Nathan Poole is ready to become Sarah's Warden, but a long lost family heirloom changes his life and future.     Trial and Heiress Chapter 11 By Amethyst

Thanks as usual to Eof for a great universe to play in and to Eof, Maggie F and Donjo for their input. Thanks to my readers for reading what I put out here and being patient when new chapters are delayed.

We dropped by The Book Mark so that Kayla could speak with Gwen who had some books for her and wanted her to work there afterschool. It was kind of funny the way she had just wordlessly passed the books to Jason and he took them like a lost little puppy. After that Kayla dropped us off at home and went to talk to Genevieve for permission to come out to the cabin with us and get ‘a bite to eat’ as she put it.

After she had dropped me off Dani and I went inside. “Mom! I’m home!”

Mom came out of the kitchen and gave me a hug. “Did you all have fun?”

“Yeah Mom, but we need to go out to the cabin. I need to talk to Queen Titania or one of her representatives. Kayla mentioned something today that she needs to know about. Kayla’s planning on coming with us to protect us and in case anyone gets injured.”

Mom looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “Alright, if she’s going to be with you and you’re sure Queen Titania needs this information then I’ll allow it. But be careful and take weapons just in case.”

“I plan on it mom,” I answered as headed upstairs to pack a large duffel bag. I packed a change of clothes, my weapons and my armor. Jason had agreed to carry most of the important camping gear and he and Sarah were going to split the food and supplies. Once I was packed I got dressed in jeans, a warm sweater, hiking boots, jacket, gloves, and hat. Once dressed, I grabbed a shotgun and stuffed a few handfuls of shells in my jacket pockets. “Okay Mom I’m going to go wait in the backyard.” I hefted my duffel bag and slung the shotgun over my shoulder.

“Okay sweetie, have fun and be careful.” She kissed me on the cheek and gave me a hug before letting me make my way outside with Dani fluttering along behind me.

Sarah and Jason showed up before Kayla, and once they arrived I sent Dani off ahead to look for any possible dangers. Kayla wasn’t far behind the others and soon showed up wearing a pair of black jeans tucked into hiking boots, a thick sweater, an open jacket, and gloves with her camping gear in a large camping backpack slung over her shoulder. It was kind of weird seeing her wearing regular clothes. She looked pointedly at the shotgun, her eyes questioning. I merely shrugged as I said, “We’re going to be out there at night and you never know what we might run into. I don’t like to rely on magic too much since we’re only Novices. I sent Dani ahead to check for anything dangerous though.”

The Vampire nodded, “I’m a bit surprised your parents were all okay with this.”

Sarah smiled, obviously happy to be able to go with us. “Mine didn’t like the idea but I convinced them that you and Jason would be there to protect us. Nat’s mom approved it once she knew that we were going to talk to the Sacred about you.”

“Wait, that’s why we’re heading out there? To meet these Sacred?” she asked, looking nervous.

I nodded as I shouldered my duffel bag again, “That’s the idea, they may send someone to talk with you or they might just send a message with Vina, you never know. Queen Titania is usually kept too busy with her own matters to see us mere mortals personally unless it’s important, but at least the possibility gives us an excuse to head to the cabin.” I started walking off into the woods with the others close behind.

We arrived at the cabin much earlier than I had expected and dusk was just settling as the cabin came into view. Dani told us everything was clear and we all went inside and Dani helped me start to build a fire in the fireplace while Jason and Sarah saw to dinner. I encouraged Kayla to keep watch for both welcome and unwelcome visitors while the rest of us went about our own tasks since she claimed to have good night vision and enhanced senses. While she sat and kept watch out the window I got the fire going and soon, thanks to Sarah and Jason, we had a pot of stew cooking on the fire.

Dinner was almost ready when Kayla finally said, “Ummm guys, I think that company may be arriving.”
Less than a minute later I heard her mutter, “Damn that’s a lot of Pixies.” Kayla stood and made her way to the door even as the rest of us did the same.

I got to the door first and quickly opened it, motioning for our guests to come inside once I saw the Pixies and the two hooded figures. “Please come in and get out of the rain.”

The smaller of the two larger figures shook off her hood revealing a very beautiful blonde Aos Sidhe with deep green eyes. Underneath her dark green cloak she was wearing bronze ring mail and had a long slim sword strapped to her hip. “Thank you, I am Lisianne, this is my husband Paul…” Paul shook off his hood to reveal a human man in perhaps his mid-thirties with graying brown hair. He also revealed that he was carrying a child as Lisianne added, “And this is our daughter Marie.”
I quickly introduced myself and the others and encouraged our guests to make themselves comfortable. Kayla seemed completely spaced out and was staring at the baby. I thought if she had stared at anyone it would have been Lisianne as I could remember doing so during my first encounter with Titania, but no, she couldn’t take her eyes off Marie. The baby was a year old at most with her mother’s features and I suppose she was pretty adorable. Maybe Kayla had a thing for babies. Suddenly a look of horror and shock spread across Kayla’s beautiful young face as she said, “She’s been poisoned.”

I stared at her dumbfounded; everyone stared at her with various degrees of shock and anger on their faces. The Pixies buzzed around Paul and the baby, furious. Lisianne gave Kayla a long searching look, “Are you certain about this?”

She nodded gravely, “I may be new to this whole Healer thing but whatever has her sick does not feel right. I think if it were an illness it would feel more natural to me and closer to an injury, but this just feels wrong. It doesn’t feel like it’s throughout her body or in any specific area, but more like it’s running through her bloodstream and tainting everything in its path. How long has she been sick? Any symptoms?” The Vampire motioned at the cabin’s bed, “Please lay her down on the bed.”

Paul placed her on the bed as he answered her question. “She started getting a high fever about three days ago and she’s got a bad cough. Can you heal her?”

Kayla let out a sigh, wringing her hands nervously, “I can try. But I’ve only known I’m a Healer for a week and I’m still new at this. At least I have a good idea what the problem is and that should make things easier. I’m going to need some blood afterwards though.”

Paul stared at her in confusion. “Blood? For what, a transfusion?”

She shook her head, “No, I don’t think I’ll need to be poking her with needles and such. You see I’m a Vampire and my Healing ability takes a lot of energy since I’m still learning. So unless you all want a hungry Vampire in your midst I’ll need to feed once I’m finished.”

Paul turned five shades paler but quickly nodded, “If you can heal our daughter my life and blood are yours.”

“I’ll gladly take your blood Paul but your life is yours to keep. I don’t kill my meals.” She gave Paul and Lisianne a reassuring smile as she added, “And I would heal your daughter regardless.” We all watched in silence as Kayla examined Marie and gently laid her hands on the infant. Horror, disgust, and anger passed over her face and she almost jumped back at one point. She took a deep breath and a look of concentration cemented itself into her features. White light encompassed her hands and washed over Marie, pale at first, barely noticeable. Then it began to get brighter and brighter still. It wasn’t as blindingly bright as when she healed Sarah but it was enough that most of us were shielding our eyes.

The light began to slowly fade from Kayla’s hands and Marie and the Vampire opened her eyes slowly and smiled tiredly, “She’ll be fine now I think, she just needs to rest and she’ll be hungry when she wakes up.” Everyone was staring at Kayla, even me and I had seen this once before. She seemed nervous at all the attention and suddenly pointed to the window, “Look! A distraction!”

I groaned as Dani and a few other Pixies fell for it, with Dani looking about frantically, “Ooooh! Where?!”

Kayla let out a soft sigh. “Soooo, could we all do something besides staring at the hungry Vampire? Explanations would be a good start. An even better start would be a bite to eat.” She looked pointedly at Paul as she said the last.

After Kayla and Paul returned from outside the explanations began. Lisianne explained to us for Kayla’s benefit that she is one of the Aos Sidhe and that she and Paul had met several years ago when he wandered into the Valley. While she nursed him back to health the pair had fallen in love and decided to unofficially marry despite the protests of the more hardline members of the Aos Sidhe nobility. Marie’s birth caused a bit of an uproar but they and Marie were at the very least tolerated. Queen Titania had taken an interest in the child so even most of the hardliners were keeping their opinions to themselves.

Lisianne was convinced that a member of the Winter Court behind her daughter’s poisoning since some of them seemed to see her as a danger. When Titania had learned of the presence of a Healer on the island she arranged for Lisianne and Paul to bring Marie, to test Kayla’s claim and to attempt to save the baby, and had sent the Pixies as a guard. Jason frowned as Lisianne finished explaining things, “But why would anyone see a baby as a danger? I could see maybe wanting to use her as leverage against your Queen, but why view Marie herself as a danger?”

Dani, responded absently from my shoulder, “Oh, they probably think she’s the Eochair.” Her fellow Pixies glared at her apparent slip up.

“The Eochair?” Kayla asked, looking very curious.

“Somewhere in the Sacred Grove there’s supposed to be a vault, hidden and protected by Her Majesty’s magic,” Lisianne replied. “The rumor is that only Her Majesty or the Eochair can get into the vault and there are powerful magical artifacts inside. Nobody has any idea who or what the Eochair is though so often people think when Her Majesty takes an interest in a person or thing that it must be the Eochair.”

Sarah turned her gaze toward Marie on the bed, “So because she’s something of a rarity and Queen Titania’s shown an interest in her people think she may be this Eochair?”

Paul shrugged, dismissing the possibility. “I doubt she is, it could be just about anything she’s shown an interest in. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a person. Because of the possible existence of the Eochair though people are always going to assume a connection whenever she takes an interest in a person or object.”

I raised my right hand and muttered, “Like a certain Glove?”

Lisianne nodded solemnly, before looking toward Kayla, “Or even a Healer.”

I scowled as I thought of the Winter Court and remembered that Ly Erg had mentioned this Eochair and the vault when we had met. “Well they’ve come after me before it wouldn’t surprise me if they come after you too Kay. Even if you’re not this Eochair they’re looking for you’ve got to admit that your healing ability would make you a pretty tempting target for them.”

“Just great,” Kayla growled, looking very unhappy at that prospect.

Jason looked around as if he expected members of the Winter Court to suddenly burst in through the door and windows. “We might want to stay in town for a while. As nice as it is to be out here, right now the town is probably a lot safer for both of you.”

“You’re probably right Jason,” I replied, “Though we’ll have to be careful even in town I think. At least I have Vina and Dani. I can send one of them for help if I get into any trouble.”

The Pixies all gathered around Azrhea and Thymhelia, and they were all introduced. I was glad I already know the Clan Leader and the Keeper of names as there were lot of new faces I didn’t know. Finally the last introduction was made as a Pixie with fire engine red hair was pushed toward Kayla by Thymhelia. The Pixie seemed very shy and nervous as she was introduced. “This is Silphia, she is still young but she is our fastest flyer. She will serve as your guardian Healer Kayla.”

Kayla shrugged and gave the Pixie a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you Silphia, I don’t know if I’ll need much protection but I’m sure you’ll be a big help if I do.”

“N-n-nice to meet you Healer Kayla. I will do my best,” came Silphia’s stammered reply.

“Just call me Kayla please. Or you can call me Kay, most my friends do,” she said with another smile.

Kayla had gone outside to be alone for a bit while the rest of us dug into the stew. It hadn’t looked like she was happy having a guardian but I was sure the pair would get used to one another eventually. After a time Lisianne went outside to join her. The pair had been talking for a while and I was starting to get worried when Lisianne came back inside and sat down on the bed to check if Marie needed changing or anything. Kayla still hadn’t come in after a few minutes and I was getting worried about our new friend. She had seemed lost in thought and a bit brooding when she had gone outside. Finally I grabbed Jason and Sarah and opened the door so we could join Kayla outside.

I immediately slapped the Vampire cheerfully on the back once she saw us. “So how does it feel to have your very own Pixie babysitter?”

She groaned and looked toward the cabin door.. “Ask me once I get to know her a bit. I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to Genevieve. It’s kind of hard to keep secrets from someone you can’t lie to.”
I thought about that and shrugged. “I don’t see the harm in telling her if the topic comes up. I mean Gwen, my mom, Sarah’s mom and your Aunt Helen all know about my little friends. Just be careful not to mention any of the Sacred except to Genevieve or those already in the know. The Sacred are not known of even among most of the Unseen and we don’t want to out them unless it’s their choice.”

“I guess you’re right. I’ll tell her if I have to, but nobody else who doesn’t know already.” She took a quick look around to make sure we were alone. “So what do you all think of this Eochair business?”

Sarah answered before I could. “I don’t think you, Marie, or Nat are it. Queen Titania is smart and powerful and she would have to realize that anyone or anything she takes an interest in could be suspected by people. For all we know you all may be red herrings and she’s setting up protection for you because she knows somebody will take the bait.”

Jason nodded, his eyes on Kayla. “I have to agree with Sarah on that, though you both still need to be careful. Someone will eventually take the bait plus there’s the fact that you already have something about you that makes you attractive.” Seeming to realize what he had just said Jason blushed at that and hastily added, “As some sort of tool or bargaining chip.”

Despite the darkness we all noticed his blush and I chuckled as I took Sarah’s hand. “C’mon Sarah let’s go inside. We should probably leave these two alone.”

Sarah grinned and took my offered hand, and we opened the door to head inside. Just before we shut th door behind us Sarah called out over her shoulder, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

It was barely five minutes after Sarah and I had headed inside when the door opened and Kayla ran inside looking panicked, shutting the door behind her to rush to her backpack on the floor. After a fast and furious search of the contents she pulled out a stainless steel water bottle and quickly opened it. She slowly swallowed the contents and seemed to calm down after a few moments. She licked her lips and took a quick look around the room looking ashamed. “You okay Kayla?” Sarah asked, her voice touched with concern.

“Fine, peachy, nothing wrong here,” the Vampire quickly blurted out still looking ashamed and embarrassed even though she couldn’t blush. “I just thought I would have a quick drink before I check on Marie. You know, to make sure I got all the poison, can't be too careful.” She walked over to the bed to check on the baby trying very hard to make it look as if nothing was wrong.

“Are you sure?” I asked. I didn’t believe her and wanted to press her but we hadn’t known one another long and I figured she would talk about it when she was ready.

“Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?” She quickly sat on the edge of the bed by Lisianne and focused on Marie. After a few minutes she gave us all a weak smile, “Seems like I got it all. I didn't detect anything this time.”

Lisianne smiled at Kayla but looked as concerned as I was as she asked, “Thank you Kayla, are you sure you're all right?”

“I'm just tired,” she said dismissively, “Healing takes a lot out of me. I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep.” She returned to her pack, set up her sleeping bag and without another word to anyone she closed my eyes. Jason come in after a while looking a bit down. I promised myself I would talk to him about this later as we all went to bed.

I awoke later than usual and Kayla was holding Marie while Paul and Lisianne were just finishing making breakfast. The scrambled eggs, and pancakes were good and we all enjoyed the meal. Normally I’d have bacon too but Jason is a vegetarian and so are Aos Sidhe so we hadn’t brought any meat. While we all ate Kayla sat quietly holding Marie and seemed lost in thought. I guessed that she had a lot to think about and something was bothering her last night. I thought I might have a pretty good idea what it was.

It was late in the morning, not long before lunchtime, when Lisianne, Paul and Marie left for the Valley under the protection of the Pixies. Kayla, Sarah, Jason and I headed back to town with Dani, Verbina and Silphia keeping a close eye out for trouble as we made our way through the woods. It was a very quiet walk back home and Kayla seemed to be keeping her distance from Jason. Finally we all arrived at my house and Sarah and Jason stayed to hang out while Kayla headed home, promising to pick us up for school in the morning.

Jason was depressed all afternoon and after Sarah headed home I finally I decided it had gone on long enough. “What’s wrong Jason? Is this about Kayla? You’ve been acting emo all afternoon.”

He sighed and shrugged as he continued to stare at the television set. “It’s hard to be happy when you have your first kiss with a girl and she recoils in horror and runs away.”

I groaned and turned to look at him. “Jason, I don’t think it was you or your kissing ability that she was running from.”

He turned to look at me confused. “What do you mean Nat?”

“Do you know what the first thing she did once she rushed inside in a panic was?”

He shook his head saying, “No. What did she do? I don’t think Kayla’s the type to curl up in a ball and cry.”

I punched him in the shoulder. “The first thing she did was run to her backpack and search frantically for a water bottle and drink the contents. I’ll give you one guess what I think was in that bottle and it wasn’t water.”

“She drank blood? But she had just fed a little while before and she said she only usually feeds once a day or so. Why would she need to do it again so soon?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe it was some kind of instinct when you kissed her. Maybe it was being so close to your neck. Whatever it was she wasn’t expecting it and it scared the shit out of her. She may have been afraid of losing control and biting you. I think you need to give her a chance to think and then when she’s ready she’ll talk to you about it.”

Jason seemed to consider that a moment before nodding. “Maybe you’re right. When did you become such an expert on girls?”

“Probably the morning I woke up in a cave with boobs.” I leaned back into the couch. “Becoming a girl has kinda changed my perceptions a bit. I guess we are who we are mostly because of what’s in our heads, but our bodies can’t help but play a small part in how we perceive others and the world around us.”

Kayla was quiet the entire ride to school the next morning. She looked like she might say something, but she stopped when Sarah complimented me on my outfit. She was back in full Goth mode, wearing her favorite boots, a short plaid pleated skirt with black lace, torn black leggings, a dark red and black corset, elbow length fingerless black lace gloves, and her eye color was blood red.

“Ummm Kay?” Sarah asked as we piled out of the car in the school parking lot. “How are you going to explain that eye color?”

Kayla looked in her purse for a moment before pulling out a contact lens case and grinning. “I bought contacts of course, and I have them in so many colors.”

I shook my head, chuckling as I shouldered my backpack. “Come on guys, let's show Kayla to the office so she can get her schedule.”

Kayla got quite a few stares as we walked toward the office but I wasn’t surprised. She was hot, Goths aren’t common on the island and she was new. Dani, Verbina and Silphia followed us at a discreet distance remaining invisible. As we entered the office Miss Evans up and nearly fell out of her chair once she got a good look at our Vampire friend. “Hi,” Kayla said with a friendly smile. “I'm Kayla Dunn, I'm supposed to be picking up my schedule and stuff.” She pulled out a bunch of papers and offered them to the secretary. “I think I have everything you need here.”

Miss Evans looked over the paperwork and smiled. “Oh! You're the prodigy! Mrs. Lawson mentioned you'd be registering today. Welcome to Sena Island, I hope you'll enjoy it here. I'm afraid we're not quite as exciting as Toronto.” She once again looked over Kayla’s outfit while I wondered just what the hell was going on. Prodigy? I thought Kayla was supposed to blend in… well as much as Kayla possibly could anyway; she kind of attracts attention regardless. Miss Evans finished Kayla’s paperwork and provided her with a schedule and locker assignment. “The Principal has arranged for you to spend your last class of the day at the Sena Island Clinic. Do you know where that is or would you like another student to accompany you today?” Okay, this was news to me as well, what the hell happened to being a normal student?

Kayla shrugged, smiled and replied excitedly, “Oh the clinic was one of the first places I went to see when I got here. I'm looking forward to studying there and I hope it will look good when I apply for medical school in the future.”

Jason and I were both staring at her and I imagined that Jason was as in the dark about all this as I was. Sarah winked at her though as we walked down the hall to find Kayla’s locker and gave us both a confused look. Confused my ass. She said, “Oh silly me. I didn't tell you both when I introduced you to her that Kayla is going to be studying at the clinic with my Dad. The doctors are all excited to be teaching such a smart girl with an interest in medicine, it's all Dad talks about.” She was talking loud enough so that her voice would carry easily to the students we were passing in the hall.

Kayla made a show of shushing Sarah as we passed through a crowd of students, “Sarah! I told you I just want to be a normal student here. I got way more attention than I was comfortable with at my last school.”

“But Kayla,” Sarah answered in a pretend whine. “It's so cool that I'm friends with a child prodigy. And despite your strange fashion sense you're probably one of the prettiest girls in school. Who wouldn't want to brag about a friend with beauty and brains.”

Once Kayla had her stuff in her locker and the students had flown to the four winds to spread the rumor Sarah grinned at us all. “Mission accomplished.”

Kayla shook my head, whispering, “You're evil Sarah. I take it your Dad told you to spread the word about me.”

Sarah nodded and whispered back. “Yup and I'm so glad you dressed up all Goth today. The red eyes are particularly great for when Becky Lawson starts her part of the plan later today.”

“Am I missing something?” Kayla asked looking very confused.

I figured out what Sarah was implying and broke out laughing. “Oh that's so perfect!” I was having trouble keeping my voice down as I laughed. “We'll let you know later Kay, for now we'll let it be a surprise.”

Classes were as usual boring that morning and sadly I didn’t share any with Kayla, though Jason was in my Geography class and Sarah was in my English class. Mr. Brand was bearable as teachers go and he was pretty enthusiastic about the material. Moriko’s dad really seemed to like teaching. Lunch eventually rolled around and Jason Sarah and I wandered over to Kayla’s locker to wait for her. She was walking with Tara Hill and Janice Meyers and they parted ways just before Kayla reached us. She put her gym bag away and pulled out her stainless steel water bottle. Sarah grinned at her and produces an identical gesturing for Kayla to put her own in her purse and take hers. She shrugged and did so as she closed her locker and we headed to the cafeteria.

Kayla seemed to be a hot topic as we walked down the hall. The prodigy rumor had spread and apparently she showed up Mr. Phelps in math class. It looked like it was going well and that Kayla would stand out in such a way that people would ignore anything else odd about her We had gotten our meals and were sitting eating while Kayla made it look like she was eating too and our Pixies helped by sharing some of her meal. Kayla looked as if she was going to say something when Becky came to the table and made her declaration that Kayla was a Vampire.

Laughter had ensued and Kayla looked worried and confused for moment before she got into the act saying her red eyes were from contacts. The best part was the disgusted look on Becky’s face when she drank the tomato juice in the water bottle that she had claimed was blood. That girl is an awesome actress but I felt bad that she kept taking one for the team and being made fun of. But she was so damn good at it and it was always fun to watch. Hopefully Becky stating the obvious would keep people from seriously suspecting that she really is a Vampire.

The cafeteria had calmed down somewhat after Becky stormed off and people had drifted back to their own conversations when Kayla took a deep breath and looked toward Jason. “Jason, could we talk privately for a few minutes?”

He shrugged, “Sure, I guess. I know a spot outside where we can talk.” He and Kayla both grabbed their things and walked out of the cafeteria with Kayla’s new Pixie companion following.

I turned back to talking with Sarah and a few moments later realized I had forgotten something and cursed, “Damn!”

“What’s the matter Nat?” Sarah asked looking concerned.

“I wanted to talk to you and Kayla about something, but it completely slipped my mind what with everything that happened over the weekend and this morning,” I replied.

“What did you want to talk to us about?”

I stretched back in my chair and shrugged. “Moriko thought it might be a good idea for you to learn some self-defense so she asked if you and Kayla might want to attend their beginner’s class this Friday evening. Her mom decided to open a dojo so she has something to do with her spare time and Moriko says she’s a great teacher.”

Sarah chewed on her lower lip while she considered it. “Sure, if my mom has no problems with it I’d love to. Given how crazy our lives have been this year it’s probably a good idea. I’ll try to convince Kayla to come along as well.” We talked over the rest of lunch as we waited to see if Kayla and Jason would return from their talk. They were conspicuously absent for the rest of lunch and I could have sworn Sarah was moving closes and closer as time went on.

I was beat after a long afternoon of classes and then helping mom at the store and studying magic. I was about to go down to the cellar to train regardless of how tired I was when there was a knock at the back door. Since I was heading in that direction anyway I went back to answer it to find Sarah there. “Hey Sarah, I was about to go train for a bit, what’s up?”

Sarah gave me one of those beautiful smiles that make me melt and wish that things could be different between us. “Hey Nat, Kayla’s coming over to my place for dinner tonight and I was wondering if you’d want to come over too.”

I smiled back at her, feeling so lost in those emerald eyes of hers. “Sure, I’d love to.” I turned back inside and yelled out to Mom, “Hey Mom! Sarah invited me to her place for dinner!”

Mom called back. “Okay sweetie, have fun but don’t be over too late, it’s a school night!”

We started to walk across the back yard toward her place with Dani and Vina following when she stopped and grabbed my hand. “Actually Nat, before we go over there I was wondering if we could talk about something. Y’know, privately?” She started wringing her hands nervously.

I wondered what was making her so nervous and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “Sure Sarah.” I turned to the Pixies, “Vina, Dani, would you both mind going into the house and entertaining yourselves tonight? I’ll be fine if we’re just talking out here and going to Sarah’s. I’ll call if I need help.” The two Pixies took off back toward the house and Sarah turned off the ringer on her phone so she wouldn’t be interrupted. I pulled Sarah over to one of our benches at the edge of the wooded area between our homes. “What’s on your mind Sarah?”

As we both sat Sarah turned to look at me, her face serious. “You’re still in love with me aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at me. You want more than friendship and it hurts you that I’m being a bitch and not giving you that.”

“Whoa Sarah! I have never and will never ask you to be more than friends if you don’t want it. Yes, I still love you, but I know you’re not into girls and I don’t think you’re being a bitch. You’ve been there for me this whole time.” I gave her a stern look and I squeezed both her hands.

I could see tears starting to come to her eyes. “I… I have been a bitch. I’ve been keeping you in the friend zone even though I know you want more because I’ve been too damn scared to admit the truth.”

I looked at her confused. Was she trying to break off our friendship? What would I do without her in my life? I could feel tears starting to sting my own eyes. “The Truth?”

“I’ve been so stupid. Spending all this time with you, refusing to see what was right in front of my face. The whole thing with Jason and Kayla has gotten me thinking. Nat, I’m not into girls… I’m into you. Your body has changed, you’re a witch now and can’t be my warden, but one thing hasn’t changed. Despite your changes, inside you’re still the same person I fell in love with… the person I’m still in love with.” She leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips.

It felt so good to have her kiss me again; it had been far too long. I returned the kiss, wrapping her in my arms. I wanted to stay like that forever but I broke the kiss and looked at her seriously. “Sarah, you don’t have to do this for me. If we make this public we’ll be known as lesbians and that could be a bad thing in a town this small.”

She shook her head. “I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for us. For me there is nobody else but you and it’s been hurting me as much is it has you being just friends and wishing you were male so we could be more. But I refused to see that maybe you don’t have to be male for us to be more. Let’s not make it public until we’re sure, but I want to give this a try. I love you, and though I didn’t really want to admit it to myself before, I’m still attracted to you. I want to see if we can get back what we lost.”

“You’re sure about this?”

Her answer was to push me onto my back, climb on top of me, and kiss me hard. We continued kissing for what seemed like seconds and an eternity all at once. Sarah seemed to become more passionate as we went on and it was really getting my juices flowing, literally. I didn’t even care that this position was really uncomfortable; all that mattered was that I had Sarah. Suddenly there was a whisper beside us. “And I thought Jason and I were bad at lunch today.”

Sarah and I both scrambled to get into a sitting position and nearly fell off the bench in the process. I tried to straighten out my clothes and Sarah was blushing fiercely as she said, “Ummm, hi Kay, it's not what you think.”

“Let me guess,” she said smirking at us. “Natalie broke a filling and you were checking it for her... with your tongue. Please, it's been obvious you two are still into each other since I met you. You're almost always together, you're always holding hands and you keep stealing glances at one another when you think nobody is looking. I'm just glad you're finally doing something about it, I could practically taste the sexual tension around you two.”

“Did you have to sneak up on us like that though?” I grumbled at her as I tried to collect myself. That kiss felt so wonderful after all this time and I was a little upset it had been ended so soon.

The Vampire shrugged. “Actually I came to tell you dinner is ready. I didn't notice you until I came out of the trees and then you were right in front of me, after that I couldn't resist. Where are your Pixies anyway?”

I could feel myself blushing. “I sent them into the house so Sarah and I could talk privately.”

She giggled and shook her head at us. “Well if you'd had them patrolling, maybe your 'talk' wouldn't have been interrupted so abruptly.” Silphia was sitting atop her shoulder and was giggling right along with her. T least the pair seemed to be getting along. “Anyway let's get back to Sarah's, you both probably worked up an appetite.”

“Kay?” I asked as we began to walk to Sarah's. “Could you not tell anybody what you saw. We'd like to be sure that this is what we really want before we tell anyone.”

She enveloped us both in a hug. “It's not my place to tell. I won't tell a soul, not even Jason. And I'll try to avoid telling Genevieve too if I can manage it. This is between the two of you, you'll decide when you're ready to go public, and no matter what you both decide I'll support you.”

“Thanks Kay,” Sarah said as we both hugged her back. “I guess we'd better hurry back.”

“Yeah, we should,” she replied as she started walking again. “And Nat should probably wipe the lipstick off her face, it's not her color at all.” I quickly wiped my face as we walked.

I hadn’t had dinner with the Taylors in months. Sarah’s mom is a great cook and she always treats me like a second child. After dinner Sarah and I grilled Kayla about what happened at lunch and apparently they had kissed and made up, after they had been interrupted by some strange girl with a Vampire obsession. I was a little worried about that but Kayla didn’t seem overly concerned yet, especially with Silphia to keep an eye out for her. I had been right about her first kiss with Jason too. She had felt a desire to feed when they kissed as it seemed sex and feeding was somehow linked. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you both sooner, I just really didn't feel comfortable with you seeing me feeding, I was ashamed of what you might think of me,” she finally admitted.

“We're your friends Kay,” Sarah said as she hugged her. “We knew you were a Vampire from the start so we knew what to expect. We all expect to someday see you feeding in an emergency, or killing when we're fighting for our lives. It's not going to change a thing, you'll always be you.”

“What if I lose control?” She asked, looking a bit worried.

I snorted at that, like Kayla would ever let that happen. “Kay, you're too paranoid about losing control to ever lose control and if we ever think you're close we'll be there to bring you back from the edge.” Soon Sarah’s dad gave Kayla the medical texts he promised her and she was on her way home. I said my good nights shortly after and Sarah came outside to see me off and give me a very long good night kiss. I went to sleep that night a very happy girl.