A part of me is questioning if I truly did hear the words that were coming from a direction behind me. If there are ever the most terrifying words that have been spoken, then I am sure those will fit comfortably amongst them. I do wish that she did not say what has been spoken, for I see Lucius with the utmost expression of joy on that godawful face of his.

This shall not happen, I shall not allow her to do this to save the boy, but in saying so, I know that she has grown fond of the child, it shall not be so easy to let go of him. And there is no way that Sebastian Belmont shall make a deal with a demon. I do not wish to sell one of the things that are dear to me.

And as I turn to face her, I can see the pained expression on her face.

"My dear Lilith, I shall not allow you to do this."

"Sebastian, the boy needs a Vampire to guide him."

"Then we shall find another, but I am not sending you deep into the belly of a known enemy. What shall stop them from killing you the moment you set your feet on their territory?"

Then Lucius, who has now returned to his human form, tries to convince me of what I believe is nothing but a bunch of lies.

"I shall ensure that Lilith is kept safe; no harm shall come to her."

"Forgive me if I sound somewhat skeptical, Lucius, but you are one of the creatures that are driven by nothing but lies. What makes you think that I shall listen to a word that you say?"

"My child needs the assistance of a Vampire, and which better one than the one that is his Maker."

"I shall not allow this; we shall find you one that will fit the same purpose as Lilith."

I watch as Lucius becomes increasingly frustrated, he has a better chance of burning in hell than he shall have in taking Lilith with him.

So with that, he takes the boy by the hand and starts to take his leave. And as my gaze makes contact with those of Lilith, I can see the most profound sadness find its way to every corner of her face. I cannot, and I will not let this happen; Lilith shall not sacrifice herself like this. I ultimately believe that this should be a decision made by the boy. One can only imagine the terror that he has to face every day he finds himself there. So with not even considering Lucius's opinion, I bend down to speak to the boy.

"Stefan, where, with who do you wish to stay?"

It only takes a few moments of hesitation, and with clear resolve, he looks up to his father, "I want to stay with Lilith."

And if Lucius was not infuriated before, he has found a newfound urgency to rip every Vampire in this room apart. It is clear that the boy has not only defied his wishes but he has disobeyed him. But it shall not be the boy he directs his anger towards, but to Lilith instead.

"You are a witch; you have deceived my child to believe that he shall get the comfort of a mother that he so desperately seeks."

The accusation sets a spark of rage from Lilith as she steps closer to him.

"The child does not need a father that feast on the flesh of others."

"Oh, but he does deserve to witness your kind slowly draining the very thing that gives a human its life."

"Well, Lucius, sorry to be the one to make you aware, but that is what your son shall be doing. So does that make him less than a Vampire?"

"You shall listen…"

I immediately cut his words before they are spoken, "You have not the authority in this house, now you have far overstayed your welcome, I insist that you leave."

"Not without the boy."

"The boy made it clear that he wishes to stay here, now I shall not request from you again. My beloved has not killed something for a day, and I am sure she is burning to."

But much to our horror, he picks the boy up and makes his leave. I watch as Lilith is ripped into reality, her face has gone somewhat paler and words elude her, and under her breath, I hear her utter but one word.

"No."

…Lilith...

I am witnessing how this monster is taking from me the one and very own thing that I have grown to care for a great deal. Not only is he taking a part of my being, he is robbing me of what I have desired for so many years, not only as a human but as an immortal. The day that Sebastian came across my torn body at the hands of a wolf, I knew then that I should never become a mother. I was with child when the monster was slicing at my skin, and as one, unfortunately, does as a Vampire, your body dies and therewith everything that it carries. Sebastian did try his utmost best effort to save my unborn baby, but he was far too young to take from my womb. I do know that until this day, he carries somewhat enormous guilt on his shoulders. In a way, I do understand why he has asked me to turn the boy.

Now this man is breaking a heart that has, for a brief moment, experienced such a magnificent thing. I understand the turmoil that Anastasia has to suffer from the raging emotions in her heart every time she is faced with a trying moment. She seems to have become somewhat immune, but is this a feeling that I wish to push to the side and leave forgotten? I am afraid that it shall not happen.

I know what I shall do, but first, I need to pretend that this is leaving me unaffected. And what better way to fool Sebastian then to move my focus and this now dreadful party which seems empty without the presence of Stefan.

And with a fake smile on my face, I turn to Sebastian and Edward.

"I guess this party must go on, now get yourselves ready for the guests shall soon be arriving."

With that, I make my way into the ballroom, and soon I am joined by Victor. He immediately sees through my façade and gently pulls me into his arms. Now Vampires rarely show such affection, but the only man I can ever see myself settling my Vampire years with is this man whose embrace I find my comfort in.

"My dear Lilith, we shall find a way to bring the boy back home."

"Victor, there is no way to reason with the man; he is beyond what one can call stubborn. And let us not forget is a pure monster."

"All monsters have their weakness. There shall be a way to convince this man of what shall be best for the boy."

"Has he not broken the treaty by taking one of ours?"

"I am afraid the way it shall seem is that we have taken the boy in the first instance. Since the Supernatural Council was dissolved, we had to live by these simple rules."

"Well, I say these rules are a bunch of hogwash; the boy deserves the right to choose where he wants to be."

Pushing that to the back of my mind, I do not discuss the matter with Victor any further, for if I do, he shall learn of my plan. A plan that shall stew in my head while I entertain these guests I no longer wish to be here. And between moving from Vampire to Vampire, entertaining their useless conversations, I notice that Sebastian is studying me closely. I smile and wave as he frowns at me curiously; he might be suspecting something.

After doing all my chores expected from the host, I excuse myself to go up to my room with the pretense to collect something. The minute I step inside, I dress into something more comfortable, and as I did in my early Vampire years, I step outside the window and climb onto the branch of a nearby tree. I chuckle at myself as all the memories come flooding back of Sebastian's times has caught me sneaking away into the night for hours on end.

I soon find myself leaving the grounds unnoticed, and in absolute haste, I make my way down the street. Now I wish that I did make this trip by car, for there is a slight drizzle tickling like feathers on my skin. But that is the least of my problems; I have only one thing a wish to achieve, and not the slightest of bad weather will stop me.

And as I make my way through the city with rather hasty steps, my mind keeps traveling back to Stefan. The one thing that I am already missing is that sweet laughter, he is untouched, and even though he has seen the horrors of the Underworld, he remains innocent. His youth brings a breath of fresh air to my lungs, and I have noticed in his eyes that he has found in me the very thing that he has been lacking.

So in what seems like forever, I find myself where I exactly want to be. And it is with no hesitation that I slide the steel gates open. I cringe as they make a high pitched noise as they scratch against the cement floor. But this does not stop me from entering and find the first corridor that shall lead me to the center.

As I enter, the stench of rotten flesh attacks my senses. The walls are wet to the touch; they are covered with the blood of the humans that have been slaughtered inside here. But this shall not stop me; I have seen Vampire gatherings that have been far worse than this. It will take a great deal more to frighten me, I might seem like a gentle woman, but I served for years in the Vampire army when the great war was threatening to cross our borders.

And as I am starting to get closer, I hear the ghastly sounds of so many that are feeding; then there is the cackle that sends chills to my spine. For a brief moment, I think how foolish I was to come here, but then the thoughts of Stefan enter my mind, and I know I am exactly where I want to be.

I then find myself slipping unnoticed around the corner, and I am horrified by what I see. There is a pit filled with humans, some dead and ones very much alive. The ungodly creatures are pulling them one by one and devouring every part of their skin. But what is the worst is seeing so many of them in their true form. The heat that they are radiating is so hot that I can feel it burning my skin. This does look like hell has come to earth. To think that this place even exists sickens me, and they wish to call us the monsters. It is pure chaos and horror, but I need to make peace with where I find myself; there is no way the sight of this shall make me go back on the one thing I desire.

So I take a deep breath before entering into the belly; my presence shall soon become noticed. Then the question begs, what shall they do to me? After all, I have crossed into their territory without permission, and they might perceive my intentions as sinister.

Then I step forward, and in an instant, I hear a voice rumble behind me.

"I was wondering when you would come."