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"Please, stop," Aurielle gasped. Shade halted. They had been running for only five minutes, but there was no way Aurielle could keep up with a vampire running full speed, (which is twice the time of the fastest runner on Earth) even if he was holding her hand. Shade waited patiently while Aurielle, doubled over, caught her breath.
"Aren't you going...to suck my blood yet?" she asked. Shade looked at her curiously.
"Bite into your pretty neck? Are you mad?" he asked. "Can you breathe easier yet?" Aurielle nodded and stood up straight. "I'm sorry for running so fast," Shade apologized. "It's just...I've sort of forgotten that when you're living, you need to breathe." Aurielle smiled.
"Hey, cool it. It's fine. I'm ready to go," she said.
"Good! Do you mind if we take a shortcut? I really have to get home before sunrise," Shade said.
"Of course," Aurielle said. "Shortcuts are fine." Shade smiled as he took Aurielle's hand in his and started running again. Everything was a blur for Aurielle. She could hardly make out anything until she saw a sudden halt of land ahead of them. She cried out to Shade, but her voice was lost in the wind. They kept running, and Aurielle suddenly felt no earth beneath her feet, nor Shade's long, thin hand. She screamed as she fell. I really hope a broken neck is the quickest way to die, Aurielle prayed in her mind. Just as she prepared to hit the ground, she felt someone's strong arms catch her. She opened her eyes and saw Shade grinning, his fangs glinting in the moonlight.
"Nothing like an adrenaline rush to get you in a good mood, eh?" he said, lowering Aurielle to her feet. Aurielle took several deep breaths. She had seen her life flash before her eyes in the three seconds it took her to fall from the cliff into Shade's arms. She limply fell forward, latching her arms around Shade's neck. Shade's dark eyebrows rose.
"Well...it's been a while since a girl's done this to me," he said. Aurielle wasn't sure if it was her sudden shock or something, but he sounded a little uncomfortable, like the way Aurielle herself sounded when Austin spoke to her. She unlatched her arms, and, with Shade's help, stood up straight again.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just...I'm not one who normally jumps off cliffs." Shade nodded.
"It's understood. I won't use that shortcut again," he promised.
"Thank you," Aurielle said, smiling.

"Here we are!" Shade announced grandly. "My home." Aurielle looked around. There wasn't much around. But she didn't want to insult him.
"It's nice," she said. To her surprise, Shade chuckled.
"The immediate area isn't my home," he said. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "You know, I never got your name."
Aurielle's eyebrows rose as she blushed slightly. She couldn't believe she hadn't introduced herself. "My name's Aurielle," she said. Shade smiled.
"Aurielle," he repeated. "What a pretty name." He walked up to a tree, then knocked on it once. He shook his head and moved on to the tree next to it and knocked on that tree. He smiled. "I always get those two confused," he admitted to Aurielle. Then he turned back to the tree and knocked on it thirteen times. One of the trees widened, and turned into a large door. Shade turned and held out his hand to Aurielle. "Are you ready, Aurielle?" he asked. Aurielle hesitated for a moment. But then she thought, No one would miss me if I was gone, be it an hour or the rest of eternity. She took his hand, and Shade pushed the door open. He walked inside, Aurielle following, having no clue of what was going to happen.


Aurielle looked around. People surrounded them. Not ordinary people, Aurielle could tell. As they talked to one another, their fangs glistened. Every once in a while, she would see a werewolf or some other monster, but most were vampires. Shade was smiling at her.
"Impressive, no?" he asked.
"Impressive, yes!" Aurielle cried, grinning. All of a sudden though, Shade's smile died, and he held his head. "What's wrong?" Aurielle asked. Shade groaned.
"I haven't had any blood in a while, so I'm feeling pretty weak," he explained. Aurielle thought about this for a moment.
"Would you like some of mine?" she suggested. Shade moved his hand and smiled at Aurielle.
"No, silly. Why would I bite the neck of someone as pretty as you?" he asked. Aurielle knew she blushed, and was relieved when Shade continued. "You see, it leaves this horrible mark on your neck. That's why I'm always wearing high collared shirts." He winced and groaned again. "I'll explain some more later, but now, I really need to get to a pub." Aurielle's eyes widened.
"B-but, you need to be twenty-one to drink any alcohol, and you can't be a day older than seventeen," she said. Shade smiled at her again, but it wasn't as broad as his other smiles. Aurielle's eyes widened again, then she set her mouth in a straight line of determination and asked, "Where's the closest pub?"
Shade pointed at one just a few yards away, and Aurielle started pushing him towards there. When she pushed him through the door, he whispered, "I'll take it from here." He removed his hand from his head, straightened his backbone, and, with head held as high as he could manage, he strode to the bartender. "French, A positive," he said. "Stat." The bartender quickly went under the counter, then came back up with an elegant goblet filled with dark red liquid. Shade quickly took a sip and sighed. He turned to Aurielle, who had followed close by, and smiled. "See? I'm fine," he said. He helped her up onto one of the barstools, then leaned against the counter himself. The bartender, a well-built man of around forty-five or fifty, leaned forward.
"Didn't bring a flask with you?" he asked. Shade shook his head.
"Uhg, no, of course not." Shade pulled a face. "That's hardly even real blood. And flasks are no where near as elegant as the glasses you have." The bartender shook his head and smiled. He turned to Aurielle.
"That's Shade for you. Always has to keep up appearances," he said.
"This is Ted," Shade explained. "He's the one who makes sure I don't pass out from lack of blood, which, might I add, only happened /once/." Ted bowed. Aurielle giggled.
"I'm Aurielle," she said.
"Well, it's about time Shade got himself a girlfriend." Ted winked. "Maybe you'll be able to convince him to bring a flask of blood with him so he doesn't pass out." Aurielle noticed Shade looking uncomfortable, and she thought she heard him whisper, "She's not my girlfriend..."
"So, is there anything I can get you, Aurielle?" Ted asked. "We have American, Spanish, Italian, even Romanian if you feel daring." Shade coughed suddenly. Ted looked at him curiously. "You okay there, Shade?" Shade coughed again, sounding suspiciously like, "Short fang." Ted got the drift that Shade was trying to tell him something and leaned closer. "Evaluate, boy, evaluate!" he whispered.
"Aurielle is a short fang," Shade whispered back. "You know...she's not a blood sipper." Ted seemed to get the idea and went back to his spot behind the counter.
"Um...what do you mean by 'short fang' and 'blood sipper'?" Aurielle whispered to Shade.
"'Short fang' is slang here for human, since you have shorter fangs than we do. 'Blood sipper' is slang for vampire, for obvious reasons," Shade explained.
"Here," Ted said, putting a goblet in front of Aurielle. This was also filled with dark red liquid. "Actress spritz, on the house."
"Um...no thank you," Aurielle said. Shade was laughing. "What's so funny?" Aurielle asked.
"Do you seriously think Ted would offer blood to you?" he asked. "Have you ever had a Shirley Temple?" Aurielle nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "I used to get them all the time when I was little."
"That's what an Actress spritz is," Shade explained. "A Shirley Temple with red food coloring. Go ahead, try it." Aurielle took a sip, and immediately recognized the flavor of her old favorite. A little later, Ted tapped her on the shoulder.
"How long do you plan on staying here?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"I don't know," Aurielle answered. "As long as I can."
"Well, could you keep an eye on Shade, please? I haven't seen him like this since about forty years ago. He really seems to trust you," Ted said.
"Why hasn't he acted like this?" Aurielle asked.
"He got his heart broken a while back. A vampiress he simply adored said she hadn't felt any connection to him at all. Her friends just dared her to date him for a month. He was totally broken up."
"So he really liked her?" Aurielle asked.
"Liked her? He worshipped the ground she walked on! Anything she asked for he made sure she got. So she used him, and then walked away."
Aurielle looked over at Shade. He was staring off into space, mind elsewhere, absently sipping the blood in the goblet. She could hardly believe that he had gotten his heart broken. Her heart started beating triple time when she realized something. Shade, when in actual light, looked rather handsome. A few strands of jet-black hair fell over his sparkling silver eyes; he was very slight, but also sturdy and tall. If he went to her school, all the girls would be sighing left and right. He looked up, apparently sensing Aurielle's stare. He turned his head and smiled at her. "Would you like to go to the garden?" he asked. Aurielle nodded.
"Of course I would," she said. Shade's smile broadened.
"Spectacular! You're going to love it, and I'll fill you in on a few things there," Shade said. He quickly finished his goblet of blood.
"Thank you, Ted," he said quickly.
"Whoa, slow down there, tiger," Ted said, grabbing Shade's head. "Let the lady finish her drink."
"Oh, I'm done," Aurielle said.
"Well, come on! Oh, please let go of me, Ted," Shade added. Ted ruffled the young vampire's hair and let him go. Just before Aurielle followed him, she noticed the scarf around Ted's neck.
"You're a Yankees fan?" she asked.
"Hey, don't start hating me," Ted said defensively. "I was a fan when they still had Babe Ruth on the team."