Aden the vampire had lived alone with his servant Victor, a low-class Hernof demon, for over 300 years now. He had long since tired of mortal affairs, and he no longer even fed on them. There was a slaughter house for cattle quite near to his house, so he sent Victor there often for his meals.
No one questioned Victor's trips, nor did they make the mistake of asking too much money for the blood. Everyone knew that a vampire lived in the house at the bottom of the hill and that Victor was his demon servant. Aden owned the hill and some of the surrounding land. It had been in his family for generations, and so had his vast wealth. No one, not even he, knew how it was acquired.
He preferred for all his neighbors to leave him alone. Back in a more pagan time, many of the towns problems had been blamed on him, the vampire, and they attempted to destroy him. They quickly learned that he was much too powerful to be destroyed by the likes of them, and quickly learned that it was better to leave him be.
"Excuse me sir, can you direct me to the Vega house?" a girl shyly asked the conductor at the station.
He looked slightly afraid and said, "Sure, but do you really want to go there?"
"Yes. I've been on the train all night to get here. I'm supposed to stay at the Vega house while I go to highschool here." the girl replied.
The conductor looked shocked and said, "Well, I'll give you directions, but I'll need your name in case there's a police investigation."
"Police investigation? About what?" the girl wondered, sounding surprised. "Okay, well my name is Lily."
"Alright Lily, I'll write the directions down for you." the conductor said nicely. He did, then gave her the piece of paper.
"Thank you very much." Lily told him with a smile and a bow. She walked down the street.
"What's a nice girl like her doing mixed up with him?" the conductor asked himself.
For the first time in a decade or so, there was a knock on Aden's front door. His demon servant came into the room and Aden said, "Victor, go see who's at the door. Tell me who they are before you answer it."
The Hernof demon went to the door and looked through the peephole. He saw a young girl standing on the porch gazing about the yard. She had long sleek black hair, curious green eyes, and pale white skin. She was wearing a black dress that was the nearby highschool's uniform. She looked like a doll come to life.
Victor went back to his master's study and announced, "A young girl, wearing the highschool's uniform. She has a suitcase and a backpack with her."
"What the hell is she doing here?" Aden wondered. He got up himself and went to the front door. He opened it to see her hand in the air, poised to knock.
"Why are you here?" Aden asked harshly. The girl recoiled.
"Um, please sir, I was sent here by the conductor at the train station. Is this the Vega house where my uncle Marty lives?" she asked quietly.
"This is the Vega house but there is no Monty or whoever here." Aden replied. He was examining her as she spoke and saw that she had a large bruise marring her otherwise beautiful face.
"Well, this is where I was told I would stay. Do you think that you could maybe let me stay?" she wondered, drawing back a little in fear. She had been examining him as well. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail, and white like fresh snow, and his skin was as pale as hers was. His eyes were a cold steely gray.
"No. There have been no guests at this house for over three centuries and I see no reason to take people in now. You may live in my yard if you wish however." Aden said in what he considered to be a generous voice.
"Um, okay, thank you." the girl said, bowing gratefully.
Before he slammed the door in her face, he asked, "What is your full name?"
"Lily Marie Tilford." she told him before he shut the door.
Through the peephole, he watched her look around and settle herself on a large rock in the yard. He wondered what he would do about this girl.
"Summer is almost over, huh." Ian noted. They were walking back from the pool carrying their pool bags.
"Yeah. Sucks. That means we'll have to go back to school an-" Amy said back, trailing off as they passed the vampire's yard.
Ian followed her gaze. "What the hell is she doing inside the fence?! Does she want to be killed?!"
"I don't know, but she's wearing our uniform. She must be new because I don't recognize her." Amy said.
"We have to warn her." Ian said determinedly.
Lily suddenly heard two people talking. A girl and a boy were walking by. The girl was blond and tan, exactly what she was not. The boy was tan as well, but his hair was decidedly orange, brightly so. They both suddenly seemed to notice her, and they stared at her in horror. They exchanged some excited words before they said anything else.
"Hey, girl! What are you doing in there?" the boy shouted at her.
"I'm supposed to live here." Lily called back, barely loud enough for them to hear.
The looks they had given her before were nothing compared to the sheer terror that filled their expressions now. "Are you crazy?! Live with the vampire?!" Amy shrieked.
Lily looked a bit bemused. "Is that what he is?" she wondered idly.
"Yes, and he can eat you in a second if he wants to. Maybe less. He's incredibly powerful and it's nearly impossible for anything to get through his defenses enough to destroy him. Sometimes he is even seen in the daylight, walking around as if nothing is wrong." Ian informed her.
"A vampire immune to daylight." Lily said to herself quietly.
"Look, you need to get out of that yard! He could come out any minute and eat you!" Amy warned her.
Lily merely shrugged and returned to reading her book. Ian and Amy were about to risk jumping the fence just to drag her away from the place when the front door opened. It was none other than Aden the vampire himself.
Earlier...
Aden was uncommonly enraged by this appearance of a stranger seeking shelter at his house, of all places! What the devil did the girl think she was doing, walking up to a vampire's house and asking to live with him? Didn't she know the things he could do to her if he so pleased?!
Aden wondered all this as he stomped furiously back to his study. He could tell that Victor was surprised by his mood swing. He didn't care though. He didn't like that girl at all, she evoked the strangest feelings in him, that quickly made him feel frustrated and angry.
Only one way to find out more about this girl, and that was the Book of Peoples. All he had to do was say her name to the book, and he would have a summary on her and maybe the reason he detested her so much.
Aden opened the book to the middle and said clearly to it, "Lily Marie Tilford."
Pages turned as though blown by an invisible breeze, until the book was open to a page with her name at the top. Aden read:
This girl is very unfortunate. She was grudgingly adopted by a family with a long line of sons, and was therefore unwanted to begin with. Added on to that, her family prizes physical qualities above mental ones while she is studious and keen to learn. Not very strong, she is often beaten and humiliated by her brothers and parents. She is totally incapable of defending herself, given that her life so far has convinced her that there is no defense against evil and cruelty.
She is very shy and likes to read. She is good at cleaning and cooking, and other domestic skills. Her parents sent her to live with a known vampire under the pretense of going to a better highschool and living with a rich old uncle. She is unaware of their deception and their desire to see her dead and be rid of her forever.
This is where her entry ended. Aden was surprised. The girl had evil relatives who assumed he would do the dirty deed of killing her. They had obviously not heard of his recent abstinence from human blood.
Outside, Lily looked at Aden curiously. It was true that he did not flinch in the bright morning sunlight. Ian and Amy, who had been ready to climb the fence a moment before, now backed away from it in terror.
"All right, come in girl." he said resentfully.
Lily, not knowing what was to thank for this new generosity, was just grateful in general, and picked up her bags and followed him inside. It was dimly lit inside and it was very musty. The house could not have been properly cleaned in at least three decades.
"You may sleep in the circular tower room at the top of the staircase at the end of this hallway." Aden told her, pointing down the hallway to a spiral staircase.
"Thank you." Lily said politely, giving him another humble little bow. She took her bags and made her way up the winding staircase. He watched her go with interest.
'What will I do with her now?' Aden wondered.