-||Truth Behind the Mask||-

[- symphonic disaster -]

"Tell me about your family," Alex said with genuine curiosity. There were too many things that he didn't know about her. The beauty of the forest was overwhelming him as it was matched with Astryl's own beauty.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven looked at him curiously then thought a bit. "Well, my mother...she's very nice and only cares about what's best for everyone else and.... well, actually she's the only family I have. As I said, my father is gone. He died mysteriously but I'm ok with it now. And... well no there's this woman who's friends with my mother and I'm friends with her too. I consider her family." She said smiling a bit. "But.... that's it." She said softly.

She didn't once let her smile disappear, even though she was talking about things that made her upset. She always seemed to be happy.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex was confused by why she looked so happy despite the tone in her voice that hinted at a sadness. He shook his head after a moment. He was sad that she'd lost her father but he'd already been told that story. He was confused though because at one point she'd said it happened recently, or so he thought she'd said that.

"Well sometimes bad things happen," he said grimly, starting to feel the anger come back at the remembrance of finding his mother dead and what he'd discovered about his father. It was visible that he was uncomfortable situation and he was struggling with the coming anger that was slowly developing in his thoughts.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven sighed a bit then looked over at him. She could see he was starting to get upset and so she took his hands again and said with a reassuring smile, "Don't think about it." She didn't like seeing him upset, it caused her to get upset as well.

She decided to change the subject so she said, "You asked if I liked dancing? Did you mean that you like it?" She didn't know what else to say. She would have said anything really to try and get his mind off of whatever was making him upset.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"Sometimes I like it," he admitted as he tried to block out the thoughts. It was working for the most part but if anything else angered him he would change. He didn't want to do that right now and the more he thought about it the more he worried about it.

"Do you like to dance?" he asked finally. "I could probably hum a song if you want to dance." The closeness of that idea frightened him when he thought about what he said, and they were alone. He flinched slightly when he looked at her. She was more stunning than the last time he looked at her.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven smiled warmly and said, "You really need to calm down. Just forget about everything and only think about right now." She then smirked a bit and said, "If...if you want to dance then ok. As I said, I don't really know how....you'd have to teach me." She blushed a bit then looked up at him again.

She was a little nervous about being so close to him but she didn't care. She wanted to dance with him so she knew she'd get over it. She really didn't want him to worry anymore so she'd do whatever it took to keep him from doing so.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex stood up and helped her up with them. When they were standing he began to demonstrate a simple dance while counting and telling her the movements. They would be moving together in this dance and it was fairly easy. Almost everyone knew it or learned at some point. He stepped up so that they were incredibly close. He had forgotten how close this dance required you to be and he could feel is heart racing.

"Just follow my steps," he said as he began to lead her in the dance, humming a tune that he recalled from the many events he'd attended.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven listened to his instructions carefully and watched him intently as well. She was a quick learner and hoped that went for dancing as well. She nodded at his last words then started to follow his steps. Her heart was beating a mile a minute at how close they were but she most certainly was not complaining.

She was smiling widely now as they moved. She had completely forgotten about everything else going on around them and could only think about him right now as well as making sure she did the dance right.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex wasn't as focused as she was because he'd danced it a million times with the girls that forced him to do so. He'd rejected all of them when it came to marriage which why he'd been alone up till now. He was thinking about her though, the way she moved, differently than the other girls and more with him than the other girls. There was something about her that began to attract him more powerfully than he thought she could.

Meanwhile on the edge of the forest Alex's dad, Richard, was discussing an important mission with one of his messangers who also posed as a warrior of need be. He was a vampire, still fairly new in the business. His hood was up and his red eyes glinted in the moon light. The two blades he owned were sheathed though he wouldn't really need them if he was confronted. The mission was to scout the castle which his son was staying in and gather any information that was possible.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven's focus was starting to slip for she was now paying more attention to him then her own movements. She had the urge to put her head on his shoulder but she resisted it. She was quiet for a bit but after awhile she asked him curiously, "What are you thinking about?" Her voice was quiet and seemed to resemble how content she felt at the moment.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex suddenly came to a stop when he sensed something he didn't like. He could tell the wolves were restless because he had seen three of them through the long window. He glanced at her though and the worries seemed to dissipate.

Victor had already left. He was swift from the strength and speed he acquired from becoming a vampire. Their fort was just on the edge of the forest, out of sight to normal people but easily found buy those who knew it's location or so happened to wander in the wrong direction. He reached the castle after a moment and entered quietly. The maids didn't notice him and he began to stalk through the building. He was told to kill anyone he saw.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven didn't even need to ask him if something was wrong. She could feel it and looked around slightly nervous. It was a dark feeling and she didn't like it at all. She looked back at him now with worried eyes as she immediately began to worry about her mother. Thankfully, she was still in her room.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Juliette had walked out in the entry way to go look for Alex when she saw the man. She nearly screamed but began to walk across the room away from him. Victor turned around and stalked after her. If anyone knew he was here there would be problems. He placed his hand over her mouth to subdue her and he could smell her fear.

He took a knife out of it's sheath and ran it through her stomach. She collapsed to the floor and he began to make rounds through the house. He knew she'd be dead soon but what he hadn't expected was the fact he'd missed the truly vital organs that would make her die sooner. While she was lying their another maid had come out. She screamed when she saw this, alerting more people.

Alex tensed suddenly. He'd heard something though it was distant. He wanted to stay in this moment but it was becoming more and more difficult to concentrate on Haven when he had a feeling that something was terribly wrong here. "We have to go to the main hall," he said after a moment. "I think something is wrong but I can't tell what it is."  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven heard something as well and was still overtaken by the feeling that something dark was around. Now she really thought it was inside the castle walls which would make sense for the noise. She nodded and looked at him, worrying someone may have gotten hurt.

"I think someone's hurt." She said but couldn't tell for sure. It was just a gut feeling. She hoped it wasn't her mother.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

At this Alex began to run trying not to let his anger overtake him. He knew that she would follow him so he was running slower than usual. He heard another scream after a while and he shuddered when he heard something break. It was in the direction of his own room but the screaming was from the main room. Then it hit him, a sweet smell and yet it was disgusting at the same time. He growled slightly feeling is anger again but he was able to control it. He was stopped after a moment, a stranger standing in front of him.

"I see that you do not change as quickly," the man in a hooded outfit said with a sting of malice. His eyes were a burning red and he looked utterly pleased at the sight of Alex. He could smell the other human not too far off and he grinned. It was a good thing she was here, the woman had said something about a girl about the age of twenty that would be here and that was why he needed to lure Alex out. It would make the castle weak and easy to infiltrate, besides he would be able to feed on a couple of the maids if this was succesful.

"What does it matter?" Alex asked. "And who are you? What are you doing in my home? How did you get in here?" He was demanding and the question just kept coming to his head. He felt something was going to change soon but he wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"Questions, questions, question," Victor said as he circulated around Alex now. "I'm Victor and was sent by your father to bring you news of how he is alive and well and plans to meet you at some point... and there are other factors in there too but I'm not sure if it would be wise for me to tell you what they were. Now tell me, is Juliette the one that raised you or was it a different maid. Maybe Louisa but she's too young or Alexis, but I doubt her too."

Alex felt his anger surged forth but before he could get to Victor he was already running. His form changed faster than usual now and he was off on a chase to hunt the jerk down. He wasn't thinking clearly not considering what danger he might be putting Haven into. It was just revenge he thought about, taking down his father and destroying him in the slowest manner possible.