A shadow moved across the front lawn, very obviously a guard, as Alexandrea glanced out one of the large windows she passed. The dark was comforting to the youngest princess as it was the only time she could leave the manor without being harmed. She sighed, bored, as her footsteps echoed down the hall. Seeming to go on forever.

She made her way down the staircase slowly, many of the other coven members stopping their conveersations to look at the younger princess. Alexandrea knew they would continue their conversations once she was out of sight and thus didn't care about their stares. Her bangs were beginning to fall in her eyes so she brought up a pale hand to brush them back to the side, revealing her pale blue eyes that stared calmly at her destination. The large front doors; which would mean outside. Away from the vampires who preferred to be in cramped and close quarters both day and night. Something Alexandrea absolutely hated.

The doors opened before her and she made her escape outside that, even for the short time she could be outside, she enjoyed immensely. The heavy doors closed behind her with almost a sound of finality, Alexandrea felt an amused smile creep onto her lips as she thought of this.. and considered her appearance. To someone who didn't know her she would appear as a regular human, albeit with lighter skin and bluer eyes than humanly possible to have. Her long, layered black hair and choppy bangs swept to the side made her appear even more pale. At this very moment as she walked the inside of the high fences, she wore a dress more befitting of a party than a regular day, or night, at home - from a human's point of view anyway. Her strapless corset dress was royal blue and hugged her body gently, falling from her hips in little creases to a full length skirt. It had a slightly darker shade of blue to trim the corset and hem of the dress. She also had a transparent black shawl wrapped around her back to keep at least one form of protection from the elements. At Ordoghaz Manor, this was what most of the vampires wore regularly and so was quite normal for any to see if they walked the halls.

Alexandrea allowed her long dress to trail behind her on the grass, not caring that it could stain it. After all, the Bathory's were the royals of the vampires and could afford as many expensive dresses or manors as they so wished. Besides, it would give her older sister, Arlena, another reason to take her shopping. Even though they had just gone the other evening.

The teenager gave a soft sigh as her smile disappeared, her thoughts finally allowed to present themselves to her. Thoughts about the lycans. The war between both their races. How she wished the idiocy would end. But it wouldn't, she knew, not for some time at least, if it ever did end at all. Her hand came up to her chest, grasping the pentagram pendant she always wore on the chain at her neck. She held this for a moment before she calmly dropped her hand back to her side. Alexandrea glanced down with at her dress, her sharp eyesight catching the small beginnings of stains. She ignored them as she knew Arlena wouldn't mind another shopping trip so soon after the last, and continued her small walk.

She brought a hand up and let it slide over the fence as she walked, feeling bits of some of the metal bite into her hand. Her expression stayed calm, almost melancholic through this, even as she felt her hand begin to bleed.

" War.." She shook her head, " How stupid are we?"

"I can't believe my father ordered me to watch the Manor..." Ibram growls to himself as he puts the binoculars down from his eyes. "Nothing exciting ever happens anyways, so what's the point? I mean, this whole damn war has no point at all, no-one can even remember the reason why it began in the first place." He sighs, and puts the binoculars back to his eyes. He scans the Guard movement, than the blue dress catches his eye. He turns, and sees Alexandra. "Oh my...." the binoculars go back to his chest. "Who is that gorgeous girl?" he looks back at her with the binoculars "She's probably a Vampire, and a royal if anything." he sighs "Damn this war, keeping someone like me and her away from each-other..." He thinks to himself, and than pushes the thought away "No, I couldn't possibly get inside..." he thinks again "Well, I've done stupider things for girls before, so..." he drops from the tree he was sitting on without the binoculars, and heads towards the wall, knowing the exact time when he wouldn't be seen by the guards as they make their routes. "okay, wait for it..." he calms himself, waiting for the immediate moment. As soon as they both leave, he runs for the gate, and makes it over. "Well, it got my hand, but i'll live." he muses at his own abilities. "now, to meet this beautiful girl." He pants as he looks up at the moon. "Maybe I should turn back..." he says to himself, than freezes as he senses someone behind him.

Alexandrea slowed her footsteps, suddenly sensing eyes on her. She calmly glanced up at a pair of guards and realized it wasn't them. The eyes, she knew, were coming from outside the safety of the walls that kept her caged in like an animal in a zoo. She moves her lips, murmuring softly to herself as she feels anxiety grow in her but manages to keep her expression as calm as ever.

Lycans.

She takes her hand away from the wall and flexes it, holding it away so she doesn't get blood on her. She stares down at the wound as the gushing slowly turns to a trickle of red blood and finally the cut closes. She bends slightly to wipe her hand on the grass and straightens quickly, just as she catches the sound of footsteps. Footsteps that belong someone that she couldn't see right now. Not a guard. Not a vampire.

She turned to face the direction they came from, behind her a little and to the side.. The other side of the wall. She heard the barely audible noise of something contacting the metal fence and then a slight thump of feet hitting the ground. The teenager's transformation was quick. Her eyes stayed the same, her usual ice blue, but her fangs became longer as she used her vampire speed to move behind the intruder. It was a male, she noticed easily from behind him. It was discernable from his build and his height.

He looked at the moon for a moment and spoke to himself quietly. "Maybe I should turn back..." Then he froze, as though he only realized that Alexandrea was there behind him.

The girl calmly stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself with her usual calm expression on her face but her eyes seeming amused and interested. " Perhaps, that is the best course of action you could take.. Before a guard comes and finds you, which would mean your death.. Lycan." At this regret seemed to flash in her eyes, another unecessary death. And a lycan at that. she could smell the difference on him, it was very intriguing to know that there was a real lycan standing in front of her. One who was still living, breathing, and possibly going to be killed if he didn't leave.

Gaunt slowly backs up, until his back is nearly hitting the spiked wall.

"This isn't going to end well for me, I can feel it..."

he says realizing he did the stupidest thing he has ever done, just to meet a girl who is probably about to kill him.
"Please, I don't want any trouble ma'am, I just wanted to meet the cute girl in blue, that's all."
he says, looking down at his feet, blushing a bit as he realizes that she is the girl in blue he was referring to.
"Oh! forgive me. I forgot my manners."
He facepalms himself, thinking of the info they've gathered on the Vampire royal family, that just might save his life right now.
"My name is Ibram Gaunt, prince of the Lycans and a closet supporter of peace between Lycans and Vampires."
he bows before the girl, trying to be the perfect gentleman and a semi-attractive young male
"And judging by your age and clothes, you must be Alexandra Barthory, the other Royal against the war?"
he says, hoping that she is who he believes, and only that could keep him alive.
"And must I say, you look lovely this evening."
He says nicely, trying just to survive until tomorrow, than maybe coming back if she's okay with him.

Alexandrea's calm blue eyes stared at him as the Lycan in front of her called her 'cute'. 'The cute girl in blue'. Well, that was flattering, she supposed as she smiled at him. Then he introduced himself, surprising her with the knowledge of who he was. Ibram Gaunt, the prince of the Lycans. And apparently he supported the peace between the Lycans and Vampires. So, he disliked this war as well..?

She considered this as he bowed to her and she curtseyed in return. It worked quite well as she didn't need to fake wearing a dress after all. She kept her eyes on him and her gaze sharpened as he mention knowing who she was. She almost wanted to laugh at his pronounciation of her name. Almost, not quite.

" It's Alex-ann-drey-ah." She said soflty as she came out of her curtsey and stood straight again. This statement alone telling him that she was, indeed, the Vampire Royal against the entire war. " Alexandrea Bathory." This man seemed interesting enough, safe enough to tell him who she was. He did know already so what was the harm? She didn't see anything wrong with it.

Alexandrea then heard a soft footfall and grabbed the Lycan's wrist in her hand before she pulled him toward her. She carefully stepped back into the shadows, wary of her dress, where the guards wouldn't see him if they dared to look. She released him immediately after ensuring he was completely hidden in the darkness.

" Why are you here?" She asked calmly, feeling anxious and slightly worried. " If you have lied to me and are here to kill.."

"Umm, well I..." Gaunt begins, blushing while also trying not to look at Alexandrea's breasts. "My father, the King of the Lycans, ordered me to go watch this place, as he has for the last week. So I come out here, and I see you..." he looks down again in embarrasment "In one of my more stupid moves, i decided to try to talk to you, and so here I am." he says. "That's the entire story in a nutshell." he shrugs, his hazel eyes looking into her blue ones, and there was that moment of complete, yet illegal, bliss that happens when someone falls in love.

She raised an eyebrow as she notied his internal struggle, she was pretty good at reading people, but didn't mention it. She kept her eyes on him and, when he looked back up, her pale blue eyes met his hazel.

" Your father ordered you to watch us.." Alexandrea restated calmly, her eyes becoming thoughtful. " I see.." She shrugged and her one hand went down to pull her skirt out of the wet grass that seemed to have a puddle in it. " It's understandable." The girl murmured. " As Vampires and Lycans are at war with each other.. And he is completely against peace between us." She knew this much. It wasn't only her sister and the rest of her family.. It was the Lycan king too.

She seemed to feel something inside her stir but, being Alexandrea; the princess that doubled as a Death Dealer, she immediately shut it off from the rest of her and maintain her calm facade.

" So you watch us.. What else?" She asked slowly, concentrating on her slow regular breathing instead of the man before her.

"I just despise this war and everything it stands for, what's the point of fighting a conflict if you don't even know why it started in the first place?" Gaunt sighs "It's just so stupid, I just wish there was some way to make them stop fighting, just somehow..." He says quietly

" I do too," Alexandrea agreed, her tone was soft and thoughtful. " It's unecessary fighting since most of us don't know why it started. Absolutely no point to it."

She stared at him with her piercing blue eyes before she blinked and looked away. Toward the horizon. Sunrise would be in a few more hours, wasn't he tired at all? She could feel the dawn edging closer, ever so slowly, and knew that she would be called back indoors again soon. Hiding behind heavy curtains, closed doors and the very walls that she now stood beside.

" Are you not tired?" The girl asked in her quiet voice.

"Actually, I'm not." he says stretching. "Now, we're both the next generation of leaders for our two species, what can we do to end years of war?" He thinks for a minute, than snaps his fingers "I got it! Alexandrea, you've read 'Romeo and Juliet', correct?"

She nodded, of course not. He was probably used to sleeping through the nights on a regular basis and possibly through the days while he watched the coven, Alexandrea assumed. She was surprised when he snapped his fingers, her blue eyes widening a fraction before relaxing and showing nothing but calm on her expression.

" Of course I've read 'Romeo and Juliet'." She said softly. She had adored that tragic love story. So beautiful but tragic. " Why? What are you thinking of?"

"Think about it. What's the only thing that causes the Montagues and the Capulets to stop a war that's been going on for years, and nobody remembers what it's about? The only thing that made them put down their arms and be friends at the end of the book?" he moves in a bit closer to her, and gently moves some of her hair off her face.

Carmen sat at her writing desk imagining what was up with the King and prince of the Lycans, while writing them a letter that would alert her arrival. She wrote in the usual copper colored ink that she always used, using gold would be disrespectful as she was just a countess and not part of the higher ranking family. Her letter was short, as it was only to be an announcement to her arrival, it read:

Dear King Gaunt,
I will be arriving at your manor under Budapest, in a few days. This visit is purely business, I'm hoping to help with our feud against the vampires, the Barthory.

With love,
Carmen

She wrote this letter in big sweeping letters, that were thin and had large curls. It was written by a hand of elegance, some would say. When she was done, she took a wax stick and her ring, which doubled as a wax seal stamp. She folded the paper into the three sections and melted the red wax over top of the edge, she then took off her ring and held it down on the wax.

When it was sealed she placed her ring back on and called to her one and only servant. As she handed it to her she told her to find her fastest horse and deliver it to the Gaunt's manor. The servant, who was a werewolf also, walked out and could be heard running down the stairs. Now that she was alone, Carmen walked over to her closet and pulled out her suitcase beginning to pack some of her warmer clothes and shoes.

"I hope Kharne hasn't resorted to violence yet," Carmen whispered to herself.

Alexandrea stared at him, her eyes somewhat curious and cautious at the same time. " I don't know what versions you've read, but I know that Romeo and Juliet fell in love and then died. That's what united their families; the lovers' deaths."

She shifted her gaze for a moment, glancing to the wall and what lay beyond it before looking back at the man in front of her. She raised an elegant eyebrow before a small amused smile spread over her lips. " I sincerely hope you don't mean that we should fall in love only to die quite suddenly.. I don't see how that would help stop this war, my sister would continue it if I were dead." Her voice was musical, almost joking, as she spoke.

"I didn't mean the dying part, but it was really the true love they shared that made the families, the deaths just allowed them to listen." he says, admiring her "Besides, I'd rather spend my love life with a pacifist Vampire than any Lycan on this planet." he smiles at her, trying every move in the book to get her interested in him. "Well, I have to get out of here, before I get spotted. Same time tommorrow?" he asks her, hoping she says yes.

Her pale blue eyes widened slightly at his words, the smile frozen on her lips. The amusement left her expression only to be replaced by a thoughtful one, calm and analytical.

" I suppose it was." Alexandrea murmured, glancing around at his words. " I must agree with you on that point." The dark haired Vampire shifted her feet slightly, lifting her dress slightly in her hand again to avoid anymore possible grass stains on the fabric. Her smile became more genuine as she regarded him. " It is best you leave.."

She turned slightly, her eyes searching the grounds as she spoke. " I will be be here." Her eyes flicked back to him before she lightly pushed him away, " Now, you have to go or the war is going to become much worse before we can end it."

Gaunt nods, and looks around before kissing her on the cheek, than jumping over the fence and disappearing into the wilderness. He runs towards home, hoping that Father will not be mad at him.

Alexandrea's hand comes up to her cheek to touch the spot he had kissed. Her expression showed confusion for an instant before she smoothed it back down into her calm facade and turned toward the manor. She took slow steps, moving carefully with her dress, as she glancedover her shoulder at the area they had been speaking.

She nodded stiffly at the guards as she re-entered the mansion. It only took her a few moments to make her way through the rooms, up the staircase and down the hall to her bedroom. Once there, she passed her large canopy bed and went to the window.

" Such a strange night.." She murmured to herself. She stared out into the night for only a moment, thinking of the man she had met this very night, before she closed the curtains. Dawn would be here soon and she couldn't take the chance, especially if there was a plan beginning on how to end the war.

(Do you want to skip until the next night? Because I don't have anything to do.)

[If you are still online and still have nothing to do.. Why not.]

(alright)

The Next night, Gaunt waits for the guards to pass, and hops over the fence without a sound. "That's strange, where is she?" He muses looking around the garden, but she's not there.

Alexandrea was currently in her room, staring out her window. She was wearing a white long-sleeved peasant blouse with a black corset over it, this was also paired with an ankle length black skirt and black knee high heeled boots. She glanced at the clock that sat on her bedside table before she opened her window, allowing the wind to cause the heavy dark curtains to billow gently. She stepped up onto the window seat and, with a final glance at the door she had locked a few minutes prior, jumped out the window and to the ground two floors down.

She landed quietly on the grass, knees bent, straightened and began walking. Some of the nobles had decided she shouldn't go outside tonight; their princess obviously didn't agree with this and so she had been forced to jump out the window.. Not that it was the first time. She quickly made her way over to the spot where she could see the Lycan waiting for her. Her footsteps almost completely silent as the wind appearsed to want to aid her in hiding.

" I apologize for being late." Alexandrea said quietly as she stood before him. " Tonight is one of the nights I get a surprise.." Her voice sounded disgusted at this as she raised her icy eyes to meet Gaunt's.

"Well, your looking beautiful as usual." Gaunt says, eying her body than looking into those icy eyes. "And what did you mean by 'surprise?' Aren't surprises usually a good thing?"

" Thank you," She said lightly, a small smile appearing on her lips. Then she shook her head, " No, there are definitely bad surprises. Like the 'I had to sneak out to meet you' surprises. As well as 'Death Dealer' problems." The Vampire sighed, obviously frustrated, as she shook her hair out of her eyes.

" Did you have any trouble getting back here?" She asked suddenly.

"Luckily, no. I'm just going to tell my Father that nothing happened, which is what's happened for the last week." Gaunt says, looking back at the wall "By the way, your father hired guards that are as blind as bats." he chuckles as he moves a piece of hair out of her face.
"your face is too cute to be covered by that hair of yours." he smiles lovingly at her, hoping that she likes him back, because he's head-over-heels for her. "So your a Death Dealer as well as the Princess?" he eyes her again, looking for any signs "Damn, why do all the cute girls I am in love with have to be deadly to me?" he silently face-palms himself.