lots of guards all around. One guard said to me, "didst thee enjoy thy slumber?" I looked at him, and was like WHAT DID HE SAY? I couldn't understand so I asked,

"What did you say?" he seemed puzzled, like he couldn't understand the words that were coming out of my mouth. Maybe he hadn't even been out since the Shakespearian times.

"Didst thee enjoy thy slumber?" he asked again, in an English accent. I know hated that I didn't pay attention to the Shakespeare unit that we had last year in school. I now wish I had paid attention. For now I needed the information now. All I could think of that he was asking if I "thee" liked my sleep. What? I think that was what he said.

"Yes. Yes I did." Was all I could think of to say.

"Hark, the master doth approach." He said, and then scurried off. I have absolutely no clue as to what he said, when my father walked right up to me and laughed. Only it wasn't my father, I could tell. He wasn't limping on his right leg when he walks like my father does. He also didn't have a pink line going through his forehead like my father has. So it could only mean that this was my father's twin, the one that he told me little about. Pyrrhos, I think his name was. He was staring down at me like I was a piece of meat that he was sizing up. Or maybe he was just looking at the veins in my body. My heart started beating fast.

"Daughter of my brother, welcome to my lair. How do you like it? I tried to make it good, to impress you." He said, his words rolling off of his tongue.

"Where is Adrian?" I asked with a hard edge in my tone.

"He is where he should be." Pyrrhos said. I noticed that he was speaking in modern English, and that he had a French accent. I still could understand him though. "So, Daughter of my brother, would you like to join me for dinner? We are having meatloaf, I heart that it was your favorite."

"No, I want to see Adrian, now." I said, with the same tone of voice.

This enraged him, and he slapped me hard across the cheek with the back of his hand. I tasted blood in my mouth. I swear that there was a red mark on my cheek now. He was going to pay for that, but maybe later, when he least expects it.

"Why would you want to see him when I'm standing in front of you? Really, I am better company than he ever could be. Why would you want that nuisance, all he ever does is get in the way." His words were like chocolate, sweet, melted, chocolate. I snapped out of the hypnotization that he tried to pull on me. Wait; if he could hypnotize me, then he must be a person with special abilities. He had power beyond anyone else. And not just power, but Power. He could do anything he wanted. He was even glowing a little.

"He is not a nuisance, he is…he is…" I couldn't think of a word, I was searching hard in my brain for something good that he did either for me, or with me. All I could think of was protector.

"He is my protector." I said, nodding my head to the sound of the word.

"Well he is a big inconvenience to me. I can say that I don't like him. I can't have my future queen frolicking around with another boy. Au revoir, Shalynn, I will see you soon." Then he called for a guard, waiting until the guard came, "Take Shalynn back to her room so that she may freshen up for dinner later. Oh and make sure she…." I couldn't hear the last of that sentence because he had bent down and whispered it into the guard's ear. "Now go!" he commanded the guard, and then walked in the direction that he had come from. The guard grabbed me on my arm, and I smacked him and yelled at him not to touch me ever again. I told him I would kill him if he did. He didn't though, as he led me to the room that I woke up in. When I was inside he closed the door behind him and locked it. Oh great, not again.

There was nothing to do but lay on the bed, so that was what I did, and then slowly I drifted off to sleep. And when I slept, I had a dream, but it wasn't just a dream, it was a memory.

"Daddy, Daddy! Mommy, Daddies home!" I was yelling, excited, I was five years old, and my dad had just came back from visiting somewhere, that I couldn't remember. We were in the library at our house, what my dad called his office, but I was welcome to go in anytime.

"Sweetheart! I missed you so much!" he exclaimed while I had jumped into his arms and hugged me, in just a right grip so that he wouldn't hurt me.

"Hey daddy, mommy was telling me all about the Council while you were gone." I proudly told him.

"She did, did she?" he asked curious.

"Yep, she said that it was in another country. The country is called Pants. Boris, Pants is the city that the Council is located in." I said.

"It's called Paris, France, sweetheart." He giggled, informing me. "Did she tell you where the headquarters are located?" he asked.

"Yep, it's under the Eiffel Tower." I said, giggling at his giggle.

"Very good, She taught you well." He said.

"It's even got more than one thousand dungeons and one hundred pain giving devices. Even a special device that tells where a vampire's kill spot is, so the Council will know where to kill that vampire's loved one. The Council doesn't kill the vampire that broke the law, but the vampire's loved one weather they may be human or vampire."

"Cool, so you know all about the Council. And once you are a vampire, what are you going to do?" he asked, expecting an answer that only him and I knew.

"TAKE THEM DOWN!" I yelled.

"That's my girl!" he exclaimed, swinging me around in the air. He picked me up and spun me around, while I was laughing.

"Shalynn, wake up." Someone said, "Shalynn, wake up please." The same voice said, closer. I thought it was Adrian, so I rolled around toward the voice. I opened my eyes gently, only to be shocked awake by Pyrrhos. I screamed and jumped away. "Come down to dinner, it's ready to eat now." He commanded.

"Will Adrian be there?" I asked.

"No, now come down or I will kill him, I will kill him slowly and painfully." He said.

I knew that he was talking smack, but I also didn't know what this man was capable of doing, so, because I loved Adrian, I went down to dinner with Pyrrhos.