Every vampire has a beginning, where we came from, who we were before. I was young and niave, not at all who I am now. I have seen and done many things in my time. The rise and fall of great dynastys, wars, assassinations, murders, marriages and deaths. I was no more then a simple housewife raising my children, when I received word from the military chaplain that my husband had gone missing while on a mission. "Where is he?" I demanded. I stormed out of the little bungalow that we shared, leaving the children in the care of a bewildered chplain. I ran straight to the house of Steven's Captain, his wife answered the door, I asked if I could speak with him, "Of course, come in Suzanne." He immediately saw the distressed look on my face and said"Let's go for a walk." I demanded to know where Steven was. Captain Payne was a dear friend to me and Steven, he said"I may lose my captain's rank for this, but Steven was sent on a secret mission to Siberia, they felt his background would help us infiltrate the Russian military and gain insight into what they are doing ." "But he is missing and we can't contact him." I decided right then and there that I was going to find him, he was my true love, my soulmate. I needed to find him. I had family in England, I sent a letter to them, informing them that I would be arriving there by ship and that I would need them to care for my children while I searched for my husband. I emptied out the bank account and bought the tickets, despite the fact that WWI was raging , packed up my meager belonging and the kids and off to England we sailed. After leaving my children Brittaney and Steven with their elder Aunt Kate. I gve them each a hug and a kiss and said "mom will be back for you when I find dad, remember that I love you now and forever." I travelled over the European continent, doing my best to avoid the areas destroyed by the battles of the war, buying the supplies that I needed to cross Russia into Siberia. I made friends with the traders and slowly learned to speak the language. I t was something I picked up naturally. I travelled through Russia, small villages almost empty of men due to the army needing them for the war. In the dark reaches of Siberia I came upon an encampment of Gypsies . Speaking to them, I found that they had seen my Mate and that he was taken by a reclusive Russian known as Elder Nikolai. They were afraid of this man, but gve me directions toward his distant home. I reached the house , I should say castle becasue it was so huge, but dark. But I sensed Steven, something was wrong, very wrong. I entered the castle, wondering through the darkened halls, when something dropped down in front of me. I fell back , and looking up, saw Steven, but he was different. He was pale, his eyes glowed red, he didn't seem to recognize me at all. At once, moving like lightening he was on me, I felt a horrible bite on my neck and felt my life draining away. Then it was dark, but then the pain came, in waves, then the fire coursed through my veins. I was dying, or at least I hoped so. When was this nightmare going to end? Fire in my veins, the pain, the agony, it just increases, is there no mercy from this torment? If there is a God let me die now. Sudenly the torture stops...there is nothing. nothing but silence and cool soothing darkness that slowly enveloped me. When I opened my eyes, he stood by me, watching as I swiftly jumped to my feet, fire coursed through my veins, yet I felt strong and agile, mentally sharp. and wow! talke about visual acuity. I saw everything so much clearer. "what did you do to me?" Steven looked down, ashamed of what he had done. "I reached over and touched him "Look at me and tell me what happened." ""You are a vampire now, like me. "What?" "How can this be?" Then from the shadows Nikolai drifted in, " I turned your Mate so that I could continue my line, I am an Elder, but most of my clan has been hunted to the brink of extiction." "I needed a strong male to carry on when I am gone." "I didn't forsee you coming here, but he did what came natural to him, he sought your blood." "Now I have two vampires to carry on for me." Too much too fast, I thought only of my children. "what will happen to my children?" "OH no! there are children? I didn't see that." See what happens when you get old and distracted? " We must put them under protection or Anatoli will seek them. He is out to destroy my line." I must protect you , he slit his hand and I drank his blood, bonding me to him and giving me abilities beyond imagination. He trained me in vampric battle arts with swords,daggers, spears,crossbows, and battle axes. My agility increased with the many nights of practice. Steven watched from the shadows, amused at my first attempts at fighting, the closest I had come to a physical fight was when i threw a vase at him during an argument. But he was amazed at the speed at which I learned what I needed to survive. Now I was a deadly fighter with a mission. I had to protec t Nikoli and my children. Nickoli sent a blood slave to England to ensure the children's safety. I started to venture out to hunt and practice my new skills. I flew high above the clouds and made my first contact with humans in a village not to far away. A village pub was open, I went in , looking over the gathered people, I was immediately drawn to this man sitting way in the back, his eyes were dark and his skin was almost white. Surely he was like me. What a mistake that was, he was a dreaded damphire, a vampire hunter. He was on me in an instant, I dodged back and forth avoiding his dagger, then I simply whispered "give me the dagger." He was strong, I was young but a quick learner, I touched him gently on the cheek, and whispered in his ear the Melody of death and the dagger was in my hand and through his heart and no one saw a thing. As the body dropped to the floor, I thought I must make them all forget that I was here. I sang an Ethereal song of forgetfulness, and disappeared into the night. I went back to the castle to find a battle scene so gory that it makes me sick to remember. Nikoai was dead, steven gravely injured. I leapt to steven's side. I took him away, flying to a distant cave. I nursed him back to health, hunting and feeding him until his wounds healed enough for him to tell me what had happened. "Nikolai was right, there is a vampire called Anatoli Gregor. He has vowed to destroy Nikolai. Last night he did. The battle was glorious, right to the bitter end. But I was too wounded to resist, and Anatoli used mind meld, to read my thoughts. He found out about the children Suzanne." I was shaken to the depths of my undead soul, I screamed , you know when you have sonic scream you really shouldn't scream in a cave. The resulting cave in, took me several attempts to clear away. Together we flew to England. My Aunt's small farm house was outside of Manchester. I knew in my heart that we were too late. Her body and that of the blood slave were lying in the yard, the house a shambles. I searched everywhere, my children were gone. On the table in the kitchen was a note, scrawlled in blood was the message," I have them, they are mine now, maybe I will feed on them or maybe I will not, its a game of hide and seek, I hide you seek." You know that there is one thing you never do..you never piss off a mom, never mind a vampire mom. Steven and I dug a grave for Aunt Kate and the blood slave then destroyed all evidence of the farm by pyrokensis. I was totally devestated , my children were my life, all I cherished. Steven tried to consol me," I will not be consoled, I will find my children if I have to scour the entire planet." I travelled night after night, city after city. Steven decided to chance a search of his own, he went off to search back home, just in case there was a chance they had been taken there.. I was to the brink of totally exhaustion.one winter day in Western Siberia near Lake Baikal, sleeping in the deepest darkest cave, I was awakened by a soft purr. A snow white lynx sat next to me, I was not afraid, I just knew that she would not hurt me. She was my friend, my inspration, my guide and protector. Hermione knew of my anguish and she travelled with me through the mountains , into Tibet, through China. In Istanbul, months later I found some friends that had heard of a new vampire childe in the deserts of Egypt and another on an island off the coast of Africa. Could this be a clue to my children? I had to find Steven, one of the desert traders I had frequent contact with offered to help, to ensure completely reliability I whispered to him, "You must swear a blood oath to me that you will not divulge any information to anyone other then my Mate." Yosef took my blood and I took a taste of his, locking the oath. Several more agonizing months passed til Steven and I met up in North Africa. Locked in an embraced that the Devil himself could not break, I kissed him passionately, his kiss is return sealed our love for all eternity. My robes were tattered and worn from the long year of searching, Steven in his travels found a stunning robe of midnight blue and an amulet with a bloodstone heart in the center. I smiled for the first time in a year as he took off my robe and looked at me in the firelight. That night our lovemaking was very ..opps I forgot that there are young readers...let's just say the earth moved! We lay in each others arms for what seemed like an erternity, until Boris and Hermione decided to get into a rumble over who got the carcass left over from the last hunt. We will search each to a supposed location, but we will change names and robes to throw anyone who may be getting close off the track. I became Lady Siberia and he became Count Stephen John. He donned the uniform of a US service man and I became an American singer and touring the service clubs in Africa. I just had to be careful when singing, so not to hurt the innocent. But anyone evil would definitely feel it and feel it hard. StephenJohn worked his way on to the staff of a General, thus being able to move about the countries without causing alarm, I simply moved along with the musical troop, until I came to Egypt. I left him there, to follow the clues about the male vampire childe. I became a Bedouin , traveling the deserts of Africa southeast toward the coast where I bought passage on a ship to the island of Comoros.Having glamoured the crew, I slept fitfully, the scenes that came to me were both peaceful and horrifying. There was my beautiful daughter, but she had fangs, her long blonde hair flying in the sea breezes, she was graceful and deadly, she could kill and heal. How could this be? The ship came in tothe pot of Moroni, from there under the cover of night I moved, following the clues in the scenes of my dreams. Flying over the peak of Mt Karthala, I soon came to the far coastal village of Chindini. The soft light of day was fast approaching so I crept into the closest sea cave I could find and fell fast asleep. Back in Egypt, StephenJohn was searching for the city of Itjtawy. Local people only spoke of it in whispers, because they feared bringing the wrath of Sekhmet or her priests down on them. StephenJohn was not taking it any more, and believe me you don't want him to lose his patience. He stormed into the local temple and grabbed a priest, "tell me where to find the temple of Sekhmet now." Trembling in fear of a real vampire, the priest pointed to a chamber off to the side, StephenJohn strode in still holding the priest by the throat, "show me now." He set the priest on the floor, and he with trembling hands pulled out an ancient scroll, "read it for me." The priest read the scroll and gave the location to my Mate, then he handed him an Ankh shaped key," this will allow you passage into their temple ." "I was never here,." StephenJohn whispered. The shaken priest nodded and stepped away. StephenJohn simply slept in the temples chamber until the next sunset, his dreams as vivid as mine. The large temple in the center of the city, yet this city was underground, away from the sunlight. A tall young male standing within, practicing his fighting skills, his sixth sense telling him that someone was near. The priests were nearby, instructing him, instilling in him the skills of divination and fighting for his survival. The sunset over the city was stunning, and as the stars crept out, my Mate awakened with a stiff resolve to find his son. As the sunset, and darkness crept across the chamber floor, StephenJohn now well rested , set forth to the Ancient city,. Upon reaching the "ruins" of the ancient city, he approached the temple gate and placed the ankh against the stone. Rumbling from deep within, revealed an opening for his entry. Down deep under the sands he found the temple, the priests were moving about deep in their rituals. "Come father." a young male voice called. StephenJohn turned to face his son, grown more stealthy, muscular and agile then when he left him back home. They embraced briefly. "You have become a true warrior, I have seen your skills in dreams." "Yes father I am Count Chaine, a strong warrior, but I have learned much from the priests. My Black Knight form and lunging stab are just a few of my abilities, my most strong and deadly ability is Epic Mummification, one touch and my enemy is a desicated corpse. ." "I am truly impressed my son." "We must go, and meet with your mother , I sense that she has found your sister." With the Blessings of the temple priests, they left the Ancient city and returned to the surface world. Once at the surface and the dorr to the temple closed ,father and son blood bonded, never to be lost to each other again.Back in my cave, the Sunset filled me with a warmth I hadn't felt in over a year, I was so close , would Brittaney know me? would she accept me for what I had become? A low growl from Hermione caused me to move swiftly , there was someone in the cave. I sensed her, yet I was terrified that she would reject me. "You seek me ." a sweet voice called out in the darkness. "Yes" I whispered," please do not fear me" "I do not fear you , you can not and will not hurt me mother." She called me mother! "You know me my child?" "Of course you are my mother, but we are different now, we live in darkness and feed off the blood of others to survive." "I am so sorry I had no idea that my endeavor to find your father would lead us all to this." "You are as sweet and beautiful now as you were when I last saw you in England, yet you are stronger , smarter, and deadlier." Yes the Sea Goddess Tiamat, was instructed to hide me away and teach me the arts of survival and healing. But she took it further and now I can control the seas, the tides, and I can conjure storms at my pleasure." Around her neck was a sea scallop amulet (for protection)under her robe of sea green, was her "witches" pouch, her tools for scrying/divination. "Come with me, you need to meet Tiamat." I scurried along the cave floor and grabbed her, I hugged her tightly , "I will never lose you again. this is my solemn blood oath to you." I bit my wrist and she took my blood and I tasted hers. We were bonded by blood once again. Inside her small unobtrusive hut, the sea witch Tiamat, welcomed me, but kept her safe distance. "I bid you well my friend, and thank you for protecting my child and teaching her your ways." "I did what I was ordered to , but she is such a sweet child, I gave her more then they wanted." Tiamat's laughter filled the small hut, "they wanted her to only learn the ways of survival, but I gave her more, I see in the shell runes that you are all in danger. What I gave her will help to ensure your family's survival in the future battles to come." "Maelstrom control of tides, scrying and divination are but a start, she is a powerful young vampire, I gave her the knowledge of healing and now at the end of her training, I give her control of time. She can shift it forward or back at her will." "That is a large burden of power for one so young." Gazing at my young daughter, I saw her beaming with happiness, "I will use these gifts for the good of mankind and to ensure the safety of those whom I love." "Go forth my child, you are released from my care, go Lady Jullette Adriel, you are free." Tiamat took her shell covered staff, struck the floor of the hut sending a wave of protection over us, and sending us to Indian city of Mumbai. We set about gathering the needed saris to blend in. In this port city I was able to gain passage to Egypt, with our coffins safely aboard, we set sail across the Indian ocean, with Juliette keeping the seas calm for the journey. Our journey was trouble free yet our arrival in the port of Alexandrai was not, deep in the holds of the ship, my dreams were even more vivid, the temple of Sekhmet and the city of Itjtawy, my beloved Mate StephenJohn and flashes of a young male vampire, could this be my lost son Steven? "Beware ." a voice whispered, "there is a traitor amongst the crew, you and the child are in danger." startled awake by this revelation, I sensed that Juliette was awakened also, "it is daylight we can not leave yet, but if you summon up a storm, it will give us the cover that we need to escape." Brittaney closed her eyes and summoned a sudden storm to hit the port, the tides moved at her will, waves smashed against the hull, sending many of the sailors overboard, except the one I needed, the one whom I had been warned about. "Come here young one, show yourself to me, I will not harm you, come to the hold, open the lock." I heard the lock open with a snap, and the door to the hold swung open and freely on its hinges. There stood this tall young man, "come here my young friend, tell me why do you seek to bring harm to us?" He spoke haltingly"I was told to inform Them when I found you." "who are They?" "Dark evil men who only come out in the night. They frighten me, so I do as they say." ""You seem out of place here, not a sailor, more noble and definitely not from the port from which we sailed, who are you and where do you come from?" "My name is Prince Alrik de Payne, I am from the Alsace region of France/Germany." "Well young one, you will belong to me now, you will do what I say and return directly to me, if you try to go any place else, your heart will burst in your chest." "do you understand?" "Yes my Lady, what is it you wish?" "Go forth to these dark men as you call them, tell them that you have what they seek, bring them to the temple, I will deal with them myself." Juliette released the storm and peacful waters once again occupied the port's harbor, at nightfall, Alrik set forth to do his assigned task, and Juliette and I flew to the Temple. Once inside, we sought out the Chief Priest, upon seeing my amulet, he knew who I was, apparently StephenJohn implanted that memory for me. Just as he was handing me the ankh, Alrik came running into the chamber, he was trembling. "what is it?" "They are coming my Lady." "Very good now, go with the Chief Priest, leave this chamber." The priest and Alrik sped from the chamber, leaving Juliette and I to plan our battle. Now a single female vampire along with her child are not much to fear, but whoever They were, what a surprise they had instore for them. By using the mirrored surface of a golden shield, Juliette was able to scrye how many were coming and when they would arrive. They lost the element of surprise. Anatoli was not among them, but his first female in command was, she would be my key. Blending into the shadows, I awaited the arrival. Juliette having removed her outer seafoam green robe, revealing her shorter battle robe, stood in the ceremonial pool at the center of the chamber, refreshing her strength in its cool waters. While standing in the still waters, she was able to scrye that father and son were together, this lightened my heart. . "I have an idea mother, watch this." Closing her eyes, and chanting an ancient verse, when her eyes opened they glowed a bright orange, the chamber door began to glow and shimmer,and as time stood still here, in the desert it moved forward, and through it passed my Mate and my son. Even the fact that a battle loomed imminently, I ran to embrace my son, my lost child. He picked me up, and hugged me with such strength, I almost lost my breath. Our bonds are strong, we are together again, we will never lose each other again, this is my blood bond. With out a thought, we each performed a blood bonding one to another, blending bloodlines and creating a family of vampires, never seen before.