"I do not know the answer to that Elizabeth. The first night I arrived in this town I saved her from a foreigner who intended to harm her. I intervened because of my own fancy. When I met her again, she was very interesting, and she had a thirst for knowledge. I do not generally indulge in human interaction, but there was something her, something fascinating. She has one or two fascinating traits also." He said, feeling the weight of the blood filled vials in his chest pocket. "And when she appeared at the Vampire Haven, I somehow recognised the scream and felt compelled to go toward it, resulting in me attacking those Vampires and stealing her away. My actions and thoughts are very odd, I cannot explain them. It is most unlike me." He could feel the girls breath on his neck and even with his Vampiric strength, this girl was still incredibly light. Azrael shook his head as Elizabeth talked. "She is... no-one special. Just the daughter of a maid within the castle. She was badly treated by the Royal Family so I assume that is why she ran away. That, and she keeps talking about adventures, heh." A small smirk ran across his face. "You know that no matter how quiet you talk, I will always hear you, we are Vampires. I assure you, she has not stolen me away from you. And there is plenty of time for another kiss, heh. Do not worry about that." He said as Elizabeth walked past him, Azrael could tell that she was visibly annoyed. Though he did not understand why. It was still quite some time before the group reached the little house that Azrael still remembered from all those years ago, still placed deep within the forest. The sun would be rising soon so Azrael quickened his pace to catch up with the now absent Elizabeth. When he arrived the front door was open, he entered into the house to find it mostly unchanged from his last visit. Elizabeth had already made herself a drink and was casually sitting in a comfortable chair. Azrael lay the princess on a nearby sofa before stretching his arms and back. "It's nice to be back in this house. It's pretty much just how I remembered it." He said smiling at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth finished off her glass of brandy and placed it down on the small table beside her chair. She looked over at Azrael and watched as he put the young human girl down on the sofa. "I don't want her filth on my sofa. She deserves to sleep outside." she muttered angrily, getting to her feet and walking straight up to the man. "I don't want her here.... she doesn't deserve to be here. You should take her back to wherever the hell she comes from.... I'm supposed to be the important one in your life, I thought. It looks like you've got feelings for a stupid girl like her....romantic or not, you care for her. You care for a human. It sickens me."the woman folded her arms tightly against her chest and she sighed, unsure of what she was going to do at the moment. Suddenly, Evangeline started to wake up because she heard voices. She opened her eyes to see Elizabeth and Azrael standing a meter or so away from her, and they were talking about her, it seemed. Elizabeth didn't seem to like her very much at all. "Mm....what's going on?"she asked them softly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes rather sleepily. "Is this where you live, Elizabeth?" Evangeline asked, looking up at the woman with a small smile on her face. Unfortunately, Elizabeth didn't return the smile and she glared down at the human girl, looking as if she was going to tear her apart at any moment."Shut your mouth, girl. You're lucky I even allowed you to stay under this roof. If you don't watch yourself I'll rip you apart and bleed you dry within a matter of seconds. If you're not out of here by the morning, I will see to it that you become nothing more than a useless sack of blood and bone."and with that, she turned away and headed out the front door, almost slamming it off of the hinges as she went outside. It had started to rain, but she didn't really care. She needed a way to calm herself down. When Elizabeth had left them alone, Evangeline didn't say anything. She simply sat there on the couch, biting her lip. There were tears in her eyes, but she didn't cry out or make a sound, as she didn't know what to do with herself. She hadn't expected Elizabeth to say something so cruel to her, so she was honestly surprised."I.....I suppose I should go...."she muttered softly, looking up at Azrael. Tears started to run down the princess's cheeks and although she tried her best to wipe them away quickly, it was useless. "She..she hates me..."Evangeline blurted out, turning away from her companion and burying her face into the back of the sofa as she cried.

"Why so mean, Elizabeth. She is but a scared and lonely girl. She poses no threat to us, just let her rest for a while. One would of thought that you would have more sympathy for humans, having once been one. And let us not forget that we need them to live." He stroked some hair from the girls hair as she stirred in her sleep. "The important one in my life? Of course you are, and you always will be, but we have not seen each other in half a century. I had assumed that you would move on with your life. It is unlikely for Vampires to meet that regularly anyway." He pulled his hand away from the sleeping princess. Was Elizabeth right? Did he care for her? Perhaps. But if it was true, was it such a bad thing? "What is wrong with caring for a human? Many of us Vampires choose to get to know humans before turning them. Many often form relationships afterwards. You of all people should know that." Azrael watched as Elizabeth launched an assault against the princess, who was now sitting up and awake. "Elizabeth, wai-" But it was too late. The female Vampire had said what she had wanted to say and promptly left. Azraels face crinkled up in bemusement. Elizabeth sure was blowing this whole situation out of proportion. It's not like Azrael harboured any romantic attachment to the Princess... Azrael knelt down in front of the girl whilst she sat on the sofa, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "I would not worry about her too much. Elizabeth has always worn her heart on her sleeve. If she has something to say then she just out and says it. I guess she is just a little over protective of me, we have a long history together. I am sure she will calm down soon enough." He used one of his long, slender fingers to wipe the water away from her cheek, but she just turned her head and buried it into the sofa. "Hey now, I am sure she does not hate you. And even if she does, why would that matter? I do not hate you." He said smiling. He placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her from the sofa so that she was facing him. As he gazed over her face he noticed just how beautiful she was. It was no wonder her parents could command only the most powerful of suitors for her. She sat wiping the tears from her cheeks but they continued to flow. The tiny beads glistened on her pale skin. If Azrael didn't know any better he'd have thought she were a Vampire with that complexion. Looking over her face he noticed her pale lips stained by a dash of dark red where she had bit down during Elizabeths tirade. The combination of her pale beauty being amplified by her dark hair, and the little globe of blood pooling on her bottom lip sent a shiver down Azraels spine. He licked his lips. Everything went quiet. Azrael couldn't hold himself back. He leaned in towards the girl and placed his lips against hers. He felt the sweet blood start to coat his own with it's warmth. He pushed his lips a little harder toward her as he slipped his hand behind her neck. He gently bit down on her lip in an attempt to draw out more of her blood. The taste was intoxicating and as he drank it drop by drop, he felt his need for it increase ever more rapidly.

Evangeline stared up at Azrael when he turned her back towards him. She wasn't sure what he was planning, but she saw him lick his lips. All of a sudden, he kissed her for some reason, and he started to bite at her lower lip as he did so. The princess didn't know what to do with herself. At first, she squirmed, wanting to get away, but she didn't actually bother to get up off of the sofa and move. Her hands moved about awkwardly, as she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. After a moment or so, she pulled away from Azrael a little and tried to speak. "Y-you said you weren't....going to bite...Elizabeth'll....s-see.."she managed to mumble, finding the strength to pull herself away from him completely. Evangeline looked away from him and brought her hand to her mouth. She could taste her blood on her lips. She hadn't realized that she had bitten herself hard enough to draw blood."D-do you realize what you've done?"she asked him softly, not turning around to face him just yet."Your first kiss is supposed to...be with someone special that you love and..."Evangeline trailed off for a moment and turned to look at Azrael again. "You stole my first kiss....just so you could feed off of me..."the princess muttered, feeling a little violated. Evangeline wiped the remaining blood from her lips and she shook her head."Why couldn't you just use the vials I gave you? Or....why couldn't you just take it from my arm...like before? Why did you have to kiss me?" the girl had several questions for the vampire, but she felt like she should be asking the most important ones first. Her fingers ran through her long black hair nervously, and her cheeks were a bright pink. It was obvious that she was quite embarrassed at the moment. Evangeline could feel her heart beating uncomfortably fast, and she was reminded of a few days back, where she was pressed up against a wall by the very man that had just bitten her. She had to admit that she felt like there was something between them, but she wasn't entirely sure. These feelings were new to her and she didn't really find herself understanding them, either. These feelings made her body feel all...weird.

Evangeline pulled away from the embrace of Azraels kiss. After she had he licked his lips once again. He could still taste the sweetness of her blood in his mouth. It was intoxicating. "I could not help myself. Your beauty is very hard to resist. And when I saw that tiny droplet of blood, I could not help myself. I do apologise for forcing myself upon you like that though." Azrael felt quite bad about it, but it was truly as if his body had moved of it's own volition. "It was never my intention to defile you... to... steal, anything from you. But, your blood, it is indeed very special. The vials you gave me, while I'm sure that you thought that they would make a nice gift, I cannot be sure of how I will react upon consuming one of them. The blood that courses through your body is very powerful, I would hate to harm you." He stood up in front of the girl. "I am curious as to what would happen to you if you were ever turned into a Vampire. It is has been known that some Vampires throughout time have been very unique, even for us. They were, and some still are, held in the highest regard, even revered as Kings and Queens of all Vampires. Although our people have not seen one of these such Vampires in many centuries. Many believe it is a special quality in their blood when they were Human that led to their being so special. I wonder if you would too..." He trailed off as he contemplated such a scenario. It was true that Evangeline seemed curious about Vampires, but would she truly wish to become one if she knew how they really were. And if she did, would that blood of hers truly bring about a new 'Vampire Royal'. How ironic it would be for her to escape one family of Royals only to step into another. He placed his hand on the princess' shoulder. "If I have angered you in any way, I do apologise. If you do not wish to travel any further with us, I will happily escort you to the next town where you ca-" He suddenly felt a murderous intent from behind him. He whipped around but saw nothing. "Wait here for one moment." He said to Evangeline without turning to her. He moved towards the front door and grasped the door handle. He turned it and slowly pushed it open, whilst stepping out into the cool night. He glanced left and saw nothing. The he turned his gaze slowly to the right, scanning the area as he did, and then he noticed Elizabeth standing by the side of the house. "Bloody hell, Elizabeth! It was only you? I could of sworn that I felt an enemy presence a moment ago. Did you see anything!?"

Evangeline looked up at Azrael and blinked her long eyelashes at him. He had said that her beauty was very hard to resist, that he couldn't help himself when he saw her bleeding. She honestly had no idea just how much power she held over him. She was about to speak, but the vampire started to go on about something else. About vampires who were very different from the regular kind. "What do you mean by unique? What would make me any different from the regular vampire? I....I'm not saying I want to become one, but....it sounds interesting...."the princess fell silent for a moment and then spoke again. She gently grabbed Azrael's hand and looked up at him once more. "I would think you would want to keep me as a human...if my blood is so precious, then why would you waste that by turning me into a vampire? Is eternal life really all it's cracked up to be? Would you feel comfortable knowing you could throw me across a room and I would be fine? ...A-anyway, I don't think you would ever hurt me intentionally... perhaps you just need to find some self control deep within yourself."a small smile crossed her pale face and she looked up at her companion with her ever curious eyes.

He started to speak about her not wanting to travel with them, that he would take her to the next town, but Evangeline quickly shook her head. She wanted to stay with him, even if she was quite frightened of Elizabeth. Going back home would mean she would be forced to marry someone she didn't love, she'd be forced into a life of misery and entrapment. Something she didn't want. "N-no I...want to stay..."she mumbled softly as Azrael suddenly whipped around. The princess wasn't sure what he was doing, but she stayed behind when he went to the front door and opened it.

Elizabeth watched Azrael with cold and aggravated eyes."I saw what happened, what you did. You kissed that little bitch without a second thought, you cannot possibly expect me to believe that you have no romantic intentions or feelings for her. I.... I thought I was still the one you loved and cared for, but I see that is a very different story now." Elizabeth turned away from Azrael and folded her arms. She wasn't even able to say how angry she was right now. All these feelings were boiling away inside her. It hurt to see Azrael throw himself at a human without a second thought. She was no longer important, it seemed. Without saying anything more, she headed back inside and looked at Evangeline with murderous eyes. She had the intent to kill her. With speed that went unrivaled in all the land, Elizabeth appeared in front of her and choked her. One hand around the girl's neck, squeezing with only a small amount of her strength. Of course, the girl struggled for a few seconds, but she soon fell limp. Elizabeth would tear her apart. Soon she would be unrecognizable. Her teeth ripped into the girl's pale skin, and she started to bite away at her like a ravenous animal, spitting everything out a moment later and tossing her to the floor. She would die soon. Elizabeth turned around to face Azrael, blood dripping down her face and onto her clothes. It was like she had gone mad. "Looks like she'll be dead soon, you'll have to pay attention to me, and only me."she said softly, lunging at him a second later with her fangs out.

"Elizabeth, let me explain..."

Azrael had begun to explain when Elizabeth pushed passed him, and entered the house through the front door. He went to grab her by the arm so he could explain what had just happened. Not that he was entirely sure himself. There was something about Evangeline was starting to affect him.

These last few days he had spent around the human girl had caused him to become somewhat smitten with her. She was refreshing change to his usual life of seclusion, or his infrequent meetings with other Vampires. He'd never met someone as uniquely interesting as her. A human who could have it all, but passes it up for the chance at adventure. It was a truly rare thing to see, at least from Azraels understanding of the modern human society. The days of travelling seas and exploring new worlds was a thing of the past, all of that sort of thing was romanticised in stories. Perhaps knowing a Vampire was an adventure in itself for this little princess. Whatever it was, Azrael had a feeling that Evangeline could cause him quite a bit of trouble, a possible future that he would look forward to. It was no drawback that her blood was of the highest quality. He was not quite ready to part with her yet either, so he was eager to travel with her for a bit longer. He was sure that there was more to discover about her, or even help her to discover.

But, his hand grasped thin air as Elizabeth moved instantaneously from the doorway and appeared in front of the girl. Unfortunately, Azrael wasn't quick enough to realise the impending danger and made his next move far to slowly.
Elizabeth wrapped her cold fingers around Evangelines warm throat and preceded to squeeze the life from her. The small girl was powerless against the strength of the Vampire and struggled violently until the air no longer reached her lungs and she suddenly fell limp. Elizabeth bit into the lifeless dolls neck and bit off a chunk of pale flesh. She threw the girl, now bleeding quite profusely, to the other side of the room before turning to look at Azrael, who was quite shocked at what he just saw. He stared at the blood pouring from the giant gash in the humans neck, he could easily tell that the flow wouldn't stop until there was nothing left.

The words from Elizabeths mouth swept over him like nothing but a dull humming, his attention focused purely on the little princess, her unique blood which he had been so fixated on minutes before, now staining the pale yellow floor as her body lay still.

He felt the rush of wind as his fellow Vampire quickly passed him and entered the dark night, heading for the woods.
Azrael took a few slow steps towards the girl lying on the floor, his shoes now resting in the blood, he crouched down next to her and brushed the blood soaked hair from her face. He studied her face for a moment, he thought he could see her very own life force draining from her eyes. He traced his fingers down her face and placed two of them on her neck. He held them there for a few seconds before he felt the weakest of heartbeats.

She was still holding on. Barely.

He ripped off one of his shirt sleeves and looked at the wound on her neck, still spewing blood, if only at a much slower rate than before. He paused. Staring at the blood. The blood which he knew could send him into ecstasy with one little taste. He shook his head vigorously. There was no point letting this girl die just so he could get blood-drunk.

He tied the torn sleeve tightly around her neck. It wouldn't save her, but the pressure might slow the bleeding just long enough for Azrael to get Evangeline to the next town, and a doctor. If he sprinted hard, he could have her there in no time. Not that this situation allowed him any time at all.

"I do not know if you can hear me, little princess. But hold on for just a bit longer. I will not let you die in such a horrible manner."

Once again, he found himself carrying a human, the same one for a third time in less than twenty four hours. He slipped one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back and then exited the house. He briefly looked for Elizabeth in case she decided to attack again, but saw nothing, with that, he sprinted as fast as he could in the direction of the next town.

Evangeline woke up a few hours later to find herself in an unfamiliar bed. She opened her eyes. She lay in this bed in a candlelit room, and she could hear the warm crackling of a fire nearby. It took her a few moments to remember just what had happened to her. Suddenly, the princess brought her hand to her neck. It hurt. It felt like it had been bandaged, she could smell blood. It was on her hands, she could feel it in her hair. The last thing that Evangeline remembered was Elizabeth appearing in front of her and grabbing her by the throat. The princess could feel herself starting to panic. Her heart started to beat uncomfortably fast and she looked to the side of her bed to see Azrael sitting there. It was then that she started to calm down a little."I....I didn't die, did I?"she asked softly, one of her hands moving to her neck for a moment. It hurt to talk at the moment, so perhaps it would be better if she didn't say anything at all. Evangeline scooted across the bed and moved to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Thankfully he was very close by so she didn't have to stretch herself too far. "Thank you..."she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder comfortably. Evangeline was very lucky to be alive right now, and for that she was incredibly grateful.

After a few long moments, she pulled away and stared into her companion's eyes. She hadn't expected Azrael to come to her rescue like he had. "W-what happened?" she managed to choke out, moving some of her hair from her pale face. "I don't remember anything." the princess turned her head a little to look out into the night. Snow was falling. It would have been nice to go out there if she hadn't been injured like this. Evangeline glanced back at Azrael and tilted her head to the side a little. She was looking a little worse for wear at the moment. Her neck was incredibly bruised and sore, her skin was paler than usual, if that was even possible. The dark-haired girl wondered what had gone on. Would he tell her the truth, or would he tell her a lie to spare her feelings?

Azrael stood up from his chair and gently pushed Evangeline back down onto the bed.

“You should not move around too much. You have lost a lot of blood; if you become too active you might get dizzy and pass out. Just rest quietly for a bit longer.”

Recomposed himself, straightened out his clothes, and then sat back in his simple wooden chair that was next to the bed and crossed his arms. He exhaled deeply.

“I must apologise. Elizabeth… Well… She was the one who attacked you. I was blind to her feelings for me. We have a… complicated… history. We have not seen each other for a long time and it was my belief that she had moved on. But alas, that was far from true. Apparently when I kissed you, she was observing through the window, and she did not like that. She does not seem to have some dislike for humans, which I suppose is not uncommon amongst Vampires, but still… Anyway, she seems to believe that I do not care for her anymore, but I do...”

He flicked his gaze to the princess.

“… And now you too. I must admit, I tend to keep my distance from Vampires and Humans alike, but after meeting you that first night in the city, you have become very interesting to me. If you wish to stay with me, I promise I will not let something like this happen again.”

The side of his mouth curled as he formed a tight smile. He picked up a small cup form the bedside table. He handed it to the abnormally pale princess.

“Here. Drink. Father Matthews, who is also the towns’ doctor I might add, said that you need to keep hydrated, and eat as soon as you feel able. He said you were lucky to survive, and the most important thing now is to keep up your strength. Make sure you thank him before we leave.”

He leaned back into his chair.

“Until you feel better, just let me look after you.”

"So, you were lovers, then?" She wasn't particularly comfortable talking about love and marriage & everything that came along with it. She'd never experienced anything like that, yet she had managed to come between two people who had been in love with each other previously, and probably still were. When Azrael instructed her on what she needed to do, she simply nodded and kept her mouth shut. It was just a cup of water, it wasn't anything like the exotic teas from foreign lands she was used to. It would have to do for the time being. When she had finished it, she placed it down on her bedside table and gazed out of the window again, watching as snow gathered on the windowsill.

In all honesty, the princess was a little jealous. How nice it must be to have someone love you enough to kill for your attention. "You still love her, don't you?" Evangeline asked him without turning back. "You shouldn't get yourself involved with someone like me if you still want to have a chance with Elizabeth.... after all, she tried to kill me... isn't it best that you stay away? She doesn't like me..." Evangeline bit down on her lip a little and she lay down on her side carefully, pulling the covers up to her chin as she did so. It wasn't like her to feel jealous. Normally other people in the kingdom would be jealous of her lavish and luxurious lifestyle, but now she knew just what it felt like. It wasn't a feeling that she enjoyed. To be jealous of another woman. To be jealous of all of the women who had a husband who looked after them and loved them. "M-maybe you should just leave me here? Once I've recovered I'm sure I'll be alright, there's no need to keep watch over me... you can be with Elizabeth and you can live happily forever after... or something along the lines of that."Evangeline fell silent once more, wondering why she was saying such silly things. These feelings were new to her, they made her feel uncomfortable, she was awkward and didn't know what to do with herself. Stumbling over her words was all she could manage.

"Yes. A long time ago. Elizabeth and I... We were... Very close. We spent a lot of time together and shared many memories."

He stroked his cheek as he talked about the past.

"Of course, Elizabeth will always be special to me. But, any strong feelings for her withered long ago. I moved on after we parted ways, Vampires live a long life, and to spend eternity with only one person was something I wasn't interested in at the time. I cut my ties with her and hoped that she would find her own place within our society. Perhaps I was a little misguided, but then, I was still young at the time too."

He smiled reassuringly at Evangeline.

"It was nice to see her again, initially. But it seems she is not the person I thought that she was, I have no interest in searching for her, and if she chooses to show her face to me again, well, I guess I will deal with that when the time comes. I will not let her hurt you again."

He said, stroking her hair, trying to make her feel a bit safer about the whole situation. He wasn't sure just how she was coping right now.

"Listen, if you want to be own your own, I cannot stop you. But, I would be very disappointed. It has been a long time since I found anyone I felt was worthy of spending time with.. Heh, not since Elizabeth."

He leaned in close to her.

"Plus, I thought you wanted an adventure. I could show you the world."

Evangeline rolled over onto her back and she looked up at Azrael as he stroked her hair. He was obviously trying to calm her down, but it wasn't really helping all that much. "I....I don't want to be on my own...sh-she'll come find me, and then she'll kill me...and if I'm with you, she'll come find us and she'll kill me anyway...."she said softly, blinking her long eyelashes up at him before biting down on her lip. The princess was understandably frightened of what might happen to her. Suddenly, the vampire leaned in close to her and she pulled the covers up to her chin again."I don't want adventure if it means I have a vampire plotting to kill me..."Evangeline mumbled, settling back into her pillow comfortably. The girl wanted to have adventures and see new places, but having a vampire after her would make it difficult to relax. "Besides...I'll grow old...and you won't want me anymore, so you'll leave me, and then I'll be alone...."Evangeline didn't want to think about getting old, but she couldn't help herself. The thought of being completely alone in the world sounded even worse to her, however.

“Then you do not have to be alone, we can carry on travelling together. If Elizabeth choose of me again, then I will deal with it then. And if you are worried that she will attack you, then the safest place for you would be with me.”

He said with a genuine smile.

“Surely all the best adventures involve adversaries. I cannot imagine that she will make a move so soon. Hopefully she will reflect on her actions, perhaps she may even return and apologise, who knows.”

He shook his head as he spoke.

“You are young, and Humans live fast. A lot can happen between now and the age that you consider old. There are an endless about of probabilities and routes to take. For all we know, you might even outlive me…”

He pulled the covers up to her neck.

“For now, get some rest, you need to recover your strength before we even think about going anywhere. When you are better, we will leave.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Evangeline.”

She shook the girl gently until she was awake.

“It is time for us to leave."

He placed some new clothes at the end of the bed for her to put on.

“Put these on. It seems your parents have unleashed the kings guard upon the country in an attempt to find you. I do not wish to get the Father in any trouble for attending to us, even though he has kindly offered us sanctuary, but it would not feel right. Thankfully it is quite dark out now so we should be able to slip away without attracting attention. I will be outside when you are ready.”

Azrael stepped out into the main room, he knew Father Matthews was in bed and it would be much easier to leave without his protesting. The doctor had been very generous during their stay, and Azrael wasn't sure if he had identified the girl as the princess or had chosen to not get involved, either way, Azrael was happy that they'd met such a kind man. He exited through the front door and stood outside the house. He looked into the cloudless skies and stared at the glistening stars. He hoped that this part of the journey wouldn't involve the attention of the kings army too much. It would make things a bit difficult, but it wasn't the first army that Azrael had had to evade.

Early morning rolled around much too quickly for the princess's liking. She squirmed a little when she felt Azrael shaking her and she rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow comfortably. It was obvious that she didn't want to get up. Fortunately, she turned around to look at him when he stated that they needed to go, that the army was out looking for her. The girl rubbed her eyes for a moment, nodded lightly and got out of bed slowly, being sure not to move too fast, or she might end up passing out. Evangeline dressed into some new clothes that had been laid out for her and she pulled her hood over herself as well - an attempt to disguise her appearance. A poor one, at that.

Once Evangeline was dressed and ready to go, she fetched her bag and headed out of the room, making sure not to make any loud noise on the way down. She stepped lightly down the stairs and closed the front door behind her. Azrael was standing there, seemingly examining their surroundings. "Mm....where are we going to go?" she asked softly, yawning in the middle of her question. Evangeline moved a little closer to her companion so she could gently slip her hand into his. It made her feel much safer if she knew he was always there beside her. "I hope it's not too far...I'm not sure I can walk for very long...like this.."the princess glanced up at the vampire for a moment, wondering what was going through his head at the moment. Without speaking, she moved to rest her head against his arm. It was far too early to be awake. The princess wanted to be back in bed. She wasn't sure how she would cope throughout the day in her condition.

"Well, I do not have a plan in mind at the moment, we just need to keep ahead of your fathers soldiers, if they find you then they will take you back, and I guess that is not an option for you."

He felt her hand clasp around his own. The action threw him for a second as he realised that he'd never held anyone's hand in his life, that he could remember anyway. Vampires weren't the sort of people to show affection that way, or at all really. And when he was human, well, he'd of been lucky to of been even looked at by a girl, let alone touched by one.
He reciprocated the sensation by squeezing a little tightly for a moment, just to let her know that he would keep her safe, and then he started walking through the small town, down the main street.

"I have never been there myself, but Father Matthews mentioned that to the snowy region to the north there are many small villages that are quite remote. I thought we could head there, even if for a little while, until we decide where we want to go. There are many fishing villages up there so we can always get on a boat and go somewhere. Either way, when we get there, we can sit down and decide, we can go anywhere in the world."

As they walked through the town, Azrael noticed that near the end of the houses, a couple of guards were nailing up a poster. He didn't have to see it to know that it was a sketch of the Princess. It seemed that the King was not messing around or keeping the Princesses disappearance a secret.
As they got closer, Azrael pulled back on Evangelines hand, pulling her back so that he was between her and the vision of the guards. The walked past without any trouble.

"S'cuse me, sire. Can I talk to ya for a mo."

It was one of the guards addressing Azrael. If he got too close, the guard would surely recognise the Princess.

"Hide behind me."

Azrael muttered to Evangeline. Pushing her behind him.

"How may I help?"

Azrael asked. The guard preceded to ask Azrael about whether he had seen a girl matching the Princesses description, even going so far as to handing Azrael a spare poster.

"I am afraid I have not seen such a girl, if I do I will be sure to report it. Good luck finding the her."

Azrael turned to leave, but the guard noticed something about Evangeline and ripped her hood off as they both turned to leave. He shouted out and reached for his sword. Azrael acted quickly and thrust his open palm into the guards chest, lifting him off his feet and covering several feet before landing on his back. The second guard, having finished his poster nailing duties had started walking over when he saw the commotion. He thrust his spear at Azraels face who turned to dodge the spearhead and brought his hand down on the spear, snapping it in two. Snatching what was left of the spear from the guard, Azrael smashed it across the mans head, hitting his helmet with a large clang. With both guards now on the floor, the Vampire turned to Evangeline.

"Excuse me."

He said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"We no longer have the luxury of taking our time to move on from here."

When they were a good distance from the town, Azrael stopped and put the girl down.

"Damn. I was hoping that we wouldn't be found at all, let alone so quickly. Are you okay to walk? It will be some time before they catch us up... Hopefully."

Evangeline smiled sweetly up at Azrael when he took hold of her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Winter is my favourite season. I'd love to go there and see the snow.... and the lakes when they're all frozen and sparkling...I've only ever really seen places from the window of a carriage, so it'd be nice to see something a little different for a change." the princess looked around them for a moment before spotting some guards a few meters away. She wasn't sure what they were doing, but they were nailing things to posts around the town, it seemed. Suddenly, Azrael pulled her behind him. She knew to keep quiet. If they could get past these guards without any problems, that would make their journey go a little smoother, but she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something would go horribly wrong along the way. Evangeline did her best to make out like she wasn't even there, and she didn't dare face the guards. They would be able to recognize her as soon as she did that. It would be a death sentence; for Azrael, anyway.

After a few short moments of speaking to the guard, they were on their way again, thankfully. They attempted to slip past with the princess going unnoticed, but she could feel something tugging at her cloak. Before she knew it, it had been pulled from her shoulders and the guard started shouting things to the other man he had with him. The next few seconds went by rather quickly. The girl had closed her eyes and brought her hands up to her face in an attempt to protect herself, but it seemed Azrael already had that covered. Soon, the sounds of clashing metal came to an end and she removed her hands from her eyes to see Azrael picking her up without permission, hoisting her over his shoulder. Evangeline kept her mouth shut and she allowed him to carry on.
It wasn't too long before they found themselves in a forest, quite a way out of the town. She had to adjust her hair once she was placed on her feet, and she wasn't particularly happy about that. "I....I'm alright I suppose....a little cold, but that doesn't matter..."unfortunately, the princess had not had the chance to grab her cloak before Azrael picked her up. She wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders and smiled meekly up at her companion. Unfortunately, the dress she was wearing didn't have shoulders. "I'm sorry....for being such a burden to you... I didn't mean things to go like this..."she stated, bowing her head a little in obvious shame. She felt awful for coming between Elizabeth and Azrael, causing trouble for them, forcing him to take her far away so guards wouldn't find her. Luckily for her, Azrael offered her the cloak he was wearing, as she had lost her own. She took it without hesitation, wrapping it around her shoulders and sighing softly, hoping it would be enough to keep her comfortably warm.

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It was about 5 o'clock in the evening when they finally stopped walking. They were in the middle of a forest, and it was snowing. Now that they had started to slow down and look for somewhere to settle, Evangeline found that the cold was on her mind again. She was bound to get sick if she didn't get somewhere warm. Azrael's cloak had been dragging along the ground and collecting flakes of snow as she had walked, as it was a little too long for her. She picked it up and brushed off what she could, but it melted beneath her hands. "D-do we have to stay out here?"she asked softly, looking around them with a worried expression on her face. It was getting dark. "Wh-what about dinner? We have to have something...and....what about the wolves and the bears? They're going to get us...."the princess started to panic a little, biting down on her bottom lip in worry. She'd never slept outside before, so this was an entirely new experience. "I...I think we should just keep walking until we find somewhere safe to stay..."she suggested, heading off in a northern direction, not really knowing where she was going.

"Hm? It might be safer for us to stay out of the nearby villages and towns, even if for just one night. It may be the difference between a confrontation with the kings-guard and missing them entirely."

He looked further into the woods and saw a little area, naturally sheltered by a rock.

"Come, there is a place just over there that I can see which should shelter us from any adverse weather."

As they walked, Azrael sparked up a conversation.

"How are you doing? You have been through more in the last few days than I would imagine you have been through since you were born, heh."

They found the area to be very comfortable with none of the wind managing to affect the girl. Azrael sat her down against the largest rock.

"Will you be okay for a few moments while I find some wood to make a fire? I think having a small fire will be okay as we're fairly sheltered here so the light will not attract any attention. If anything does happen just call out to me, I will hear you."

It wasn't long before Azrael returned with firewood, and two dead rabbits. It took almost no amount of time for Azrael to construct a fire and light it, he didn't usually bother with this kind of heat source when he travelled as Vampires weren't affected by the cold much, but with the girl noticeably cold, Azrael endeavoured to make her comfortable.

"I hope you don't mind Rabbit. I was lucky to even find these two, but please, eat as much as you like when they are cooked."

Evangeline followed along behind Azrael as he lead her over to a large rock that would shelter them from the weather that would probably worsen overnight. Suddenly, he spoke to her, asking a question she certainly didn't expect him to ask. "Ah....we-well...I wanted adventure, didn't I? I suppose I'm getting what I deserve..."she muttered softly, touching at her neck for a moment. She was reminded of the pain she felt when she had woken up that morning. Of course, there was no point in complaining about it, as there was nothing that could be done to ease the pain.

The princess sat down against the rock with Azrael's help and she nodded her head to his question."I'll be fine, surely..."she assured him in her soft voice, moving some hair from her eyes as she spoke to him. Evangeline watched as the vampire turned and left her, and she was alone for about twenty minutes or so, sitting against a cold rock with her knees up to her chest and arms wrapped around her shoulders beneath the warm cloak she had been given. Just when she was starting to feel uncomfortably lonely, Azrael was making his way back. She smiled softly as he came back, but the smile quickly drained from her face when she saw him carrying dead rabbits. Almost as soon as she lay her eyes on them, she turned her head away. She wasn't very interested in eating meat, and her mother would often complain about how thin and pale she was, and that she would need to eat more, otherwise she would not bear healthy children for a king. "I...I don't know if I can eat those....th-they're too cute..."she whispered under her breath, watching as he put them down and started to make a fire.

"I think I'll wait until we get to the next town, I can't eat rabbits....I just can't..."she looked at Azrael with a small frown, not looking forward to dinner at all.

After some time had passed, she ended up eating anyway, because she didn't want to seem like she was ungrateful or anything. After dinner was done with, Evangeline had grabbed a book from her bag and she snuggled up to Azrael so she could do some reading, wrapping the cloak around the both of them like he was a human, like he felt the cold. Perhaps she was doing it because it made her forget about what he really was. She wasn't sure. It was probably because she would feel bad if she was taking the cloak for herself. Evangeline sat there reading in silence, eventually moving to rest her head against his shoulder, which she didn't think anything of. It wasn't like they shared feelings for each other, or anything as trivial as that. "I don't really miss home..."she said softly, yawning as she spoke. The princess put her book down for a moment and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

As Azrael sat next to Evangeline, she wrapped the cloak he had given her around the two of them. Azrael wasn't affected by the cold like the girl would be, but he appreciated the gesture, she was a very kind girl.
She pulled a book out from her belongings; Azrael had been unaware to the fact that she had brought such a thing with her. He glanced at the book but could not discern what it was or what it was about, he had spent a lot of time without reading anything that wasn't larger than a piece of paper meaning his knowledge on books was quite limited. He knew of no great authors or famous literature.

As she read her book, the young princess’s head started to wilt and soon it was leaning against the Vampires shoulder. He smiled and rested his own head on the rock behind him. The time they had spent together had already been so hectic and Azrael was impressed by her willpower, whether it was how she stayed awake for long periods, or the fact that she’d already survived a fatal attack so early on in her adventure. Since becoming a Vampire, Azrael had rarely experienced such excitement as he had travelling with this human girl. He hoped he could continue to travel with her, albeit, with a little more protection over her from himself. He didn't want her to be put in a similar situation as she had thanks to Elizabeth.

“You do not miss home? I only jest… but surely you miss the safety that being the Kings daughter provided. At least there you would not have suffered such a wound as you have done.”

He words flowing into the cold night air, his head angled slightly up as he stared at the stars through the gaps in the tree tops. No matter where he was, he was always attracted to the stars in the sky.

“I do hope that such a thing will not happen to you again. I admit my guard was dropped with Elizabeth around, but I will not make the same mistake again. I promise you that.”

He looked at her pale face as he said those last words.
The girl rubbed her eyes and yawned softly.

“Perhaps you should try and get some sleep while the fire is still burning. I will keep watch tonight, but I do not think anyone will find us here. Tomorrow we will keep going north until we find a town, and we can find you some better fitting winter clothes.”

"I've been sheltered all my life by parents that were not even mine.I was caged in my room like an animal, unable to go anywhere unless I had their permission beforehand. You have no clue as to how boring and bland my life was before I escaped..."Evangeline shook her head when Azrael suggested that she should sleep while the fire was still going."I don't want to sleep, I'm too busy enjoying my book. Just a few more chapters and maybe then I'll consider sleeping, but right now I'm quite content to just sit here reading." the princess turned her attention back to her book for the moment, reading in silence. It was a book that romanticized the idea of adventure and excitement rather heavily, and it was a book that she had read several times in the past, but it never grew dull. After a little while, Evangeline put her book down again and looked up at Azrael.
"You know, my real parents were peasants. Or...so I was told, anyway. I never knew them. I was adopted in secret, because my moth-the queen....was unable to conceive. That is rather embarrassing when you are part of the royal family. They changed my name to something that would fit better in the family, they did not let me cut my hair or receive education outside of the palace. I've never been my own person."the girl wasn't really sure as to why she was telling Azrael this, but she felt like maybe he wanted a little more information about her, or something like that. He barely knew anything about her, so perhaps he would find it interesting to learn something more."My real name is a mystery to me. I have never been allowed to have my hands on my own birth certificate."the princess frowned a little and sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat there beside him.