• Chapter 1

    My long, blonde, almost white hair flowed behind me and down my shoulders as Lucius and I walked down the darkened streets. I had no idea where we could go, who would ever house two vampires? An unsuspecting mortal family, that’s who. Oh, terribly sorry, where are my manners? My name is Nicholai. I am 29 and am immortal more or less. My friend Lucius is my fledgling. I created him back in the 1600's, when life was actually simple.


    Lucius looked at me, light green eyes gleaming with the light of the streetlamps. I think I melted a little, his male beauty irresistible to me. He said something to me, but my mind was filled with these thoughts.

    “Nicholai!” he called once more. I snapped out of my thought trance and looked at him through my eyelashes. His eyes were looking at me then down. I gazed over and about 5 feet from us was a petite little girl. Her brown hair mesmerized and enchanted me as I watched it dance in the light breeze. I wanted to walk over and touch it, but that wouldn’t work out too well.

    “Hi-ya!” She said cheerfully. I couldn't understand what she wanted of us, if she was trying to karate chop us like in movies.

    “Hello there,” Lucius said with a slight bow. I felt the blood rushing to my face at the ludicrous thought and looked away from her. She ran around Lucius and over to me. She looked up at me with her holey smile, she couldn’t have been more then six years old with all her missing teeth. She walked around to the side of me, and touched my hand with hers. I could feel it begging for entrance into my hand. Then, I clasped my hand around her hand. She squeezed my hand tightly, the biggest smile you've ever seen painting her face.
    “Little girl,” Lucius called, “do you know that man?”

    “Who doesn’t know him?” She asked, though muffled as her mouth was buried in my coat's side along with the rest of her face. Lucius and I looked at each other in a sarcastic way.

    “Well then what’s his name?” Lucius asked smugly. I glared over at him for talking in such a manor to a little girl.

    “His name’s Nicholai,” she chimed, “he’s 29 and has beautiful blue eyes. He was turned immortal by a crude vampire and then he turned his sick friend immortal as well. Then he made you, Amaud, Edward, Lucretia, and Michelle.”
    I was dumbstruck.
    “Quite the friend maker," Lucius said, smugly. "Are you always lonely now?"
    “Shut up!” I yelled, making the girl jump a little. Lucius laughed a little as he sat on the bench by the streetlamp.

    “So tell me little one,” I said gently, “how exactly could you have found out about me? I'm not exactly one to flaunt my existence." Lucius scoffed and looked to the street opposite of the bench he was on.
    "Well," she started,"my mommy reads me my Gramma's books sometimes. She has lots of vampire books and you were in one of them!
    "Then, tonight I followed Mommy outside and when I looked into the alley, I saw you! I know it sounds un-per-obab-ly but it happened!" I smiled and picked her up in my arms, the smile she had on growing into an even bigger one.



    “Juniper!” Someone called from across the street. Juniper picked up her head then looked up at me. Her big brown eyes were angry, but also beginning to become watery.
    “What’s the matter,” Lucius and I asked. She looked up at me, tears threatening to spill out of he beautiful little eyes, and said she didn’t want to go home.

    “I don't want to go home. I like my Gramma's books, but she's a meanie. I'm scared," she said as she began to cry. Lucius and I gave each other a confused look, regarding her statement about her grandmother. I thought it might've been just her child imagination running away with her, but Lucius's look told me I should humor her.
    "Alright, little one," I said gently. "We'll be here as long as you need us."

    “You can stay with me and Mama and Gramma and Daddy. Please Nicholai please,” she begged, her eyes sparkling with tears. I looked over at Lucius and he shrugged. The voice of an older woman called once again, louder this time.

    “We don’t want to be an imposition Cheri.”

    “I don’t know what that is. But you won’t! Everyone will love you guys!”

    “They’ll get suspicious we sleep during the day,” Lucius chimed in.

    “No they won’t. I'm-a tell them that you sleep during the morning and, and, and that you do your jobbies during the nights!" Lucius smiled and I laughed a little, her special words made us smile. She started to tug my arm towards her house, not moving me an inch. I laughed, and agreed to follow her in as I signaled for Lucius to follow as well.





    Juniper seated us on the couch, then went to get her parents. Lucius and I had an idea of how they'd react to seeing two paler-then-they-should-be people sitting on their favorite couches. It made me want to laugh. Her parents came in and froze at the sight of us. I so badly wanted to laugh, but I held it in for our sake.

    “So um...who-who are your scary friends Juniper?” Her mother asked as if we couldn’t hear. Lucius looked at me and I looked back. We both shot each other “wow” glances and then looked away.

    “This is Nicholai and Lucius,” Juniper said innocently. Her mother looked over and we both nodded our heads. She picked up her long arm and waved at us cautiously. She turned to her husband then, who looked at us curiously as he took a sip out of his tea cup. Then Juniper tugged her mother's dress, begging if we could stay with them for a while. Her mother then turned to her father, who was still eyeing us curiously. Then, with a great sigh, her mother reluctantly agreed to let us stay. She said we had to stay in the guest room though, and if we came near her family, we'd be severly harmed.
    "What a welcome wagon," Lucius mumbled as Juniper happily led us both up the stairs. That time, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

    We played with Juniper long after her parents had gone to bed, and long after they thought she'd been in bed. We saw she was starting to get tired though, so we decided that we'd all go to bed.

    “Here,” Juniper said as she opened the closet door, “no one comes in this room except me. It's like my play room! I'm-a make sure NO ONE comes in here and dis-ter-ubs you." Lucius lauged a little bit as he looked through the closet. He knew as well as I did that it would be a tight squeeze for both of us, but we'd make it work, no matter what. Juniper blew us a kiss as she bounded out of the room tiredly, and into her own. Lucius smiled at me as he walked into the closet and sat against the back wall. I smiled back, and followed him in as I closed the door behind myself.