A curious, somewhat sweet sounding, sigh echoed through Maxine's bedroom. She was stretched out on her bed, having taken leave of her duties for the remainder of the day. The training room was closed down early anyway for maintenance and upgrades for the next phase of the student development course.

Wearing nothing but her slightly perturbed smile, she stretched a little then sighed again. "Do I?"

After a brief moment of thought, she place the back of her hand to her forehead. "Technically she has every legal right..."

Maxine frowned cutely. "But... If he actually is interested in me... There is that other law..."

She groaned loudly then clutched at the sheets with her free hand. Now positioned like a damsel in distress, Maxine took a deep breath then pressed her sweet lips into a thin, firm, line. "Either way, we've become friends."

The golden elf popped up, her abundant feminine talents jumping for joy in the process. The sheet fell away revealing the womanly glory that it had tried and ultimately failed to contain. "I'll just have to do it."

She smacked her fist into her palm then nodded her head decisively. Maxine slid out of bed then walked over to the far corner of her room. After lifting one hand imperiously, a large shimmering wardrobe appeared before her. An inventory screen appeared before her not long after.

A delicate finger rose up and lightly pointed up toward the ceiling while he sucked on her lower lip a little. "Hmm. What do I need for a proper conversation with Alice...?"

She looked through her inventory then started naming things off while she considered them. "Holy water... No." She skimmed down. "Boomerang cross... Probably no. Not enough room. Same thing for my bows."

"Silver-nitrate garlic grenades... Nah, she's far too fast for those to do anything anymore." She tapped her chin lightly for a moment then continued on. This might take a moment.

Several minutes passed as she searched through her massive inventory selection screen. Maxine smiled warmly when she found a nice outfit to put on, however. She took one of her old adventuring outfits out of storage, a leather outfit that accentuated some of her more positive aspects quite nicely. "Oh, don't forget the headband..."

She tied the headband around her head, a device that offered a little physical protection, but drastically increased her fighting spirit. It would allow her to resist moderate compulsion at the very least.

"Let's see..." she said after donning her adventuring garb and tilting her hips to the side. "UV laser... No, she outgrew that issue..."

"Ah!" she cried as she found the thing that she was look "This will do nicely."

Maxine called out a delicate looking silver chain flail that gleamed in the light. "It's been too long, my old friend." She checked its status in the inventory screen to make certain that it was still in good condition.

[Maxine's Glory: Legendary Mithril Flail of Celestial Devastation +6]

Restriction: [Physical Prowess - 2250][Mental Acuity 3300][True Celestial Affinity]

Level: 7/7

Development Points: MAX

[Special Options]

Offensive Aura: 4114 – 6234

Defense Aura: 1920

All Stats +400

Protection From Evil IV

Divine Blessing: VI

Developmental Skills

Celestial Devastation [Unlocked]

[--]

"Not the best thing in my arsenal, but it'll do nicely for the moment," said Maxine with a smile. She turned quickly and whipped at the air with her light flail. Expertly she moved into a series of whirling motions without so much as coming close to damaging her furniture.

"Still got it!" she said cheerfully before attaching her whip to her belt. Afterward she rooted through her inventory and took out a few healing items, and then changed her mind about the holy water when she saw a holy water filled water pistol. "Can't resist taking that..." she said before sticking out her tongue and giggling.

Maxine turned away, adjusted her head band, and then made a fist. "Alright! Time to engage in a polite discussion."

The fearless vampire conversater left her room and strolled down the hall toward Alice's office. She hummed a warm and merry tune as she walked. Every now and then she would smile sweetly and wave at a passing student.

She passed by Shoppy in the halls and he eyed her curiously. "Something happen with the boy?"

"I don't know for sure. I thought that I would ask Alice about it," said Maxine in a bubbly tone.

Shoppy sighed. "I'm not cleaning it up this time if it gets out of hand."

Maxine patted the crusty old fart on the cheek then nodded. "Heaven forbid..."

"Yeah, it does. Keep it civil, please," said the shopkeeper, a slight hint of a smile rising to his lips. That hint of a smile left quickly, and was followed by a snort. "There's kids here, you know."

She responded in a sing-song voice, "We will," while rocking back and forth on her heels.

Shoppy groaned loudly then shook his head. "Shop's closed. I'll be at the forge." He looked her in the eyes briefly "Look, I get it. The little blue haired brat grows on you like a fungus."

Maxine's eyes widened. It almost seemed like Shoppy actually liked someone. She said as much and he gave her a stink-eye.

"Just keep the roof on this time. I got better things to do than patch leaks and fill craters," groused the balding man.

Maxine smiled at him, then watched as the crotchety old man walked away with a slight limp. "That's up to her, you know," she said lightly.

Shoppy waved his hand over his head, he took no responsibility for their actions. He had a forge to get back to, after all. Maxine could hear him mumble something about uppity youngins.

The blond elf smiled at the man as he walked away. Short and stout, if he had on a horned helmet and carried around a flagon of mead, one might think he was a balding dwarf out of a fantasy novel.

It was not long before the cheerful woman reached the entrance to Alice's office. She tilted her head to the side then smiled. "Such a dangerous pressure..."

She lifted her hand and then casually broke several magical seals that had been put in place. "Expecting someone, sweety?" asked Maxine with a soft smile.

After knocking on the door, it was only polite after all, she opened it up and walked inside. At the window behind her desk stood Alice. She had her back to the door and her hands pressed lightly against the window pane.

"Alice, sweety," said Maxine gently, before placing one hand to her hips. "We need to talk."

Alice took a deep breath then dropped one of her hands to her side. A trickle of blood began to pour along her wrist and then a moment later it flowed together and expanded to become a wicked looking rapier. "Do we really?"

"So, are you admitting to what you've done?" asked Maxine softly, before she used her foot to shut the office door behind her.

"What have I done?" asked the pink haired woman in a soft tone.

Maxine sighed then uncurled her whip. "Are we really going to have to play this game?"

Alice turned to Maxine, and quietly said. "No, really... What have I done?" Her lower lip trembled slightly and she shook her head a little. Shimmering tears formed along the edges of her eyes

The blond woman quirked one eyebrow then smiled tenderly. "Not falling for it, sweety." Her flail suddenly snaked out with lightning quick speed.

Alice's blade casually rose up and deflected the attack. "I see," she said, her demeanor shifting to one that was colder. Her tone of voice became darker, heavier. "But do you really think you can win this with that equipment, and without using that special ability of yours full force?"

"Well, Shoppy did specifically ask that we not blow the roof off the place," admitted Maxine.

The pink haired vampire flinched visibly. "He knows about this?"

"Sure... He even seems to like the little blue haired brat, as he called him," said Maxine.

Alice blinked slowly then swallowed hard. Her already slightly pale face became even paler as the blood drained away. "Well, fuck..." she said in a dainty manner, like a lady.

She looked to Maxine, a slightly hopeful expression on her face. "You're lying right? Shoppy doesn't like anyone..."

"He saw me dressed like this and specifically asked if it was about the boy," said Maxine cheerfully.

Alice hissed slightly then sat down on the window sill. The strength left her body a little and she did not trust her legs to hold her up. "Dammit. If he gets involved in this..."

Maxine laughed sweetly. "Well, do you really want to let it go that far?"

"Why are you interested in this, anyway?" asked Alice, her tone suspicious and slightly hurt. "He's mine, you know."

"If you must know... We're friends now."

"Friends?" asked Alice, the color returning to her cheeks. "What kind of friends!"

"Well, we've agreed not to do butt-stuff," admitted Maxine with a cheerful smile.

Alice gasped loudly then stood up. "Maxine! How could you?"

"It's your own fault, isn't it?" asked the perky blond elf. She wagged her finger at her vampiric co-teacher. "Did you get his permission to compel him and inject your blood?"

"Yes!" snapped Alice petulantly.

Maxine stared at her with an incredulous expression. "Really?"

Alice snorted at her. "What kind of girl do you think I am? Of course, I got his permission. He agreed to a contract."

Maxine tilted her head down slightly, but kept looking at Alice with the same incredulous expression. "Look, honey. I may be blond but I'm not stupid."

The pink haired woman stamped her foot then pointed at Maxine. "All that matters is that he gave permission!"

A thought occurred to the elven girl. She rolled her eyes. "Are you still doing that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Alice before drawing her mouth into a petulant little bow and looking to the side.

"You kicked his ass then made him agree to something without even telling him what it was, didn't you?" asked Maxine in a flat tone of voice.

Alice made a slight choking sound then coughed once and said, "Whatever... He agreed."

"You know that sort of thing doesn't count!" snapped Maxine, for once showing actual anger.

"But..." said Alice.

"No buts, sweety." said Maxine.

Alice sighed loudly then threw her hands up in the air. "Alright, so what if I did! He's better off anyway."

"Better off compelled to do your bidding?" asked Maxine with a snort.

"What are you talking about? All I did was erase the ass kicking and suggest he eat better," she muttered something about possibly making him think that she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, as well.

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that?" asked Maxine.

Vampiric fangs flashed. Alice hissed at Maxine. "He's mine already. I don't need to compel a boyfriend, you big-titted she-elf!"

Maxine smiled at Alice. "Sweety, desperation isn't a good look for anyone."

"I did what I had to do to make sure he succeeded!" snarled Alice, before taking a step toward Maxine. "Besides that, you know damned well that if I made someone with his potential into a thrall, the government would have had me hunted down with every asset at their disposal."

The chain flail lashed through the air and cut and nice line across the carpet once it was allowed to touch the ground. It was a sort of dare. Would Alice willingly cross that line? Maxine was certainly curious.

"You..." Alice glared hatefully at her. "It's so easy for you, isn't it!"

"You know it's not," said Maxine softly.

The pink haired vampire frowned at her a little then crossed her arms over her chest. "I've looked for someone like him for the last few years. I can't even try to date a normal human."

"Your blood rejects them as inferior, I know, sweety," said Maxine. She pressed the conversation forward, however. "You have to know that compelling him was wrong, though."

"I know that! Don't you think I know it?" said Alice angrily. Tears welled up in her eyes, this time they were hot and real. "I probably messed everything up, but dammit I've never even gotten to third base with a boy, and now there's like one on the whole damned planet who might eventually be able to survive it!"

"Oh, sweety..." said Maxine gently. She could empathize a little, but at least she did not have the situation as bad as Alice did.

"It's not fair, dammit!" snapped Alice. "I've saved the entire world at least twice now! You were there one time!" She glared at Maxine reproachfully for a moment before she took a breath and continued. "Yet, I get shit because I compel the one guy who won't dissolve into a fucking puddle of genetic material if I get too excited around him?" asked Alice heatedly. "Do you have any idea how hard it is not to just take him by force and keep him locked in my room?"

Maxine put her whip away and walked over to Alice. She patted her on the shoulder. She closed her eyes then cheerfully asked, "What the fuck were you thinking, sweety?"

"You know how I am," said Alice with a sigh. "The little bastard came into my office and started pointing his finger. He demanded things. It took all of the control I had not to just rip his head off and rape the corpse."

"There's that prideful vampire blood," said Maxine with a wry smile. "Also, you might need to consider anger management courses, sweety."

"Damn right! I'm the apex predator! Men should fall at my feet and worship me as their dark goddess!" exclaimed Alice, one hand out and her fingers slightly curled. "They should scream my name and beg for the mercy of my fangs penetrating their inferior flesh!"

"Goodness, how's that working out for you, hon?" asked Maxine in a cheerful tone. She tilted her head to the side then smiled once more.

Alice groaned loudly. "It's not! I evolved too far... Human men aren't up to the challenge."

"Could always just date a vampire, sweety," said Maxine.

The pink haired woman made a face. "Most of the reasonably good looking ones are inferior too. The ones who aren't inferior are all narcissistic assholes, and total bores. Every damned one of them whom I tried to meet as a potential boyfriend acted like I was destined to be their blood whore, or only wanted to talk about shit from six hundred years ago on a different planet."

Alice sucked in her cheeks then poked out her fangs over her lower lip. She quirked one eyebrow then spoke in a bad old school movie vampire accent. "Blah! Blah! Good e-va-ning. I vant to suck the air out of the room."

She threw her arm across her face like she was wearing a cape. "The entire room! Blah! Blah!"

"You don't have to tell me. I've had to fend off more than one old blood vampire who wouldn't take no for an answer," said Maxine. She pressed her arms to the side of her breasts then bounced upward a little. "A couple of old school fang magnets right here."

Alice sighed loudly then slumped down to the floor. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

Maxine sat down next to her then slipped an arm around her. She gave her a warm half-hug before she cheerfully said, "You fucked up real good, sweety."

The vampire snorted a little then leaned into the warm comfort of her friend's overly dynamic bosom. "How can I possibly make this right?"

"You could try telling the truth," suggested Maxine.

"What vampire has ever told anyone the truth, ever?" groused Alice lightly.

"The one who needs a nice guy to plow her tomato field," suggested Maxine helpfully.

Alice groaned at the bad analogy then shook her head. "This isn't funny. I don't regret anything that I did. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to apologize for knocking some damned sense into that idiot?"

Maxine patted Alice softly on the thigh. "Don't apologize for that. Apologize for compelling him."

"Is that the elven wisdom speaking?" asked Alice with a wry smile.

"Yep, just upgraded it by a few points recently," admitted Maxine cheerfully.

"Always thinking ahead, huh?" asked Alice.

A soft sigh escaped Maxine's lips before she drew Alice closer. "I used to think the same of you."

Alice cringed a little. "It was such a good plan, too."

"Eventually, the compulsion would have worn off," pointed out Maxine.

"Not until he was completely addicted to all of this for real," said Alice confidently, while running a hand up and down the front of her body.

They shared a brief, sad, little laugh. It was not really funny, and they both knew it. Alice might have ruined the best chance she had at a normal life, because she could not control herself.

A moment of silence passed afterward. Alice broke that silence by casually asking, "You were kidding about the butt-stuff thing, right?"

"I'm not super into it, but if we date for a while I might give in to temptation," admitted Maxine.

Alice growled heatedly at her then reached out and shook her blond friend by the shoulders. "You—!"

"He knows he has to wait until he's old enough to legally get married, or at least to survive an orgasm without being crushed or incinerated," said Maxine lightly while Alice continued to shake her by the shoulders.

Alice hissed at Maxine, and flashed her fangs. "He's mine."

"Electra might disagree," said Maxine.

The pink haired vampire mumbled lightly to herself for a moment then frowned. "Why does this have to be so complicated?" She looked at Maxine then pouted. "Once I recognized what he was, I arranged everything. He was supposed to slowly fall in love with me and my intoxicating beauty, dammit."

Maxine patted her on the shoulder. "I know, sweety. I know."

Alice made a sniffling noise at the blond elf girl then sighed. "At least someone gets me."

The blond girl patted the pink haired girl on the head. "There, there."

Her left eyebrow twitched slightly, just before Alice snorted at Maxine. "I should bite you."

"No, sweety," said Maxine before tapping Alice on the nose gently. "You're being punished."

The loud groan that echoed through the room signaled the pink haired vampire's disappointment. "But..."

Maxine crossed one hand over her chest. "No. Bad Alice, no biscuit for you."

The vampire girl slapped her hand to her forehead. "You really want me to set the record straight, don't you?"

"So do you, sweety," said Maxine before she leaned over and kissed Alice on the cheek. "Otherwise, we would have already wrecked half the school."

"He won't forgive me," said Alice with a frown.

"Maybe not, but do you want to take the risk that he figures this out on his own and never trusts you again?" asked Maxine. Alice's slight head shake brought the elf maiden to another point. "Besides, it's not like you did not give him a pretty good deal as well."

"I did?" Alice blinked at Maxine. "Did something happen?"

"Well, you knew that digesting your blood would probably do something to his stats, right?" asked Maxine.

"Yeah, I figured he'd gain a point or two, why?" asked Alice.

Maxine wagged her finger. "He saw through my glamour. That's what set me down the path that led me back to you."

"He did? That shouldn't be possible," said Alice. "Not unless..."

"Yes, Alice... He bonded with your blood, as best I can tell. I re-ran the tests after he left the infirmary in order to see if I was right about it," said Maxine.

"He's not a thrall is he?" asked Alice anxiously. "I don't feel a connection to him like I do with my thralls, and I would definitely feel it if he had become an actual vampire somehow."

"Nope, but if you had given him any more of your blood, even a little bit, you'd have ruined him," said Maxine cheerfully.

"I almost turned him into a dhampir, you mean?" asked Alice, a sense of dread growing within her. "But that is practically unheard of, it's only happened twice to anyone given a vampiric infusion to treat deadly injuries."

"Yes, in your haste to get a taste of that sweet red man nectar you crave, you almost curtailed his growth by making him race-shift too soon." Maxine pointed at Alice in an accusatory manner. "He would never have reached a point where he could handle your love if it had happened."

Alice slapped her hand over her face and she shook her head. "Damn... I... Dammit." She pressed her hands over her eyes and tried to fight what was happening. Overcome with the stupidity of what she had allowed herself to do, the pretty little psycho cried hotly over what nearly came to pass.

In her haste, she almost ruined his life and nearly destroyed any chance that either of them could be happy in the long run whether separate or together. Much like Alice herself had been recently, self-realization was a bitch.