Present day England

Taking the book, Anna gazed at the picture, it was Delacroix from a time long ago. It appeared the setting was France, the French Revolution, then he would understand rebellion better than any would. Her eyes stayed on the picture but she listened closely to his words as he basically explained how he understood and sympathized with them. The one word that caused her to look up from the book was, she. She? He must mean the woman in the painting that looked so much like herself, had that been his wife? They were questions she wished to ask but that wasn't for now and to risk upsetting him by prodding at a possibly sensitive subject was something she wished to avoid. "I see." Closing the book, she placed it on a nearby table and looked to him. "I'm disappointed but I also understand your position. I'm grateful in the least you won't be actively seeking us out. That's all I needed really was to know where you stood. Thank you." Her voice sounded a bit disheartened at the fact it seemed he wouldn't actively help them, no he would just merely not actively seek them out but she supposed that was something in the least. She understood his stance and the words he quoted from his..wife?..were ones she'd keep with her. Turning her back to him, she made her way for the door to walk downstairs and show herself out.

"You should take that card that I gave that young man Victor to a bank repository. It should help you get started. with your plans. However, do not think on this epiphany as a revelation of sorts, more a granting of liberation to experience what it is to be a human. It has four million British Pounds in its safe keeping. I've asked the bank head not to ask questions but deliver me a statement when you withdraw. But should you use these funds to attack- make no mistake, I will be forced to enact up on it as it will be an act of sedition. " Delacroix stated as Ana moved to grab the handle of the door. Watching her leave, he would then sigh heavily.

"Don't make me choose again." His thoughtful and ponderous gaze shifted to the portrait of his late beloved wife. " Let's not forget, it was you who incited me to be courageous and take risks deemed necessary in order to establish a more 'perfect' union. But what it has cost me, I can not fathom; I bend like the willow trees long, sinuous branches. As strong and flexible outwardly, but feeble and infirm. But alas, I can not allow my people to grow sick with me. I must save them from this virulence that is blood shed. Needless lives taken needlessly. But what am I to do? When those very people I seek salvation for, hunt me so tirelessly? Am I to turn a blind eye to their actions? Ere ages of kings, emperors and despots, did our culture become so entirely devoted to darkness not just because physical hindrances but because we have forsaken ourselves? Have we wholly given up that last ounce of humanity"

Haven couldn’t help but smile proudly as Victor said that Mistvale was lovely, but the smile was soon replaced with a look of worry as Bruce caught the man and took him inside to the same settee as before. Hoping her friend was alright, she looked at Bruce as he gave his opinion and she returned it with a sad smile. “Perhaps that is true then. But can that weapon only destroy vampires and not humans as well in the crossfire? Honestly, we could debate on this all day; but regardless of which race is stronger, it will end in the same result. There would be much bloodshed on both sides, and though I wish to help the humans, you must remember that my friends and family are vampires. I will protect them as well as I also want to help them in this rebellion.” Checking to make sure Victor still seemed okay, Haven started down the hall and and looked behind her. “The rooms are this way. As is yours Cal.”

Taking a flight of stairs and a few corridors down, she found the doors she was looking for and opened them. “There are extra blankets in the trunks at the foot of the bed, and if you need anything please feel free to ask.” Turning to walk back down the stairs, Haven stopped. “And Bruce, we appear to be parasites for feeding on human blood; but is it much different for your kind to kill animals or harvest plants?” Not waiting for his answer, she turned and headed back down to the main room with Victor in it. Checking again to see if he was alright, she decided to stay near until he woke up and went about picking up the pieces of shattered glass from the tea cup from earlier; all the while worrying about Anna and the vampire behind her.

Bruce eyed the bed, it looked to comfortable and inviting he found himself undressing and leaping on it in a matter of seconds, it had been a long day...er night and it was indeed time for some well earned rest. Haven's compairison of humans to vampires in respect to parasitism wasn't entirely accurate. On the very basic level maybe it was the same, the transfer of energy by consuming another organism for nutrients, however humanity, and not vampires, is on the top of the food chain for a reason.

Humans knew how to adapt, how to survive even the harshest conditions this planet had to offer, humans didn't need a single host organism to survive off of, as omnivores thier diet was rather broad. In the case of vampires, like parasites, going out in the daylight was never favorable for them, and like parasites, they were highly specialized and rarely changed conduct. These specializations allowed them to survive off this lesser diet, consisting mainly of human blood. So really, if Haven was to compare the two races as similar in the animal kingdom's perspective that would place humanity below them as farm animals, which they both knew wasn't true, didn't they say part of this rebellion was to free humans from being corraled like cattle?

Thier relationship was in fact more like canablism then, if it weren't the fact that they were of a different species, people eating people for food. Hardly, in fact not at all the relationship between man and the animals he eats, unless you are one of the minority that believed animals had the same rights as people, which Bruce was not. In the end, the truth was that vampires were more akin to parasites then they liked to believe, a distasteful notion yes, but Man himself had done some barbaric things as well to survive, its just that nowadays people who do that are the vast minority, while in the case of vampires, the minority belongs to the people who didn't want to feed off humans like animals.

Ponderings of the animal kingdom in relation to this scenario aside, it was time now to get some rest. In the morning it wasn't likely he would see anyone up, unless they lied to him and were in fact human. Bruce began to drift off, wondering how all of this would play out and how long it would take. Would he see his family again? Would he even survive this rebellion?

How would he get home?

How...much wood can a wookchuck chuck?

How many licks...does it take...to get to the..center...of... a toootsie pop?

Perhaps these questions would be answered one day, but for now Bruce would have to wait in dreamland.

Victor felt the moment of awaking come by in a pulsing moment. As his eyes opened up, the dark room blurred and spun around him, to the point where he almost felt sick. His lack of sleep and lack of a proper rest away from the sun had done this to him. That was apparent as he quietly rolled off the sofa and landed on his forearms. Unsure of the time and how long he had been out for, he merely gazed heavy eyed around the darkened room as the blurs seemed to fade away. From what Victor could tell he was now in the living room of the manor. Or at least that was his guess for his location in the Manor.

It didn't take long for the sickness feeling to die down after Victor forced himself to get back onto the couch. However, instead of laying down, he made sure to stay in a seated position so he wouldn't have to feel the same feeling again. Mumbling to himself quietly, jumbled words of confusion came out his mouth. The feeling of needing to go back to resting came to mind, but at the same moment the worry about how he seemly transported there and the amount of time he was down greatly effected him.

Ignoring his paranoia he quietly dropped back down to his back and started to fade out once again.

Cal nodded, watching Haven walk away. She walked into another room, and sat on the bed. She waited for a bit, debating. She wasn't entirely sure that she might be able to return to their clan. And, while Haven had defended vampires against being parasites, she wasn't entirely sure that was right. Sure, vampires depend on humans the same way they depended on cattle and other stock, but they depended solely on humans. But then there was also the fact that some animals that were not considered parasites were specialists; algae eaters were not parasites, but they specialized in one area. Her mind went back and forth, still unsure of which one might be more correct. It may just be an opinion, after all. She shook her head. "...Too much thinking..." She let herself fall back into the bed to fall asleep. She needed it, anyway.

Anna paused, her hand resting on the doorknob as she listened to him. He'd given them so much money to act with and yet he refused to pick a side but ride the fence? She did understand his reasoning but this was a rebellion, why should he be allowed to walk middle ground when all others took sides? Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him once again. "Delacroix, this is a rebellion you need to choose a side. I have nothing against rules but the nobles are over the top and you know that yourself. We're basically slaves to them, so dependent on them and if we take one step out of boundaries we're punished to the full extent! We shouldn't be forced to live in such fear of our superiors and the humans should not be mere livestock to us. I was human once and remember the terror the vampires brought to my people. They killed my father in front of me so I sympathize with humans even now, you were human once too Delacroix and they need us to protect them. You could help be a leader of a new era along with Haven and I."

Delacroix was suddenly, unexpectedly withdrawn from his reverie of thoughts by an alluring melody that called out his name. His arms once folded respectively across his chest, fell as he turned, surprised that Ana had not left his presence and he had been blathering on without noticing. He quietly lifted his hands behind his back, clasping his fingers behind his back. He tilted his head slightly, cocking to the side in a slant. His brow furrowed as he began nodding to her statements. He would then smile almost sadly, and let his arms fall once more to his side. Stepping out from behind his heavy dark wood desk.

"We were all hum an once, Ana. Once, no longer. We can't be baited so easily to past conceptions. To be trifled with the past is a fool's paradise. I have lived six hundred long years. I am the eldest of our kind to date. There would be others, lie myself and perhaps- a lot like the others. But the World Wars, the Spanish Inquisition-the Civil Wars. Each of these were made by the humans to route us. To draw us out in the open so that were were much more easier to kill. You say I have to choose. I am telling you- I have no choice. I made this establishment. With the blood of sons and father- with mother and daughter. Of humankind, of vampirekind." Delacroix then stopped in front of Anna.


"Tell me, does a man born in destitution deserve to be poor? Does he choose his fate? No. Does the unborn child or the child who is born but killed by a stray bullet fired from someone they have never even met- get to choose a side? I have the power to tear the very life force from a man that dares make an attempt on me- but I haven't the power to make the difference you can. I am the progenitor and to destroy or upset this fragile existence we have- as bad as it is at times- is to destroy me in my entirety. If I were to change the rules, every vampire would be in grave danger- that includes you. I can't allow that to happen. That is the most selfish thing I have done in my six hundred years of living-but I am somehow earnestly proud of myself for it."

Anna listened to Delacroix's words carefully and when he came to rest in front of her she felt crushed by his presence. She wanted to look away from him but she held her resolve and kept eye contact. Once he was finished she immediately spoke, ready to try even harder to convince him to choose their side. "Delacroix if the destitute could choose a side then they would! They don't have a choice in their fate but we do! and-" Pausing in her words, her mind replayed what he had last said. "Includes me? Why would you specify me? You don't have to worry yourself with me but you do..why?" Her eyes were firmly locked with his now as she search for an answer. Anytime they'd been in the same room his eyes would always be on her and she could swear she felt his presence often even if she couldn't see him.

Anna listened to Delacroix's words carefully and when he came to rest in front of her she felt crushed by his presence. She wanted to look away from him but she held her resolve and kept eye contact. Once he was finished she immediately spoke, ready to try even harder to convince him to choose their side. "Delacroix if the destitute could choose a side then they would! They don't have a choice in their fate but we do! and-" Pausing in her words, her mind replayed what he had last said. "Includes me? Why would you specify me? You don't have to worry yourself with me but you do..why?" Her eyes were firmly locked with his now as she search for an answer.


" I was there your whole human life, waiting patiently on how best to approach you. I was there when they robbed you of your entire worldly understanding. You looked like a young faun just birthed from its mother; clueless, dimwitted but vibrant- beautiful. I was also there at the hearing and decision to execute you after you ran. I ask myself: But what would it take to make you see me the way that I see you? What would it take to make you want me the way I've always wanted you? I don't know why your in everything I see. I can't deny that you're everything I need. What would it take to make you fall for me the way I fell for you? What would it take to make you fight for me, the way I've always fought for you. And I don't know why you bring me to my knees- but I can't unwind from how you've twisted me..." He responded, his face extremely pained as he took her hand gently in his own.

He carefully slid a choker necklace with the resemblance of a rose. The material was suspicious though, it looked otherworldly. The stone was a strong blue with a dispersion similar to that of diamond, and fluoresced an intense blue-white under UV light. Its color could easily distinguish itself as a sapphire to all but a most practiced eye. But the stone it was, had taken the world record as the most precious stone of all: Benitoite. There were only twenty eight stones ever collected and the workmanship of the rose spoke about where all the stones went and spoke volumes to how devoted one had to be just to find these stones.

"I have been protecting you all your life, somehow weaving myself into to be your protector. Six-hundred years in the making. Six hundred years ago, I loved as any human was capable. I devoted my life to her life and our children. But my passion as a man was not enough, and I lost her. I sold my soul to my sire in a futile attempt to find away to get her back. But with the passing of ages, and all the lore gained I was left with nothing. Then about a hundred and twenty years ago- I met you. You were just a peasant girl then. Not even known to the likes of the Ambrose. Its then I realized, that of all the great power I gained and all the influence I had earned- meant nothing. It mean nothing because there was no one to share my prize, and there was no stronger feeling of power yet too be completely powerless than when I was with you. I have played my role too well. I can only play the part of a protector, a guardian- then ever as a lover. But as I said, that is the most selfish thing I have done in my six hundred years of living-but I am somehow earnestly proud of myself for it."

Anna listened in utter surprise as Delacroix started his explanation with the confession that he had watched her for her entire human life. She always had felt as if she were being watched and apparently it was true. Her eyes widened as he went on, saying she brought him to his knees, she had twisted him and she never even realized this. So shocked she was that she barely took notice when he grabbed her hand, sliding a necklace onto her wrist. Looking down at the charm on it, her eyes stayed on the jewel as he finished speaking. "Delacroix, I didn't know." It was hard to find any words after everything he just revealed to her. What the hell could she say?! The only other thing that spluttered from her mouth was a question. "What is this?" She asked, twirling the necklace in her fingers. Did this hold some special meaning? God, she hoped not this was all too much. They were on the verge of a rebellion and he was a possible enemy!

He took control of her gentle hands with the will of his own. Despite the firmness in his hands, they were gentle when they curled her fingers over the blooming flower. The smooth, fluorescent surface of the crafted petals were felt to the pads of her fingers; fine lines and grooves produced stunning intricate details. It would be as though it were a real flower sprung from the gemstones that made it up. Once her hand completely cradled the possession Delacroix placed hand atop her fully furled hand and the other positioned gently and the bottom as though helping her hold it.

Looking into Ann, his eyes not predatory but wielding the same intensity and a tiredness that had followed for the six hundred years he had existed as a vampire. But something was alluring about they seemed to glow warmly with his smile; a generous, gracious grin. Being true to the gentleman he was, he lowered hi head and raised her hand and kissed it delicately before releasing it and letting it return to her side.

"It was a heirloom, once belonged to one of my grandfathers. One of three brothers that was a Templar knight in Crusades. There was a LaPointe in every Crusade. That was pieced together in the second. He made it while under the rule of the leper king of Jerusalem Baldwin IV. It was finished in the third under Cœur de Lion, or Richard the Lionheart. The Saracens called him Melek-Ric or Malek al-Inkitar - King of England. It has a lot of history behind it, and it was formally lost until I had the means to find it."

Victors eyes opened widely. What was the time now? How long had time dragged by? He had to get up now. His hunger was creating a constant pain from within. Holding off from feeding was starting to take it's negative effect. It left his internals burning in pain. If he had anything to throw up, the floor would be covered in it. Feeding pains were some of the worst pains. It was like being stabbed then trying to throw up blood out of your lungs, but you weren't dying.

Forcing himself up off the couch, he staggered against the wall. There was only one scent of human blood near by, and it was going to have to be his. He wouldn't drain Bruice completely, it was just going to be a snack. Or at least that was what he hoped. When at a hunger of this level, control wasn't exactly something he had.

With a roaring headache, the scent seemed to spiral all over the place. In desperation, Victor took many rights and lefts down halls as he staggered about looking for his blood supplier....

(not well written, but I didn't really think this post through D: ))

Haven was distracted from her cleaning by a thump behind her; then seeing Victor confused and laying back onto the couch, she decided it was best to either find a room for him…or count how many more times he would fall off the couch. Deciding on the room idea, Haven found one with no sunlight escaping through the heavy curtains then returned to the main room to find Victor missing. “Where in the world did he go to… First he couldn’t stay on the couch from being tired, now…” Eyes widening at the memory of Bruce saying that Victor may had just been hungry like he was, Haven ran towards the human’s room hoping that she was wrong.

Listening carefully as she tried to figure out how accurate Victor could find the human, she barely caught a sound down another hall near the main one to the bedrooms. With a quick glance towards the human’s door to make sure the cost was clear, Haven followed the sound and was relieved to find Victor; but less relieved to recognize the look and familiarity of his movements. It was that of a thirsty vampire. “Victor. I know you must be thirsty, but the human is not the best supply here. We have a way of feeding that doesn’t involve drinking straight from the human. If you will just come with me, you can have as much as you need and not have to worry. So just follow me, okay?” Carefully approaching her friend, she didn’t know how far his thirst had gone; and going to the supply meant heading away from the human’s scent. Placing a hand on the fellow vampire’s arm, Haven held on with a gentle but iron grip; she couldn’t let him know here Bruce was staying. “It’s odd, but I promise it works. It’s how Anna and I have been surviving this long. An underground vampire has been helping us by supplying a blood supply; but we have to go down to the cellar to get to it.” Slowly tugging to lead Victor down towards the supply, Haven could only hope he was listening and would come peacefully. She knew what could happen when a vampire became too thirsty, she had been pushed to that horrid point by her father; so being needlessly careful was better than risking it.

He kissed her hand and Anna held her breath as he explained how important this jewelry was. It was ancient and a family heirloom it seemed but why would he give her something so important. “Delacroix I-I must go. The others are expecting me. Thank you for the money.” Turning, she quickly made her way out of the room, down the stairs and out of his house. The sun was rising now and she needed to get back to the mansion quickly. Human crowds were appearing with the start of a new day though and slowing her down. With a growl of frustration, she took to back alley ways and used her unnatural agility to climb fire escape ladders and bound from roof to roof unseen. Unknown to Anna though she didn’t go completely unseen as Inessa gave an unsettling grin, watching Anna’s run and began following silently with her sister.

Finally, the mansion was in view and she quickly entered the door, taking a last look behind her. “Haven! Haven where are you?” Her eyes scanned the area and she followed the sound of noise to Haven leading Victor towards the cellar. “Is everything alright here?” She asked, warily eyeing Victor but after a moment realizing what was wrong with him and where Haven was taking him.