"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost." ( J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)

When Fayez opened his eyes, he couldn't tell how much time had passed since he had left his parents' castle. All he knew was that he was all alone, in a huge forest, and his father was nowhere to be seen.

Well, guess he got what he wished for, as it didn't seem there was even one living soul around him. Never in his life had he been so completely alone, which was something he had always longed for. No more prying eyes. No more small talk. No need to be constantly careful around others.

Yet, it didn't feel satisfying. For the first time in his life, he had been ready to willingly endure others' compagny, and for what? To end up in gloomy forest? How was he supposed to protect the human race, if he was stucked here amongst vicious-looking trees - cause, yeah, these trees definitely looked mean ?

But Fayez had a more pressing issue than his self-imposed duty to protect the human race. He needed to find his way out of this forest, and he needed to do it fast, for there was something wrong lurking here. He could sense it.

First, the noises, or rather, the lack of noises. For all he knew, forests were supposed to be full of birds, rabbits, and a lot of other small and not so small animals. The global warming didn't seem a good enough explanation as to why this forest seemed so uninhabited.

Second, he felt like someone was watching him, yet he couldn't see any creatures around and, as a vampire, he had a very good eyesight.

What was going on here?

The unfortunate thing was that, as it was the first time Fayez ever left the castle, his sense of direction wasn't the greatest. He was pretty sure that, regardless of the path he choosed, he would end up back to his starting point.

He looked up, hoping to see some far-away house that he would have missed at first glance, but there was nothing on the horizon. The only thing he saw was that the sky was quickly turning dark, and although he was a bad-ass/grown-up/supernatural creature, the realization made him feel even more vulnerable.

Why on earth did I end up here and who could be watching me? Friend or foe? I guess the later is more likely.

A few minutes later, Fayez had the answer to his unvoiced question, in the form of an incredibly beautiful woman who appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

Fayez never met many people outside of the castle, and, as most of them were vampires, they all had perfect skin, hair, and powerful body. He was used to beauty, and beauty was quite boring to him. Perfectly beautiful people all looked the same to him. He always thought that if he ever got the chance to have a lover at some point, he hoped they would have dark circles under their eyes, spots on their skin and crooked teeth. Anything but this perfection that was everywhere he looked at.

Yet, the woman standing in front of him was something else entirely. Never in his three hundred years of existence had he met someone like her. It would be hard to describe her, as words wouldn't be enough to do her justice.

It seemed to Fayez that she was the embodiement of light. A captivating yet deadly light.

Yes. That woman with the unethereal beauty was deadly.

She smiled at him, and somehow, this simple gesture made him feel even more cautious. He could feel goosebumps forming on his forearms, as drops of persperation started running down his temples.

"Good evening, Fayez"

Instead of responding to her, he took a few steps back, opening his mouth to show her his fangs and adopting an aggressive stance. The woman didn't look very impressed, though. On the contrary, she seemed to find his reaction quite entertaining.

"My, my, aren't you a wild one?" she mused. "Why so wary, young vampire? Why would you assume I have evil intentions? Can't you see how harmless I look? How fragile? "

Well, maybe because you know my name, when I am positive I have never met you before. Plus, you call yourself harmless and fragile? Fragile, my ass.

He had apparently say it aloud, because the woman let out a loud, disturbing laugh.

"I am impressed that you can be so sarcastic in such circumstances. Some of your previous comrades were so frightened when they saw me that they pissed themsleves. Tsk! I even met a huge werewolf who started weeping and calling his mother as soon as we met. Then again, I guess you have no clue who I am, since you have never set a foot outside of this luxurious castle of yours before"

She stepped forward, and Fayez realized, with a growing sense of dread, that he could no longer move. His body wasn't under his control anymore.

What on earth is this evil creature?

"Pardon me? That's not a very polite way to call your elders!" she scolds him, as one would do to a naughty child.

She can hear my thoughts, too?

"I see. You might look all tall and mysterious, but you aren't the sharpest pencil in the box, aren't you, my child? Of course, I can read your thoughts! That's not the most impressive thing about me, though"

And humble, with that.

"Really, I am quite impressed. It's been a long time since I met someone as interesting as you, but I could be wrong. I need to be sure."

Without any further warning, she put her petite hand on his forehead. At the contact of her hand against his feverish skin, Fayez felt as if his entire body had turned frozen. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't do anything else than looking at her helplessly.

"Not so brave anymore, aren't you. Let me see you, Fayez. Come on, boy, let me hear you." she whispered, closing her eyes and getting even closer to the powerless vampire, who was now slightly shaking, his bravado from earlier long gone.

He tried to think of something, anything, but his mind had gone blank. She had taken his thoughts away! She had invaded his mind! was his last thought, before he fainted.

When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't tell how much time had passed. There was now a bright blue sky upon them, but there was something unatural about it. Fayez thought that the all-too bright aspect of the sky was somehow connected to the woman who, unfortunately, was still standing in front of him and didn't look like she was going to leave him alone anytime soon.

"Aw, do you really want me gone? And here I was enjoying reading your mind so much!" she cooed, with an air of mocked offense.

She turned more serious, then, and the next words that spilled out of her rose-shaped mouth surprised Fayez.

"Hundred of years of loneliness. My poor child. In comparison, I almost feel like the most sociable butterfly on the earth. Your parents sure did a poor job in teaching you how to be happy."

"Don't talk about my pa-"

"I was right about you" she rather rudely interrupted him. "You've got an interesting soul. A determined yet naive mind."

"I am anything but naive" he couldn't help but protest vehemently, although he knew he shouldn't give any credit to the words of this woman who looked like she had taken too many hallucinogenic mushrooms.

She smiled indulgently at him, and for a few seconds, Fayez thought that she looked almost friendly. Well, 'friendly 'was maybe far-stretched. She looked like she wasn't about to throw his soul in the pit of Tartarus.

"You are more innocent than you think, Fayez, and I'm not even referring to sexual intercourse" she smirks at the young man's obvious discomfort, making him blush heavily. "You've experienced pain at an earlier age than most, yet you have no clue about how creative our peers can be when it comes to making others' lives a living hell."

She kept silent after that, looking like she was deep in thoughts, lost in her own memories. Fayez started to even feel sorry for her. She had mention her own loneliness earlier. Surely, a woman like her couldn't lead a normal life, amongst her peers and loved ones. He was pretty sure her closest confident was some kind of deadly creature. A tarantula maybe? Or even a scorpion?

"Don't you feel sorry for me, Fayez. I have done close to nothing, in my thousand years of existence, to atone for my sins."

"What is your name?"

"My name is Faya"

She looked a bit confused, then her face hardened again, as if, by simply telling him her name, she had been unveiling her most-guarded secret. When she cleared her throat, Fayez knew that the time for idle chat had passed, and that now was the moment when his fate would be decided.

"I have a better idea about the person you are, now, Fayez, but I still have a question for me. Please think carefully before you answer it."

Is not answering at all an option? thought Fayez, which made Faya snort a little.

"I am sorry, it is absolutely not an option. My question is actually pretty simple. Fayez, why do you want to go to the Institute for Supernatural Beings?"

Think carefully before you answer, she said. Yet, is there really a 'wrong' or 'right' answer? Maybe I should just be honest, since she can read my thoughts anyway and she seems to know me better than I know myself.

Fayez looked at her, trying to see if she was reacting to his inner monologue in a way that could give him a clue about what his answer should be. Unfortunately, this time the woman kept an impassive face.

"I want to go to this Institute in order to become strong enough to protect all the humans against the supernatural creatures" he finally answered, deciding to tell her what he had been telling himself for the last few weeks since his parents had told him about this Institute.

She smiled, but this time, her smile didn't sound forced or mocking. Was it a good sign? It was difficult to say, with someone like her.

"I see. That's not exactly true, my dear child, but I guess deep down you do believe protecting humans is your strongest motivation to join the Institute, so you are not technically lying to me. Besides, as I said, you still have a lot to learn about the world, but maybe even more so about yourself."

She took his arm and turned it so the inside of his wrist was up. She seemed to hesitate a little bit, before finally blowing softly against his skin. A little purple dot appeared on Fayez's skin, who instinctively knew that it was more than a mere ephemeral tatoo that she had put on him. This simple-looking dot had a meaning that he didn't understand for now but that was surely important. She had been testing him and it seemed like she was going to let him go away freely.

"I will do more than that, young one. I will send you where you desperately want to go - to the Institute. Close your eyes."

He did as he was told, and felt himself starting to become incredibly light. Before he fainted again, he heard her last words whispered against his ear.

"You won't be happy with my choice, Fayez, but remember, I know everything and I have no doubts this will be better for you this way. Life at the Institute is hard. This is not a summer camp for grumpy teens. You will need to act as strong as you look, but when the time comes, you will need to show your inner weaknesses to the right people. Congratulations for succeeding on the first trial. Good luck, Fayez."