• Chapter 3: Thank you Shadow
    Grace woke up with a start. She wasn’t cold like she expected. She heard snoring and turned over to see Shadow sleeping on the floor. Grace was on a large bed.

    On further inspection Grace realized she was in a large room. The room lead off to a bathroom full of marble and a kitchen with granite counter tops.

    “This must be Shadow’s apartment. I must of fallen asleep in the snow and he brought me here…. Shadow…”

    Grace sighed and laid back down. “I was so thirsty… Was it just the smell of blood? Or are my vampire instincts acting up again…?”

    Shadow began to move and Grace closed her eyes tightly. She didn’t want him to know she had woken up.

    Shadow stood up and stretched. He was still wearing his black jeans and red jacket. His Jeans were soaked through with snow along with his jacket.

    “She is still asleep…..I guess she is still tired from last night…Oh well.” Shadow shrugged and went to the kitchen. He turned on the coffee pot then opened the front door and grabbed the Saturday paper.

    Shadow sat on the edge of the bed and flipped open the paper. Grace sat up and looked at him.

    “You killed someone didn’t.”

    Shadow didn’t seem surprised by Grace’s voice. “I drank the blood of the cab driver. I killed no one. You drank his blood to. You just don’t remember. You rarely ever do.”

    Grace wincer and crawled to the foot of the bed and sat down. “Shadow how did you save me.”

    Shadow closed the paper and sat it down. “It’s my job. I’m your guardian. Can’t let your father down now can I? Besides. I couldn’t just let you freeze that would be cruel.”

    “Yes but father didn’t like you remember?” Grace laughed.

    “That’s because he thinks I hurt you.” Shadow stood up and walked over to a chair on the other side of the room. He sat down and glared at Grace.

    “Anyway, Grace the accident was on the news already. The cab driver is dead and no one saw us get on so no one knows of us.”

    Grace nodded. “Let’s keep it that way. You can’t keep killing club girls. That’s why we had to leave China…”

    Shadow glared at Grace. “You always did talk to much….”

    Grace sat back hurt. She got up and grabbed her bag and stomped to the bathroom to get dressed and clean. “Stupid Boys!!”

    Shadow rolled his eyes and drank his coffee. “A thank you Shadow would of worked just the same…”

    Grace starred at herself in the mirror. Her image continued to fade in and out. She splashed cold water on her face and her image became fully solid again.

    Grace sighed and turned the nozzle of the shower to cold and quickly jumped in. She left the cold water flow. Grace looked back up at a large mirror that was in the shower. The image didn’t fade like before.

    “Shadow must have given me some blood from the cab driver after all… I can’t ever remember…”

    Grace washed her hair then got out of the shower rapped tightly in a towel. She pulled on a black, comfortable dress and brushed through her wet hair. Grace closer her eyes and concentrated and when she opened them again she saw she had brown hair and green eyes.

    Grace packed all of her stuff in her bag again and walked back out. Shadow paid no attention to Grace’s change. Grace sighed and shoved her bag under the bed the went over to Shadow placing her hand firmly on his shoulder

    Grace closed her eyes and Shadow groaned. When Grace took her hand off of Shadow and opened her eyes she smiled.

    Shadow had black hair and brown eyes. He was grimacing which just added to his sinister look. He glared back and Grace who just smiled back.

    “Thank you Shadow… For being human and staying with me. You truly are my guardian angel.”

    Shadow picked up the paper again without saying a word. He was secretly smiling behind the paper. “I told you not to call me that.” Shadows voice has a smile in it.

    Grace laughed then jumped up onto the bed. She was starring out the window on the other wall. The sun was rising and the snow had left a blanket of white every where. Grace grinned then fell back on her pillow. “I love London…”


    Chapter 4 Unwanted Notice

    Grace woke up and saw Shadow starring down at her. He was on the ceiling and was hanging extremely close to the bed. Grace screamed and rolled off the bed.

    “Ouch! What did you do that for!? How rude!”

    Shadow groaned and lunged from the ceiling landing lightly on the floor. He walked over and helped Grace up. Then he flicked her in the forehead.

    “I was listening that’s all. You still talk in your sleep. You always do. You said ‘Shadow’….”

    Grace blushed and stepped away from Shadow. “May I just have some breakfast please?”

    Shadow smirked and walked to the kitchen. He started banging pans around preparing food. He flicked on a small silver TV to the news.

    In the other room Grace bit her lip and put her hair in a pony tail. And pulled on a robe. “Stupid Shadow. He shouldn’t listen to me like that!”

    Shadow poked his head into the room and Grace jumped to attention. Shadow rolled his eyes. “Breakfast is ready Grace. Common and eat already so I can go.”

    Grace grumbled and walked into the marble covered kitchen and sat on a white chair eating slowly. “Your going out again?”

    Shadow nodded and looked back over at the TV. “I’m still thirsty...”

    Grace jumped up knocking her orange juice over. “Shadow you can’t go to the club and hunt anymore! You’ll ruin us just like in China!”

    Shadow glared at Grace and wiped up the juice. He then slammed the rag on the table with a bang then stalked out of the room. “I could just drink your blood like you were mumbling in your sleep you little brat.”

    Grace turned bright red as she blushed deeply. “I didn’t say that! Your lying!”

    Shadow poked his head in again. “You can bite me Shadow. Just please wake up. Please! Please!” Shadow imitated Grace in a mocking way then ducked out of the kitchen again then slammed the front door behind him.

    Grace slammed her head on the table. “Why must he always do that?!”

    Grace finally got up and turned the volume up on the TV. The News was on and it was a basic repeat of last night. Grace gasped when she saw a further report of the cab driver incident but relaxed when it was just a short memorial thing.

    Grace flicked the TV off and left the kitchen without bothering to clean up. Grace jumped onto the bed landing flat on her back. She reached her arm out and closed her eyes to concentrate. Her bag floated out from under the bed and landed lightly beside her.

    Grace dug through her stuff then smiled when she found what she was looking for. It was a small black teddy bear with red/brown eyes. The bear had an evil appearance to it and was obviously not an average bear.

    “Oh my Teddy… Shadow hates me I know it….” Grace hugged the bear to her chest and a single tear fell from her cheek.

    Tears began to spill uncontrollably from her eyes and she lay crumpled on her bed. She began to shake with the force of her crying. That’s when the bear began to twitch. Its eyes gleamed their red color and the stitches around its mouth came loose creating an open mouth.

    “Don’t cry mistress. Your life together has not ended. Your pain is a creation of your own imagination and Shadow’s blindness.” The bear spoke in a low demonic voice. The voice just added to the eerie feeling of the bear.”

    Grace sat up and wiped away her tears. “Thank you Teddy but Shadow isn’t that simple. Not only does he not love me but laws of my father’s kingdom state that a guardian and the guarded can never be one.”

    The teddy bear sat down in front of Grace and looked at her. His eyes were oddly thoughtful. “You need to relax mistress. Your life is long and your love is everlasting. Give the other blood sucker time.”

    When grace smiled the bear became lifeless yet again and the stitches around his mouth began to stitch the mouth back together again. Grace sighed as the bear fell backwards dead. “Happiness makes you dormant. Pain is what makes you awaken… Poor Teddy only knows bad things.”