It wasn’t long after I went to sleep that I woke up. With all of the “dirt naps” I’ve taken recently, I couldn’t exactly get good rest. Opening my eyes and letting out a slow yawn, I stretched my arms out and turned around. A straight line of sunlight crossed the floor near my bed. If my still heart could race, it would’ve done laps. Pushing myself back in the bed, The blanket was nearly my only defense against it.

If those shutters weren’t closed, I’d definitely have died just now. I thought to myself, eyes shooting towards the horribly bright window. Wait, does that means he knows about me? No, he probably just thought I’d get woken up by the sunlight. It still feels... strange, to have someone act so kind to me. If he’s not trying to betray me... maybe I should... try to repay him?

Shaking my head of the weirdly sentimental thought, I wrapped the big blanket around my body and stood up from the bed. After a few seconds of shuffling, I took notice of Leo’s blanket, and how much fluffier it looked. Considering he wouldn’t be using it for a while, I took it for myself and wrapped it around me in the same way. It smelled strongly like him, but lacked the sense of flowing blood.

I guess I haven’t smelled a person without thinking of feeding on them in a long time. Senna thought, taking another few breaths through the fabric. It might just be the lack of comparison, but he smells... nice. Wait, what am I even doing?

The sunlight wasn’t near the doorway yet, but I was extra careful to not step away from the wall nonetheless. Sneaking back into the main area of the cabin, it was still cool in here, but Leo was nowhere to be found. As I shuffled back to the room, I found a room on the floor I must’ve missed in my panic from the daylight.

“Gone to town, get yourself something to eat and we can talk when I get back.” It read, though the handwriting was hard to read.

A small chill ran down my back, wondering what he might want to discuss. Choosing not to let my paranoia get the better of me, I went back into the main hall and shuffled my way across the the floor in the blanket. On the way I passed an uncooked piece of elk thigh, and decided that it would make a good breakfast.

Before I took my seat, I made sure all of the shutters were closed tight with the hatchet, so that no direct sunlight would hit me. My eyes were far more sensitive to the light because of my vampirism, so it was more than tolerable to stay in the assuredly dim lighting now.

I heard footsteps around the cabin not long after I started feeding, and thought that Leo might be back. The pattern was off, and far too quiet for it to actually be him, and my eyes narrowed carefully. Before I could even consider trying to hide beneath the floorboards or something else drastic, they stopped. Carefully inching my way there, I moved to the front door and placed my ear against it.

Leo’s voice came in gentle whispers, but I couldn’t make out anything that he was saying. On top of that, there was an older man’s voice with him. They stopped talking eventually and started back towards the cabin. Panicked, I flew back to my seat and quickly sat down again before sinking my teeth into the meat and wrapping my pale skin in the blanket once more.

The door opened and Leo stood next to a stranger. As they both looked at me in silence, I gave a small wave. Between them, a beam of light threatened to cut into me, but stopped just short of the midway point. Both of them stepped inside and he thankfully closed the door.

“Uh, hey Senna. This is...?” He answered, gesturing to the man.

“Simon, thank you. I’m just here to ask a few questions, nothing serious.” He introduced himself, looking around the cabin. “Not that I want to alarm you or anything, ma’am, but we will be talking about vampires in the area.”

The same feeling I got when I saw the sunlight rushed back. I waited until he looked away to pull my mouth off of the food and placing down the meat. Leo moved over to the table and grabbed the other seat. Something made me want to inch closer to him, as if he made me feel safer. It wasn’t until Simon cleared his throat that I realized I was being silent.

“A-Ah, sorry. Don’t worry about me, I’m not easily scared by things like that. I’ve lived in these woods for a while, so it’s alright.” I answered, accidentally stuttering from fear.

“There’s nothing wrong in being afraid of vampires, you know. They’re quite powerful creatures, and incredibly crafty. As they grow older, they get stronger and faster, though there are rumors they hit a sort of shelf after the first century. I assure you that the vampires in this land are all older than that, however, just for warning.”

Huh, even I didn’t know that. I thought to myself, before inspiration turned my fear into hope. Maybe I can use this stranger’s knowledge to my advantage? If I could somehow get him on my side, I could destroy the Godwin family!

“You think they’ve been here that long?” Leo asked. “I knew this town was popular with eccentric noblemen and such, but surely we would have noticed if they kept whisking people away to feed on them all this time.”

“While that’s true, they don’t need to constantly kidnap victims. Vampires only need to kill by drinking on animals, more coherent and sentient creatures seem to provide enough sustenance with just a portion of blood.” Simon looked down at the ground and clenched his fists. “They kidnap the young, children and adolescents, then raise them to be cattle for feeding. Innocent souls, left in dark dungeons and fed scraps so they can be used to fill the vile hunger of those monsters...”

I looked down at the ground as well, though it was more out of guilt. When my family first moved me here, I remember being shown a young boy that was going to be my feeding victim during the first few decades of my stay. He could barely speak, and didn’t even know how to read or write. My aunt told me that was for the best, so that they would be better off staying within our castle. The boy was scared of my aunt, but he looked at me with such bright eyes that I knew he trusted me almost right away.

Snapping from my memories, I saw that Simon was staring at my hand. I quickly pulled it back under the blanket and looked away, hoping he thought I was just being shy. When he stood up, I did my best not to look, but I could tell he was growing suspicious of me.

“Pardon me... Leo, I believe? I was under the impression from a shopkeeper in town that you lived alone up here. Is Senna a relative of yours?” Simon asked.

“No, she’s just... well, it’s actually a bit of an odd story. I met her in the woods recently, and she seemed homeless or on the run. She’s staying here for the time being, but I’m hoping to reunite her with family soon. Why?”

“Because runaways are easy pickings for vampires. Maybe you know something about the vampires in this area, miss? Are you a runaway cattle, perhaps?” He asked, drawing his face closer.

My fists curled up under the blanket. I could kill him if I got the right shot in, but he was obviously a trained fighter himself. The daylight was my biggest weakness, all he had to do was move into the light and I would be helpless. If he managed to actually move me into the light, I’d be dead for sure.

“N-No, sir. I’m just a traveller.” I answered.

“But you said you’ve been in these woods a while. You’ve been travelling in the same woods for a while and don’t have a home of your own?” Simon asked.

“Ah, I meant, um...” I stuttered in my response again.

I turned to look at him finally and he had strict, cold eyes. They were piercing straight through me, like stakes ready to pin me down. Every second felt like syrup, time flowing slowing and haltingly. I screamed inside my skull for something, anything, that might provide me a way out. In desperation, I looked at Leo, and my last hope came to me.

“Look, the truth is...” I said in a whisper and cupped my hand so Leo couldn’t hear. “I, um... I do have a home in town, but I ran away so I could be with Leo. H-He doesn't know it yet, but I love him, a-and I wanted to be close to him...”

Why do I have to say something so embarrassing?! Why am I so embarrassed in the first place?! My thoughts rang out, trying to keep from letting slip.

Simon leaned back in shock, and the looked towards Leo. “Well then, that’s not something I was expecting. I still want to be sure you weren’t attacked or anything at night. Could you please show me your ankles?”

“Huh? Not my neck?” I asked.

“No, vampires that strike unsuspecting strangers will most often go for their ankles instead of the neck.” He said as he got down on one knee to see them. “Assuming the victim is asleep, it’s much less likely to wake them up than having a person leaning over the whole body. Not to mention if they wake up, the vampire can killed tear the tendon, crippling their victim. It’s also easier to hide and avoids getting them within arms’ reach.”

Poking my feet out from the blanket, he twisted and turned my feet each to look for any bite marks. I remembered when I was turned by my mother, that it was done though a bit by the neck, and that the same was done when I fed on humans.

I guess bites on the neck are more of a luxury way to feed. Maybe I should start feeding on elk and deer by the legs? I wondered to myself as he finished.

“Well, I don’t see any signs of an attack like that. That being said, the both of you should take extra care not to go out past sundown, and make sure to have weapons to protect yourself when going out early or late. Let me know if you see anything strange or suspicious near the castles around here, alright? I’ll be staying at the church in town, since the father there is an old friend of mine.”

He stuck his hand out towards Leo and gave it a firm shake. Internally I thought of how to use him to my advantage. If the families don’t hunt much, there would be no way to suggest I saw someone from the Godwin or Ainz clan moving about. I only met with one of them because I stalked around their compound for days. Simon broke me out of my thoughts as he extended a hand towards me as well. I gave a shy smile and stuck one hand out for him.

The moment it connected, his snatched my wrist with his other hand and yanked me down to the floor. He held it in the blade of sunlight, and my skin seared with fiery pain as I watched the flesh burn and bubble. He let me go after I screamed, tears almost instantly coming to my eyes. Leo stood up in shock as Simon looked down with a grin as I pressed against the wall, nursing my wound.

“I knew it.” He answered. “Pale skin and hiding inside of a blanket during the day. You nearly had me convinced with the story you told there, but I’m not one for passing an opportunity to be sure.”

Crying from pain was the only thing that kept me from talking back, but I could feel the end closing in. He stepped to the right, so that the sunlight was a barrier between me and him.

“Are... are you going to kill her?” Leo asked.

He’s scared. I thought, sniffling pathetically on the floor. I really, really hope I didn’t scare him much...

“No.” Simon answered.

Both of us paused, and he looked between us carefully. With one hand, he patted Leo on the shoulder and crouched down on the ground to get eye level with me.

“Listen here, fledgling, because you’re the key to my plan. If you want to help me, stay sitting over there. If you would rather die, come here and do it yourself.”

“...plan?” I asked him.

“Maybe it’d help if I told you my full name?” He gave a grin, one almost as scary as his stare from earlier. “I am Simon Ainz, and I’d like your help in murdering my family.”