I am very young. No more than six years old. I'm playing in a field. It is dark out, around midnight. I have run away from the pound. I have been abused there, and I want to get away. I hear a fluttering sound, but pay it no mind. I keep running. The sound gets louder... louder. It's nearly on top of me. Suddenly I am knocked to the ground as a sharp pain pierces through my senses. It registers as a bat. A vampire bat...
***
Come closer... just a little bit," I coaxed. He hesitated. I tried to make myself appear like I really wanted him near me for love... and not for food. Enough temptation made the thought of mortal feelings overtake his common sense, and his cautiousness evaporated. He was aloof to the purpose behind my provocative behavior. I fell into his arms, and he fell into my trap.

I opened my eyes. Night had fallen. I sat up and stretched. The taste of the meal still lingered on my tongue, and a red stain was still present on my lips. I rubbed my eyes and let them focus and blur my surroundings. For the first time in a while, I took a good long look at my home. My eyes drifted lazily over the sparse furniture. It seemed very empty. Without touching them, I knew the stone walls were cold and the floor would steal what little warmth I had in my feet if I were to walk over it. My new castle home was a stone pillar of loneliness.

I dragged myself sluggishly out of bed. I always felt lazy after a big dinner like that, but I had things to do before the sun came up. I figured I'd better get started. The first thing on my list was cleaning. The room was a mess, and hadn't been cleaned since I moved in. I rummaged through the many articles of clothing on the floor and separated them into two piles: my clothes and my victims' clothes. I considered throwing everything that wasn't mine out the window into the moat, but thought it would be of better use in the fireplace. I didn't want any evidence left in case any missing pets detectives came wandering about.

The room finally clean, I headed outside. The moonlight cast eerie shadows around, and I felt comfortable among them. I crept silently down an empty alleyway into town. The wind blew gently, and the breeze felt nice on my fur. It had been a while since I had last strolled without any worries. I turned a corner and came into a small park. The trees swayed slightly, their branches creaking. I ignored them and sat on a nearby bench.

There was a fountain in the park in front of me, and lights made the water appear to flow in different colors. I watched it, unthinking, unblinking. My mind was elsewhere. It didn't last long, however. A noise brought me back to reality, and I sharply turned my attention to the source.

It was a striped kyrii. Scythe in hand, he was casually making his way toward the fountain at the center of the park. Looking closer, I noticed he was wearing headphones and probably didn't realize I was there since it was so dark. I tried my best not to attract attention to myself. I watched him as he reached the edge of the fountain and sat down, dangling his toes into the surface of the glittering water. His ears twitched in time with the music that only he could hear, and his tail swished back and forth.

I was amused by him... though I wasn't exactly sure why. Eventually he noticed me sitting there, and turned to face me. He had bright jade green eyes and a playful grin that seemed to be ever-present on his face. Silhouetted against the colorful jets of water that flowed from the fountain, he was quite the charming creature to look at. It was a moment that seemed like forever. Both of us just stared. Finally he broke the silence.

"I haven't seen you around before," he said. His voice was smooth like warm caramel. I quickly shook my head of the thoughts.

"I haven't lived here long, and I try to stay to myself," I answered, trying to sound cold toward him. That made him laugh. It was a singsong sound that played in my ears even after it was over. He grinned.

"Stay to yourself, eh?" he asked. "Well that's no fun. Perhaps we can spend some time together and I can show you around? Maybe you'll learn to make friends." The grin played on his face. I wasn't in the mood to do anything with him. I had just eaten, and I knew I wouldn't be hungry for a few days at least. I declined and got up to leave. He was persistent, though.

"Leaving already? But we only just met!" he said. He followed me as I took a winding path into town. The light was blinding compared to the darkness of the alleyways and the park. Though it was very late at night, there was still a lot of activity in the marketplace. I avoided who I could, but the kyrii still followed.

"So... where are we going?" he asked, still grinning. I ignored him and kept moving. I didn't want to talk to him at all, since men were food, not friends. Finally, he stepped in front of me, stopping me short, and his grin disappeared and was replaced by a sad puppy dog face. I stopped short and glared at him.

"How come you're ignoring me? That's not nice, you know," he said, mock hurt marring his charming features. I looked away from him. I didn't want to tell him why. I didn't want him to know about the curse I had been put under. I tried to sidestep around him, but to no avail. He stayed in my path and blocked me off.

"Get out of my way," I ordered coldly. My voice was surprising, even to myself. I didn't mean it so harsh, but if that's how he took it, then so be it. I attempted to walk around him again. Once more, he stood in my way. I shot him a glare.

"Not until you answer my question," he said in his singsong voice, his grin returning. I made a low growl in the back of my throat.

"I just want to walk," I said, choking on the words in my annoyance. "I haven't had the chance just to walk around in a long time. Please allow me to do at least that." I stepped around him and continued to walk, leaving him behind. I thought he would finally leave me alone then, but he once again strolled up beside me and kept up with my pace.

"Maybe some other day, then?" he asked. I didn't answer. He continued to walk beside me, and I figured he wouldn't leave until I gave him a reply. I looked at him with my peripheral, so he wouldn't notice my glance in his direction.

"Maybe some other day," I said simply, thinking about how I might feel about him when I got hungry again. He grinned and stopped walking, dropping in a little bow when I turned to look. I watched him as he headed off in the other direction, then continued on my way.
***
A few days later, my hunger crept up on me again. Something made my mind wander back to the kyrii I had met. I remembered I never asked his name. I caught myself. Why would I need to know his name? He was to be dinner... not a friend. Such is the case with all the men I meet. Why should he be any different? No matter, I thought. Pushing it from my mind, I set out.

It wasn't long before I saw him again. The first place I went to was the fountain where I had first met him, and it looked even more spectacular in all its colors in the early dusk. The sun was setting, and the colorful jets of water had an orange glow to them. It was a calming sight. I sat down on the bench and sighed. To see a sunset meant I was up rather early. Why I decided to set out before the sun went down was beyond me. I began to doze off on the bench sitting upright.

A sound startled me awake a while later. The orange dusk had given way to a darkening blue sky, and the moon, full and bright, was barely visible through the trees on the horizon. I sleepily looked over to the fountain, and sitting on the edge was the striped kyrii. As was the case last time, his hearing was occupied by the music from his headphones, and his toes dangled into the water. I kept my eyes on him until he finally turned around. He grinned and pulled off the headphones.

"You were sleeping," he said. "I didn't want to wake you." He dropped the headphones and CD player into a large pocket below the knee on his pants and slid down from the fountain to sit on the bench next to me. From my slouching position, he seemed very tall. I think it was just the way I was sitting, though.

"I was waiting for you here every night," he said suddenly. I started, not at the sound of his voice, but by the words. Waiting for me? Why? What did I have that he wanted? I looked at him cautiously. It took a moment before I could speak.

"Waiting for me?" I asked. I wanted to make sure I heard him right. After all, there hasn't ever been anybody who has waited for me for any reason at all. I wanted to know his thoughts, but they were locked away in his mind and he had no emotion on his face that was going to give them away. The only expression on his face was the grin he seemed to have wherever he went.

"Yes," he replied. "I was waiting. Does that surprise you?" He looked at me, and our eyes met. For a moment I was locked there, unable to turn away. My heart jumped when his hand found mine on the bench. I quickly pulled my arm away, taking my hand out of his reach. I sat up out of my slouch.

"Why?" I asked. The word was whispered, barely audible. I averted my eyes from his face to the fountain in front of me. In my peripheral I watched him shrug.

"You look like you could use a friend," he answered simply. For some reason, I doubted that. I shifted on the bench and turned my head slightly to watch his reaction as my shoeless foot brushed against his pant leg. A visible shudder went through him. I knew what he wanted. And I could use it against him.

"Ever been in a castle?" I asked, changing the subject. His ears twitched and he blinked, shifting his position as well.

"I haven't had the opportunity, no," he said, grinning as usual. "Have you got a castle?" His face seemed to light up as he asked. I nodded in reply, and returned the grin. It wasn't long before we reached the steps leading to my front door.
***
I woke up the next evening alone. I had slept all day, and apparently the kyrii had slipped out while I did so. I was still hungry. Not only that, but I was also confused. Why didn't I go for him when I had the chance? He was right there... and now I have to wait even longer to get food. I slipped into a clean cloak and set back out. I told myself I wouldn't bother with the kyrii this time. I'd starve if I did.

The sky was overcast, and the sunset was dark and far less dazzling than the previous day. I managed to find an unsuspecting lupe not far into the evening, and I devoured him in an alley. Full once more, I had the entire night to do as I pleased. It crossed my mind once or twice to go to the fountain, but I decided against it. After all, I wasn't exactly sure what had happened between the kyrii and myself. And I still didn't know his name.

Regardless of whether or not I wanted to though, I met up with him a few hours later. It was an accident, more or less. We happened to be crossing the same street at the same time, but in opposite directions. We chatted for a while, but it ultimately led back to my castle, where the previous night repeated itself.

The next evening yielded the same emotions as the former when I awoke. What happened? Why did it happen? Who is he?

I figured I wasn't going to find out anytime soon. In fact, for the next week, just looking at him made me lose all thoughts in my mind, and I still didn't know his name. I resolved to find out the answers to these questions sooner or later, even if it meant staying with him for a long, long time. Which... truthfully... I wouldn't mind at all.
***
It was a rainy night a few days later that I finally managed to find my thoughts and collect them. We were sitting on the bench by the fountain, drenched by the rain, but warm by each other. He was busying himself nuzzling me, as he had done so many times before. I shoved him gently away, which was a first. He backed off and looked at me with a sad expression.

"Have you realized that I've known you for nearly a month and don't know your name?" I asked. The sad expression on his face disappeared and was replaced by his usual grin.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask!" he said. "I suppose we were just caught up in other things and it never came up. My name is Jadeyr."

"Jadeyr." I said the name a few times to let it roll off my lips. "Interesting name. I'm Maerunis."

"A beautiful name," he said. He paused to look up at the sky. The water droplets rolled of his long bangs and I found myself losing my thoughts again. "The rain is getting heavier, I think," he commented. "Maybe we should go inside. We'll catch our deaths out here for sure."

I couldn't help but agree with him. After all, it was much warmer in my castle nowadays than when I moved in...
***
I felt odd. Jadeyr was sick with Kikoughela, and I had been alone for a few nights in a row. I was feeling a little under the weather, but it wasn't from sickness, I was sure. It was something different. Something strange. An odd feeling in my belly. I was scared and didn't know what it was. I had never felt that way before. It didn't take long to figure out what it was however, and a few months later our son Proctoru was born.

Being so young, neither Jadeyr nor myself knew how to care for a child. We had a hard time bringing him up, and as a result he was insecure and couldn't function in society. He was in and out of several mental hospitals, until eventually he left us and went off on his own. He eventually found his own family; one that replaced Jadeyr and I as parents and tutors. It saddened me to see him go, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was for the best.

I continued to see Jadeyr after that, but the charm he once had on me eventually dissipated. It was commonplace for me to invite others to my castle instead of him, and he have others at his home instead of me.

A chapter of our lives had come to an end, but with every ending comes a new beginning. We are no different.