Slowly he forced himself to sit up upon the rough wooden floor. He couldn�t fall to sleep yet, no matter how weary he was. He had to start a fire first, and feed himself. In the black interior of the building he dug about in his pack for a candle to see his surroundings better. The cottage was a single room, obviously abandoned for years. A thick layer of furry dust coated everything in site, which wasn�t much to start with. A small table sat in what he assumed was the kitchen, one of its legs broken off, tilting it at a rather precarious angle, a small wood stove sat just beyond it. Silently Alexander thanked the gods for seeing fit to give him this one bit of comfort, and set about starting his fire, made from the poor broken table. Soon he had a little warming fire crackling away, casting a touch more light upon his surroundings. Remarkably though the cottage seemed heavily worn, not a drop of rain had made it�s way into the room as yet.<P>
One small patch of flooring just beyond the door showed slight evidence that someone, or something, must have been here in the last month as the dust wasn�t quite as thick there. �How odd,� Alexander murmured out loud to himself, poking about the place. Each and every footstep he took stirred up balls of dust that skittered about his feet, obvious footprints left in their wake. Idly he brushed stray grit from his clothing off upon the floor to join with that which was already taking up residence. Wind whistled through the spaces between the window boards and made the door flop on its hinges, clacking against its frame. �It�s shelter,� he reminded himself, clearing a spot on the floor by the stove and sitting. �It�s indoors and it�s not raining in here, be glad of that.� With a small nod he pulled a loaf of bread out of his pack and set about sating his hunger.<P>
�Blasted rain,� Wyn grumbled as she headed back towards her home. �Always seems the farther that I am from home, the more likely that it is that it�s going to rain on me,� she complained, wiping a faint tinge of blood from the corner of her mouth. She�d gone hunting a good distance from civilization this evening, leaving the body carefully propped against a tree. It had seemed a good idea when she left, but then again she hadn�t been walking through whipping rain at the time. Already she was soaked to the skin, but at least now she was within site of her dear little cottage. Her little cottage that seemed to have light shining out the cracks in the windows. �What the�?� she murmured, pausing for a second. There really shouldn�t be any light coming from there. It must be a trick of the rain. Otherwise, someone was going to have to pay for trespassing on her property.<P>
Quickly and quietly Wyn snuck up around the edge of the house. There was definitely someone inside, she noted with a frown. If there was anything, anything at all that she hated, it was having her privacy invaded. Edward did that. And he was always so good at it. Popping out of the shadows at a moments notice, unseen until he was ready to be seen. Unconsciously Wyn bristled at the idea that he might be the one in her house. He had more class than to leave a light on as a welcome beacon though. That was too easy.<P>
Cautiously she peered through a chink in the boards over the windows. A fire was started in the kitchen, seeming to be made from her own little table unfortunately. Due to the position of the person inside she couldn�t tell what they looked like, only the silhouette gave away that it was male, shoulders to broad to be feminine. Wyn breathed a soft sigh of relief finding that it wasn�t Edward, and made her way around to the front of her home. Just another road weary traveler looking to get out of the rain that happened
to see a light on. Or at least that�s all he needed to know before she snapped his trespassing neck.<P>
Alexander snapped his attention to the door as it creakingly swung open. �Hello?� he asked into the gloom, trying to make out whether or not someone had pushed the door or whether the wind was whipping about again.<P>
�Hello?� Wyn replied, trying to make herself sound as unsuspecting as possible and peering around the edge of the door. The rain had pasted her usually semi-curly almost blood red hair straight down her back, framing her pale face with delicate wisps of damp wannabe curled hair. �I saw a light in the window, and I thought that maybe I could get out of the rain for awhile, get a chance to dry off and warm up,� she said softly, shivering slightly for effect. Though still silhouetted against the fire she could see the man a little better now. He didn�t look like he�d be much of a challenge. Rather delicate actually. �I hope that I didn�t frighten you, I just wanted out of the rain.� Seemingly tentatively she made her way towards the fire, trying not to frown at the fact that her beat up table was popping away in the fire as she walked.<P>
�Oh no, you didn�t frighten me,� Alexander reassured the delicate boned red head that walked towards him and the fire. �I just wasn�t expecting anyone to show up out here in the middle of nowhere. Plus you just never can trust what might be lurking out in the woods anymore. Or at least that�s what they say,� he smiled up at her and spread a cloth out for her to sit upon, so as not to sully her dress on the dust of the floor. Idly he found himself wishing that he had swept up and made the place more presentable for her, though he could never have known that someone else was going to show up.<P>
With a friendly smile Wyn settled down on the cloth that was spread, keeping herself at the ready. All the years of dust that had collected, just brushed aside without a thought. It was going to take forever to make this place look abandoned again. And after she had worked so hard. �What brings you out to these parts?� she asked the young man, taking in his features now illuminated by flame. Large storm grey eyes set in what actually was a rather striking face, well sculpted, all framed by razor straight gold-brown hair. Quite a pretty boy now that she saw him. Maybe she would have to at least toy with him for a while before she killed him. He was a trespasser after all.<P>
�I�ve been on a journey, just the typical fame and fortune thing,� he said with a soft shrug. �It had gotten dark and I didn�t want to have to worry about finding myself becoming wolf chow in the night. Or worse yet, vampire chow,� he said with the half kidding smile that she saw so often on the people who didn�t believe. �So I happened across this house, thought that it was a good place to keep the rain off and the critters out, and I decided to camp down for an evening. What about you, you don�t really seem dressed for the outdoorsy hiking kinda thing.�<P>
Wyn shook out her soaked emerald green satin dress with a smile. �I live around here. I went for a walk, and rather got lost once it got dark. All the sudden it starts raining, I saw the light, and here I am. As rained on as I got I could have just made my way home without it making much difference, but wet cloth gets rather heavy after awhile, makes it hard to keep walking,� she said, putting on a soft little pout. �I just figure that by morning the rain will have stopped and I�ll be able to tell where I am again.� It took everything that she could muster to keep herself from rolling her eyes at having to play the poor little female, but the act seemed to be winning his trust rather well, so all the better.<P>
�Don�t you have anyone at home that�s going to be worrying about you though? A husband or father?� Alexander asked, hunting the darkness of her eyes.<P>
�I live alone,� she replied softly. �Have for awhile now, I guess it�s just one of those things that you get used to after awhile.�<P>
Alexander nodded. �I understand. I think that�s part of the reason I left myself. That and because I didn�t want to become a farmer like my father. The idea of getting to see theworld and actually making a name for myself was just too strong,� briefly his eyes went hazy in thought, picturing far off lands and finding out what really was there when the maps would say �Here There Be Dragons�. �Oh, I�m sorry, I haven�t introduced myself yet. I�m Alexander De Champs, you might be?�<P>
�Wyndolynn,� she replied, holding a hand out for him to kiss. Old habits died so hard.<P>
Cocking his head to the side for a moment, he shook the outstretched hand rather awkwardly. �Are you named after the evil Marquise of Silkivia?�<P>
Wyn raised a curious eyebrow at the mention of her former home, and former titled. �Evil marquise? What this about an evil marquise?�<P>
�Oh, well, about 200 years ago in Silkivia the Marquis De Beaumonchette married this woman, Wyndolynn something-or-another, even though he was almost twice her age at the time. Within the first year of this marriage they had a daughter, who became a duchess I believe, and a little after that all the sudden young men of the duchy started disappearing, never to be heard from again. Being an older time people still had their suspicions, and naturally they were focused on the new Marquise. It was said that she was a great beauty, and that to look upon her was to look upon perfection. Only a scant few paintings remain due to the fact that no artist felt that he could honestly capture her masterpiece on canvas, or that if he could that anyone would believe that he had worked on a subject from life. Hair the colour of fresh blood, eyes like malachite, deep green with black and pale green whorls, skin like milk, and lips like rubies. They thought that she was a vampire within her first 5 years. 30 years later when the marquis died and she looked like the same 18-year-old girl that had first come to the duchy, they really started to suspect. Plus the fact that some of the girls from the village were now turning up dead, and one that survived an attack claimed that it had been a vampire didn�t help much. One night they organized a mob and raided the castle, only to find that the marquise had fled, and was never seen again,� he told her.<P>
Wyn nodded softly, somewhat amazed that she had become legend, even if she was considered �evil� by backwater peasants. �Did you ever get to see one of the paintings?� she asked, rather curious as to where her image still hung.<P>
�No, though I would like to someday. The idea of looking upon someone that just doesn�t seem like they could be real is rather interesting. Even if it is just a painting, he said, sighing lightly.<P>
�Something the matter?� Wyn asked, scooting a little closer, placing a hand lightly upon his leg.<P>
Without noticing Alexander jumped slightly at her touch. �It�s nothing, really. It�s silly. See, when I was in school and I heard these tails I always kinda had it in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe this Wyndolynn did really exist, maybe she really was a vampire, and maybe she was still out there somewhere. I used to lie out in the haystacks behind my house and think about what it would be like to meet this perfect woman that had this touch of evil in her, and what it would feel like to have those fangs teased over my throat in the night. Just the whole romanticism of vampires I guess. I know they aren�t real, that�s probably what makes them so interesting.�<P>
�Sounds like you had yourself a bit of a crush on the marquise,� Wyn said with a smile, shifting slightly closer. She might decide to keep this one around a little longer after all.<P>
Alexander visibly blushed. �A little bit, yeah. But when you think about it really, who wouldn�t? She�s supposed to be this model of what someone should be.�<P>
�So what if she has a little bit of the bloodlust going on,� she said with a sly smile.<P>
Alexander laughed softly. �Yeah. Everyone had some kinda fault after all.�<P>
�What�s your fault Alexander?� she whispered in his ear, by this time so close to him that she could see his heartbeat beneath his skin, the faint pulse of it running through his arms.<P>
�I fell in love with someone that doesn�t exist,� he whispered back, not even noticing the fact that he had spoken. �That�s why I�m here, I just want to find one painting of her, just so that I can see that face that I�ve read about so many times. I just want to try, even if I don�t succeed, I had to try.�<P>
Lightly Wyn touched the side of his face. He really did love her, with all his heart, even if he didn�t know that it was she. To him she was just a legend. Something read about in books under sprawling oaks on warm days, and before fires on the cool ones. A taste of evil for a boy who never could have thought of such a thing on his own. Something he wanted to be real, even though he couldn�t bring himself to honestly think that it was. With a faint sigh Wyn sat back and allowed Alexander to come out of the partial trance that she had put him into. She didn�t know what she was going to do with him now. She just couldn�t kill him, it seemed wrong, but she couldn�t exactly go telling him who she was either, even though for some reason she really wanted to. Maybe it had just been too long since she had someone love her.<P>
�I�m sorry, guess I kinda spaced out there for a second,� Alexander said, shaking his head to clear the fog. �I must be more tired that I thought.�<P>
�You should get some sleep, it�s almost dawn now and I�m sure that you want to use as much daylight as possible tomorrow,� she said with a nod.<P>
�Yeah� � Alexander curled up on his side and looked at her again. �It was nice meeting you though.�<P>
�You as well. Maybe�what would you say to dinner tomorrow? I mean, yeah you�ll have to stay in town another day, but it could be fun.�<P>
Sleepily he smiled. �That would be nice. I think that makes staying here a little longer worth it.�<P>
Wyn smiled and looked to the window, a faint pinkness starting to fill the sky. �Tomorrow then, round 10. Meet me at The Dragon Lair Inn, a friend of mine owns the place, so I know that it�s good.�<P>
Once more he nodded and then fell straight to sleep. Wyn quietly made her way over to the trap door in the floor, not even stirring the dust in her wake, and slipped down into <I>her</i> part of the house, sinking drowsily into the layers upon layers of velvet that lay upon her opulent carved mahogany bed. By the time that Alexander woke in the morning she was long gone. At least so far as he knew.<P>
Hours later Wyn awoke, stretching catlike to work the sleep out of herself. Still she had another 2 hours before she was to meet Alexander at the Inn, 2 hours to fill. Were it not for the fact that she had eaten just the night before, she would go out to feed. Twice in as many days was just too much though, more than she needed. The rain in her dress had dried completely as she slept, making it ever so slightly crunchy feeling when she moved. More than likely she should have slid out of it before she fell to sleep, but by the time that Alexander had dozed off it was a little too close to dawn to think about things like that.<P>
Lighting a few candles she found that he pretty leather boots were well smudged with mud at the base. A typical side effect of tromping through the mud, but annoying nonetheless. Pulling them off, she dropped them by the bed, something to take care of later, and pawed through her raft of dresses for something new to wear, finally settling on a square cut green velvet. Some day she really was going to have to get some more colours in her wardrobe. Everything was one shade of green or another. It just suit her so well though, why tamper with perfection.<P>
The rain had dried in her hair as well, making it spin out in wild looping curls. Not altogether unflattering, just not what she was going for this evening. Grabbing her boots she climbed the staircase to the trapdoor, listening just below it for any sounds that may come from above, as always. Nothing but the ever familiar silence which she was used to. Once topside she once again dropped her boots and headed outside to fetch some water from the well, rinsing her hair out without even noticing that the water was cold as ice.<P>
By the time that she was finally done primping and preening herself she had scarcely half an hour before she was to get to the inn. Silently she chided herself for being so very foppish about this evening, but she couldn�t take herself all that seriously about it. She found herself smiling too much to take herself seriously.<P>
20 minutes later she arrived at the inn, waving to her friend at the bar. Forget what Edward told her about vampires not making friends, she liked having hers. And Jael had never once shunned her for what she was. In fact, she suspected that she wasn�t even the only one that frequented the place. A few of the other patrons were just a little too pretty to be mortal. From the bar Jael gave her a quick once over with a raised eyebrow. Wyn just smirked and took her usual place at one of the corner booths, watching the door for Alexander�s arrival. With a marked amount of shock she realized something. She was nervous.<P>
For the next 15 minutes Wyn watched the door like a hawk, sitting up sharply every time that someone new walked it, each time it being someone else. Idly she toyed with her hair and chewed on her thumbnail, trying to not to look so antsy about the whole thing. It had been so long since she�d actually been nervous, she couldn�t remember how to deal with it.<P>
Finally, or at least seemingly finally, Alexander arrived at the tavern, pale brown hair hanging ever so slightly into his eyes. �So you did make it,� Wyn said with a smile, trying her very best to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. �Have a little trouble finding the place?�<P>
�A little bit, yeah, I�ve never been in this part of the continent. I was kinda hoping to get here a little early, to be honest,� he said with a slight smile. �Find out a little about you from your friend if I could. I don�t know, make sure that you are who you say and all that, never really can be too careful with strangers after all.� Alexander fidgeted slightly in his seat, as nervous as she had been it seemed.<P>
�That is true enough. After all, for all I could know you could be traveling to escape a murder wrap or something equally�evil,� she paused and blinked slowly. �But were that the case I guess that you could have easily offed me when I first walked into the cabin.� <I>Fat chance on that one,</I> she thought to herself.<P>
Alexander laughed right out loud. �Oh, nothing like that, I can assure you. I couldn�t hurt a fly really. It always made me queasy when my father would kill the pigs for the market. Probably cause of the way that they squealed�� he shuddered softly. �One of those things I guess.�<P>
�Quite,� Wyn said with a smile, first to him, and then to Jael who brought her over her usual. �Alexander, this is my friend that I told you about, Jael.�<P>
Alexander jumped up and bowed, which brought quite the amused smile to Jael�s lips. �It�s a pleasure to meet you. I don�t know many people here.�<P>
�Well, I can assure you that you�ll meet a lot of interesting characters around here. Take our Wyn for instance, she�s an interesting one,� Jael said with a smile, which Wyn responded to with a slight nose wrinkle. �Now, can I get you anything?�<P>
Alexander looked briefly at Wyn. �I guess I�ll have an ale for now,� he said with a shrug.<P>
Wyn shook her head slightly. �Now just what kind of dinner is that?� she asked him playfully. �One bowl of stew and a small loaf of bread, if you please Jael dear.�<P>
Jael smiled again, cast a quick eye over Alexander, raised an eyebrow to Wyn, and headed back behind the bar. �Trust me, the food here is excellent. She�s a great cook. And friendly as can be to boot. I�ve known her ever since I got here as well.�<P>
�How long have you been here anyway?� Alexander asked curiously, trying to pick her features out of the gloom in which she shrouded herself.<P>
Wyn thought for a moment. After awhile years started to not mean anything anymore, one became two became 10 became a hundred. �I think it�s been around 2 years now, something like that. Just another aimless wanderer, out in search of fame and fortune.�<P>
�Certainly looks like you�ve made the best of the fortune part,� he said, tossing back a mouthful of the ale that had been set before him.<P>
Wyn laughed. �Well, I guess that one might say that,� she said, smoothing the skirt of her dress slightly. �After awhile what little bit that you have just seems to build up, soon you almost have more than you know what to do with. But if it keeps me off the streets, I say that it�s a good thing.�<P>
Alexander nodded slightly. �I rather wouldn�t mind having that problem myself. As is I don�t know that I�ll even be able to make it on to the next town before I have to start taking odd jobs to fund myself,� slightly his crooked his mouth in dismissal. �But if I want to get things seen and done I don�t really have much of a choice.�<P>
�You could always stay here,� Wyn said, sipping from her long stemmed glass. �It�s a nice place, friendly people, decent jobs to be had by those who are willing to find them. That�s why I stayed. Well, more for the people really.�<P>
In silence he looked at the rim of his glass. �I don�t know really. It seems so soon to stop after all. It�s really been no more than a month since I left home. I�ve not honestly seen anything. Plus I�m kind of on a mission��<P>
Wyn smirked in the shadow. �And just what would this mission be?� she asked as though she didn�t already know.<P>
Once more Alexander fidgeted in his seat, smiling up at Jael when she set his meal before him. �It�s�it�s because of the marquise, and the paintings. I just want to see one,� he said softly, stabbing at his stew with the spoon. �Pretty lame quest if you think about it, but I�ve been thinking about it for years now. One of those things that I�ve just always wanted to do. It�s my version of a religious pilgrimage.� He smirked at the though of comparing the two.<P>
�I understand, there are some things in life that you just have to get done before you die. And for you that thing is to look upon this infamous marquise De Beaumonchette. It�s better than some of the other�s that I�ve heard.�<P>
For the next few hours they chatted about various this and that. Wyn was somewhat amazed by his expertise on herself. Through the course of the conversation she found out that Gwenneth had had several children before she herself had died, and that they had given her great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren before a minor outbreak of the plague had caused their end. So much for assuming that she still had heirs out there somewhere. None of her great or great-great grandchildren had enjoyed the decadence of royalty, an uprising having reclaimed the duchy her daughter had been duchess of a scant few years after her death.<P>
Also over the course of their conversation Alexander found himself getting rather well drunken off of the ale that Jael regularly refilled, as any good barkeep would. By the end of the dinner he was slurring slightly. Not exactly her plan for the evening, but Wyn decided that she could work with it. She rather liked this young man. Thereby, she was going to keep him.<P>
�Alexander?� she asked softly, touching his hand from across the table. He looked up at her, mug still in his other hand. �Would you like to go somewhere?�<P>
Alexander blinked dumbly for a moment before nodding and standing. �Where do you want to go?� he asked, steadying himself on the edge of the table.<P>
Wyn dropped a handful of coins for the meal, watching with slight amusement as his eyes got large, and linked her arm into his. �I think that I know just the place.�<P>
It took her a little longer to get back to her home than she would have liked, but in the state that Alexander was in she could hardly rush him. A flash of recognition sparked across his eyes as they got closer to the cottage, and for a moment he opened his mouth to say something, before thinking better of it and falling silent again. The door squeaked louder than usual, most likely due to the rain soaking that it had taken the night before, when she pushed it open. �I can�t see anything�� he whispered as they entered, leaning against her to speak into her ear.<P>
�Don�t worry, I won�t let you get lost.� Even in the seeming full blackness she could still see as well as if it were twilight, the blessing of keen night vision. Slowly she eased him over to the trapdoor in the floor, imperceptible even in full daylight, and let him carefully down into the room beneath, slipping down behind him. �Sit,� she commanded, pushing him slightly, causing him to topple backwards onto the bed. �I�ll get the light.�<P>
It was incredibly rare anymore that she had anyone down into her private sanctuary, even rarer to have someone that would get to leave again. Having people here left her feeling vulnerable, that someone would know where it was that she slept. But Alexander seemed trustworthy enough. Besides, he loved her, even if he didn�t know it.<P>
�Where are we?� Alexander asked into the darkness, pushing himself up and peering about. Wyn lit a handful of silver tinted tapers, bathing the room in a pale gold glow, and sat near him on the bed.<P>
�This is where I live,� she said plainly. �Where I have lived since I arrived here.�<P>
�But when we were walking up I could have sworn it was the cottage, the one from last night��<P>
Wyn nodded softly. �It is, this is the cellar portion of the house, this is wear I reside. The upstairs portion is really nothing more than a blind to throw people off. They see this house, they don�t think that there might be anything more to it. You didn�t.�<P>
�No�I guess that I didn�t...� he said slowly. She smiled sadly at his attempts to make sense of this simple concept, an effect of the alcohol in his system. �But�if there is a whole house up there, why do you live in the cellar? Why not fix up the upstairs and have the whole house?�<P>
�The cellar is safer for me, during the day.�<P>
�Why?�<P>
�Well, because of the daylight of course. No matter how hard I tried, I don�t believe that I really could block all the light out of the upper portion of this cottage. Besides, I rather like what I have here. It�s quiet, it�s secluded, and best of all it�s well hidden. I really can�t have someone wandering in on my while I am asleep.�<P>
Alexander frowned softly, wrapping his mind around the idea. It didn�t make sense to him to want to keep oneself in the dark all the time, something that she had a terrible habit of, he had noticed. She was always just slightly hidden away in shadow. Last night, at dinner, and now with the candles burning behind her. Like she was hiding something. Hiding�<P>
�You really are quite drunk, aren�t you Alexander?� Wyn asked softly, touching the side of his face. �You don�t quite understand what it is that I try to say without coming flat out and saying it. Do you want me to tell you?�<P>
�Yes,� he said with a pout, upset at himself for not being able to make whatever connection it was that she was trying to make. From now on he would watch his limit.<P>
Taking a deep breath, Wyn steadied herself, and hoped that he would believe her. �Wyndolynn Odette De Beaumonchette, Marquise of Silkivia, widow of Vincent De Beaumonchette, mother of Gwenneth De Beaumonchette, later Duchess Gwenneth La Du Fray. The unchanging beauty. She wasn�t a witch, she wasn�t evil, but she was, and still is, a vampire, turned only a scant few months after her 20th birthday by a beautiful black haired man named Edward Cartiste. She fell in love with him, whole heartedly. He was absolutely breath taking. Eyes darker than a thousand midnights, hair glinting with blue tints from being so so black. He said that she was his masterpiece, and that made her his possession in his eyes. After years of keeping Edward to one side, hiding him away from the rest of the nobility, away from her husband and child, yet yearning for him to return to her whenever he would depart for any length of time, he finally convinced her to poison her husband and take over the kingdom herself. Which, as you know, didn�t work out for her. The people, seeing now that she no longer had the Marquis to watch out for her and keep the rumours at bay, came for her. And Edward saved her.<P>
�They ran for years, moving from one place to another, running away as soon as people began to suspect, playing with the populace as though they were nothing more than a brief amusement before the final kill. But Wyn got tired. She didn�t want to run anymore, she didn�t want to kill for the sake of killing, she didn�t want to return to whatever home they had at the time frothed over with the blood of someone that needn�t have died. She didn�t want to put up with Edward treating her as his property anymore.<P>
�And so, she left. Left him pinned to the floor with the sword of the man that he had killed for their newest home. It broke her heart, but it had to be done, she had to get away.�<P>
Alexander looked at her, head tilted to the side slightly. �How do you know all this?�<P>
�Because I am she. I�m the Marquise. Or, at least I was, nearly 200 years ago.� Wyn looked down at her hands, twisting them nervously.<P>
�You�you�re�� Alexander gaped, pointing at her in his disbelief. �But you said you didn�t know about��<P>
�I never said that I didn�t know about her, I know all about her, I knew more than you did after all. I just wanted to know what rumours still surrounded my name. What people were saying that would make one such as yourself fall in love with just the idea of me,� she said, smiling and leaning into the light for the first time since they has met, letting the candlelight glow fall over her pastel skin and almost unreal looking hair. Letting the light melt into the fathomless depths of her eyes and the years hidden away behind them.<P>
Jaw agape Alexander gasped softly. She fit the description so exactly. Too exactly. Everything that he had read over the years, every fable passed down from person to person, every whispered rumour that he had heard. She fit the description of them all. The unchanging beauty. Trancelike he reached forward a hand, hovering just inches from her impossibly pale cheek. �But you can�t be.�<P>
�Why not?� she asked, nuzzling against the outstretched hand softly.<P>
�She�you, it was all a legend. It was only supposed to be <I>based</I> in fact, not actually factual.�<P>
�Sometimes legends can be surprising like that. Things that never seemed possible are full real,� Wyn paused. �Just like vampires are real.�<P>
Alexander stiffened for a moment and drew back abruptly. �Oh my god�you�re going to kill me now, aren�t you?� he asked, fear brimming in his eyes, poised for flight at a moments notice.<P>
Wyn laughed softly and took his hand in hers. �I�m not going to kill you. Were I going to do that I would have done so last night. You were trespassing on my property after all. Even not being vampiric I would have had full right as a landowner. Well, something like a landowner anyway,� she shrugged. �Actually, I�ve decided that I like you, Alexander. I think that I should keep you around. A companion for the Marquise.� Cautiously, so as not to startle him, she leaned forward and ever so slightly brushed her lips to his. Almost immediately he softened to her, clung to her, pulled her down softly into the silken bedclothes. Wyn felt herself falling in love all over again as she lightly scratched the points of her fangs over his delicate throat.<P>
For once in a long long time, she was happy.<P>
It was barely past dusk the next evening when she awoke to find Alexander seated on the edge of the bed in the dark room, chewing lightly in the edge of his thumb. �Morning,� she said softly. �Or evening rather.�<P>
Alexander jumped slightly and turned about. �Yeah, morning, evening. Um, do you think that we could get some light?�<P>
With a smile Wyn arose and scratched the remnants of the old candles out of the holder before lighting a new set. Briefly she traced a finger down the hardened rivulets of wax the others had left, she really should have made sure to have blown those out before she had fallen to sleep, but the look of it was rather pretty. �Did you sleep alright?� she asked, seating herself at the edge of the bed.<P>
�Fine, thanks. My throat kinda hurts a little though. What happened last night? I remember we went to dinner, and then it just gets kinda fuzzy.�<P>
�You don�t remember anything? At all?�<P>
�Well, I recall something about the Marquise De Beaumonchette, but I�m not clear�. We, um, nothing weird happened last night did it?� he asked in concern, rubbing the slight scratch markings left on the side of his neck.<P>
Wyn sighed and dropped herself backwards on the bed. �No, nothing �weird� happened. I told you the truth and you completely forgot. Remind me to keep you out of pubs from here on out, alright?�<P>
�Okay�. Truth about what?�<P>
�About me, about the Marquise, about the whole thing. About the fact that I�m her, she�s me, we�re a vampire, all that rot.�<P>
Once again at the mention of vampires Alexander tossed himself across the room. �You bit me!� he accused, clutching his neck. �No wonder my throat hurts. Vile night creature. I can�t believe that� What? You�re the Marquise?�<P>
Wyn rolled her eyes and sat up again. �Yeah. The Marquise De Beaumonchette of Silkivia. Don�t make me run through the whole story again, I�ve already told it once. Born, marry, kid, die, kinda, widow, run, here. That�s it.�<P>
�Well, if you�re a vampire, why am I still here? Why didn�t you just drain me and leave me for the wolves?�<P>
�Because, my little hung over friend, I intend to keep you. You love me, or at least the Marquise legend, which is close enough for now, and I like you. Actually a great deal. If I killed you, well, then you wouldn�t be a whole lot of use to me, now would you? But, just so you know, if you turn me over to a hunter or show off to a bunch of people where I live, I will have to kill you. I don�t want to, but that�s just how it goes. A girl has to keep her secrets after all.� Wyn slipped off the bed and walked to him, touching the side of his face slightly and causing him to flinch. �You certainly are jumpy this morning. You really need to relax. I think that you should get something to eat. Does that sound like a good idea?�<P>
Alexander nodded blankly, his whole self rigid with nerves. Wyn shook her head with a laugh, popped up on her toes and kissed him lightly. Alexander whimpered.<P>
After dropping him off safely at the Dragon Lair Inn, and giving Jael orders not to let him have too much to drink, Wyn popped off to feed her own self. She was feeling a little peckish from the events of the last few days, apparently nervousness burned off a lot of energy. It didn�t take her long, wandering the back alleys of town, to run into someone that the place could do without.<P>
�Well now, look what we got ourselves here,� came a voice from behind her, followed but a delightfully repugnant hawk and spit. �Looks like a lost little rich girl. You lost, little richy girl?� the rather hulking ogre looking man asked her as she turned about.<P>
�I�m just out looking for something to eat,� she said honestly, making herself sound more innocent than she could ever be now.<P>
�Seems like you picked the wrong alley to go snacking in to me little lady. Ain�t nothing here for food. But maybe if you just let go of that purse we might let you off without too much fuss,� he said with a smug grin, revealing more than a few missing teeth, and giving her a rather thorough look over. �Maybe a little fuss though.� With that he pushed her sharply up against the wall and pressed his knife to her throat. �Pretty thing like you deserves a bit of a fuss for being out here all alone like this. You don�t scream, and we�ll let you go. Afterwards.�<P>
Wyn smiled. �Gonna make a bit of a fuss, eh? Are you sure that maybe it isn�t you that�s the one that shouldn�t be screaming?� she asked, letting her eyes harden and snapping the man�s arm behind his back, which elicited quite the shriek from him. �Hush now, if I wasn�t allowed to scream, what makes you think that you should be allowed to?� Wyn whispered the last few words into the man�s ear, and buried a sharp pair of fangs deep into the vein of his neck.<P>
He tasted of salt.<P>
�Where did you go?� Alexander asked her when she returned to the Inn.<P>
She settled herself into a seat across from him. �I had an errand to run. Why?�<P>
�You went hunting, didn�t you?� he asked with a frown.<P>
Wyn sighed heavily. �If I didn�t eat, I would start to get tired, once I got too tired and drained I wouldn�t be able to eat. I can�t just die like the rest of you. If I get to the point where I�m unable to eat, I get to spend an eternity in hunger agony hoping that somehow, in some way, I can get someone or something to feed me. That�s not something that I intend to do just now. Don�t worry, he was a robber and a rapist, he deserved to die. He should have died in a much worse way than he did.�<P>
�Did he hurt you?� Alexander asked, concern showing in his eyes.<P>
�It takes a lot more than that to hurt me, darling. He didn�t have a chance to really try. I didn�t let him have that chance.�<P>
He nodded and poked at his plate. �I can�t believe that you�re really a vampire�� he murmured. �I can�t believe that you are her.�<P>
�Believe it. It�s the truth,� she smiled and took his hand. �I love you, Alexander. I honestly do. I know that it�s sudden and impulsive and all, but I do love you. Since we met I have. I want you to stay with me. Stay here, stay in this town. For me.�<P>
Alexander looked at her, into the ageless eyes almost too dark in that pale face. �I will, always.� With a smile he leaned across the table and kissed her.<P>
A few tables down a man in black smiled and left the tavern in silence. His time had finally come.<P>
�Baby,� Wyn whispered softy, snuggling herself into Alexander�s shoulder. It had been almost a week since he had moved into her little basement dwelling. As yet Wyn had taken no more than a handful of nips off of him, not enough to even show any damage really, though every now and then he would ask her to make him one of them, bite just a little harder, take just a little more blood from him, make him like her. He never seemed overly upset when she said no, he was just too young yet. One day when he had a little more age under his belt, after he�d been taken out to see a few kills, then, then she would do it. So that she could keep him forever. �Rise and shine, it�s time to get up.�<P>
Alexander stirred softly and mumbled something unintelligible before rolling over on his side and dozing back off. For a former day dweller he had certainly conformed to the evening schedule rather well. Wyn shook her head lightly and went about getting ready to go out for the evening. She was hungry, again. The curse of vampirism, sometimes a little sip just isn�t enough to quell the empty feeling inside. Next time that she went out she would bring Alexander with her though, let him see what taking another person�s life was really like. Even though she�d been doing it for more than 200 years, it still made her sad. �Alright drowsy, I guess I�ll just go without you then,� she murmured into his ear, kissing the side of his neck before slipping out. �See ya, hon,� Alexander sleepily called after her.<P>
From deep within the shadows outside the house a tall man all dressed in black watched as Wyn stepped out of her home, blood red hair draped lightly over smooth emerald green velvet, her face still bearing the delicate stamp of childhood even after all these years, a wide eyed innocence that always made her so perfect. Lightly the man sighed, gazing in the direction in which she had disappeared for a moment, before turning his attention back to the house. It was odd that she would leave without this �Alexander� fellow, quite a boon for him really. For almost a week he�d been waiting for her to leave her little prize unattended. It was his time now, Edward thought with a smile, slipping into the seeming abandoned house.<P>
With a yawn Alexander awoke to find himself alone, the vague memory of Wyn�s departure in the back of his mind like a half forgotten dream. Languidly he crawled out of bed and into one of the new suits of clothing that Wyn had procured for him, something that he had a feeling that it was best not to wonder to highly about. He was going to have to walk to the tavern alone tonight, something which he hadn�t done since he had moved in. Wyn had always been sure to walk him there, even if she herself was in need of a feeding, just to make sure that he made it. <I>She loves me,</I> he thought to himself as he climbed out the trapdoor in the floor, a small smile on his face. It wasn�t everyday that your absolute goddess fell in love with you.<P>
�So you must be Alex,� a voice hissed out of the darkness at him as he let the door fall shut.<P>
Alexander jumped and spun in the direction that he thought that he heard the voice come from. �Who�s there, who are you?� he called, peering with tragically human night vision into the dark.<P>
�Oh, I�m just an old friend of Wyn�s. Her and I rather had a falling out awhile back, I�m sure that she�s told you all about that by now though,� the voice lilted, almost as though the speaker was smiling. �Why, I find it rather hard to believe that she would have never mentioned me, to be honest. Does the name Edward ring any bells?�<P>
�You,� Alexander said, eyes narrowing slightly. �What are you doing here?�<P>
Edward stepped out of the shadow, making himself more visible, fairly towering over Alexander. �I�m just here to settle a little bit of a score between Wyndolynn and myself. You see, when she left me, and in a rather rude fashion if I say so myself, she took away my love. She was, and is, my love. <b><u>My</b></u> love. And now it seems that she has found herself a love all her own, one that doesn�t have any little thing to do with the man who <b>made</b> her what she is today,� he said, a scowl crossing his face. �So, if she�s going to take my love away from me, I�m just going to have to reply in kind. That�s where you come in.�<P>
Alexander backed up a step, watching the smirk glint over Edward�s face. �I don�t know what it is that you�re planning, but I don�t think that you should bother her or I any more��<P>
�Silly silly boy, so very young,� Edward said, darting out a hand and catching fast a hold of Alexander�s shirtfront. �It�s really NOT that easy. You can�t just banish me away with a few little words. I came here for a reason, and that reason is to get my revenge. And that means, you die.� Edward pulled a narrow blade from seemingly nowhere, letting it glint briefly before Alexander�s terrified eyes. �Now.� Without another word Edward dug the blade deeply through Alexander�s throat, severing it half through. A great font of blood spilled out of the wound and oozed onto the dust-covered floor. Just once Alexander blinked in shock, no longer able to speak with his severed trachea, before his grey eyes clouded over and fell dim.<P>
Edward smiled softly at the boy, watching the blood pool near his feet. It was rather tragic to let so much good blood fall to waste like that, but there was really no way that he was going to take even the smallest taste from one of Wyn�s little playthings. Who knows how she may have tainted him. Ever so faintly he could smell the familiar tang of her blood mixed in with what continued to spill from the lifeless being before him. It made him yearn for her slightly. Without another thought Edward dropped the pale body of Alexander to the floor and departed, taking special care not to muss the dust.<P>
Less than half an hour later Wyn came traipsing through the forest, her mind awash with happy thoughts and an idle sense of peace. She was contentedly full, having �waylaid� a roving bandit that thought that her velvets made her a good target. Another miscreant of the world disposed of, a full belly, a handful of gold coins jangling in her pocket (just because she didn�t need to eat regular food didn�t mean that Alexander didn�t), and a warm snuggly little lad waiting for her. Life was good.<P>
She was less than 100 yards from the cabin before she finally smelled the metallic tang that poured outward from its walls. Like a startled rabbit she froze, sensing the air, taking in everything that she could from it. Blood. Lots and lots and lots of blood. Horribly familiar blood�<P>
Like a dart she flashed into the cabin, stumbling slightly against the doorframe in her haste. �Alexander?� she called in idle hope, casting about the room. Blood soaked deep into the leather of her boots, the puddle still spreading outward, collecting dust and seeping into the cracks between the floorboards. �Oh Alexander�� she whispered, sinking down next to the body, chin quivering softly. �Baby baby�Gods, who did this�� Lightly she cradled the body, the faintest faintest hint of warmth still lingering within its pale frame. Burying her face in his shoulder she cried, long and hard, for yet another lost love.<P>
Hidden away outside the cabin Edward listened to Wyn�s sobs of hurt. A small part of him almost felt pained by it. Almost. But he had warned her; he had warned her that he would get his revenge. She had hurt him and that made it fair. Plus, the boy had barely been worth his time. Some lost little vagrant stray, hardly the noble breeding that someone like Wyn honestly deserved. Edward heaved a sigh and slipped away into the woods once more.<P>
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Wyn cracked her eyes open and glanced about the room. Dusk again, time to go out. With a sigh she crawled out of her bed and made her way over to the mantle of the old house. A pale fine boned skull stood in the center, ringed with red roses, gone the colour of blood with age, and a long carefully made braid of golden brown hair wrapped about its base. Lightly she kissed the hard ivory forehead, running a finger over one of the bleached cheekbones. Sadly she smiled, turned, and left her new house for the evening. She was hungry.
