"Lark," Xion said softly.

I hadn't even realized that I was moving to stand until I felt his hands curl around my own, tugging me back to the table we occupied. I fell into my chair with a hard thump, but refused to turn my gaze back to him.

"Xion, you have to do something. You have to stop her," I begged. I remembered all too well what it had felt like. Just a pinch really, nothing more. The last time I had been fed from, it had even felt good. I had loathed by body afterwards for being traitorous and awful, but there was no denying that some part of me had enjoyed it. It was what came after that had been hell, seeing my parents, being able to taste the fear when anyone looked at my withered form.

"I'm not going to stop her," he replied gently, still holding onto me as if he were afraid I would lunge for the pair.

Hell, if he wasn't going to do anything about it, maybe I should. She was continuing to drink from the man. How long had it been now? How long did it take for a vampire to drain a human?

"She could kill him," I hissed.

"Lark, darling, that is not going to happen."

"You don't know that!"

He didn't flinch or tighten at my shouting. His grip on my hands stayed firm, but his stare remained soft. "I know that it looks frightening. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Could I trust a vampire? The question seemed wild and unanswerable. But he was not just a vampire. He was the man who had saved my life, the man who had sent my parents chickens without asking why. He was the man who danced with me while my fingers were stained with berry juice and held his breath when I climbed on Pandora's back for the first time.

I met his eyes and tipped my chin down once.

"Now, I want you to look at them, really look at them, and tell me if you think that man needs saving."

At first glance, he did. At least, that's what my fear riddled mind was telling me. It just screamed over and over again that she was trying to kill him, that she was sucking the life force out of him. She had him pinned up against the wall and was taking away his will to live, bit by bit, right out in the open.

Then I forced myself to remove my own emotions. And slowly, blink by blink, the scene shifted before my eyes. His hands weren't clawing at her to shove her away, they were pulling her in. His face wasn't pinched shut, his mouth was soft and open. He wasn't crumpling, he was melting against her. he was larger with muscles that looked like they came from farm work. If he wanted her to get off him, he surely could have made it happen.

"Is he a human?" I asked.

"Yes. Believe it or not, many humans are willing participants to some vampires' needs. Sometimes blood can be exchanged for something simple like money or seeds and sometimes it's not so simple. Sometimes humans like the feeling of blood being drawn, they say it gives them a similar feeling to smoking certain herbs. Sometimes there's romantic links or even intimate ones. Every relationship is different, but not every human is afraid of us."

I watched for a moment longer. His head lolled towards hers, a ghost of a smile on his mouth as he held on. And when she withdrew, she was there to support him as he wobbled a little. The way he looked could be described in a few ways, but the first thought that came to my head was lust.

Though I felt better knowing that this particular man was not going to die, it also brought something sour and wretched out of me. "I almost died in the woods at my last bloodletting. Women disappear all the time."

Xion released my hand, leaning back in his chair to take a sip of the divine wine. "It is very interesting to me that your human king has never wanted to bring this forward to me. I can't say that I have been in power long nor can I speak for what my father did, but it is still strange to me. I'm not going to say that every single one of the vampires beneath me is a saint, but when vampires go into bloodlust we have plans in place to get them blood in safe manners under most circumstances. Those that are of the violent variety don't tend to take the body with them. And those vampires tend not to hunt humans. Going after other species usually offers more of a thrill. It would be the difference between fishing in a pond and pursuing a bear."

"Then what else could it be if it is not vampires that are causing this? On the night of the bloodletting no less."

Xion never raised his voice, never spoke to me as if I were foolish. He remained thoughtful and careful. "I am not here to spread fear, but human men can really be...something. They leave you tied to the trees with no protection, they would know when people are coming to release you. They would know your own lands better than we do. They would not want to leave a body for evidence in case someone examined it and found not bite marks but knife wounds. Or, they might have different intentions entirely."

"It couldn't be," I denied.

"I'm sure not all of those missing are the result of one species or the other," he assured. "But we have already talked about my father and his practices. He wasn't a wonderful man and didn't hold humans in particularly high esteem so the bloodletting's barbaric ways weren't an issue. While vampires do require blood, I'm sure there are other ways to get it. We will work together, you and I, to gradually reduce the amount of people going to bloodlettings."

"So you are against bloodlettings, but that's how you found me?" Suddenly the red wine seemed less favorable.

Xion didn't seem nearly as bothered, though a bit disgruntled. "It felt like a cruel joke, truthfully. The thing I hate brought me the greatest gift. But it is tradition that the king goes to the first bloodletting after his rule begins. It just happened to be yours."

"And you didn't see the person who almost killed me? Surely that would have felt like some kind of a challenge to you as a king."

"I left as soon as I realized that I might put you in danger by hanging around too long," he said. "And then, I just hoped you would be at the next bloodletting and sent some men to capture you for me." He had the decency to wince as he spoke. At least I wasn't the only one still having dilemmas where the kidnapping was concerned.

Perhaps if I eased it for him, I would ease it for myself too. Even just a bit. "I'm still struggling to forgive you for that, but I can agree that if you knocked on my door and asked to take me with you, I probably would have fought just as hard and hated you just as much. Now, after what happened when we traveled to visit your mother..." I didn't like the way he handled the situation; I doubted I ever would. But almost being murdered had certainly put it into perspective.

"I can understand if you want to talk about this and I'm sorry if I have steered this conversation this way, but my intent was to give you a nice day out. Not a day where you thought about all of those terrible things." He swapped out my glass of wine with his own, this one a white wine that I was also fond of. Then he nudged the basket of still warm bread rolls towards me like a peace offering.

I took a deep breath and forced my shoulders down and away from my ears. Our words had certainly spiraled away from where we had started, but something close to trust was blooming in my chest. He had promised to give me the truths he could and now that I was among vampires, I could see them in action. Even when the reality was bitter, I appreciated him doing his best to deliver it.

Once our wine was drained, we returned to our horses. I could hardly hide my excitement as I climbed on Pandora's bare back. The saddle would take some time -- most items of quality required some level of patience-- but the books would already be waiting for me at home. We followed the hot spring, plodding on the cobblestone path. Every now and then, Xion would lean over and tell me something about the hot spring, about a statue, about a scandal that had occurred in a home.

We untacked our horses together, and though I would not admit it out loud, I was a little disappointed when he led me back to my room. When had it become so easy to spend time with him? Was this what it would have been like with Sampson? Somehow, I doubted it.

"I had a wonderful time today," I confessed. his truths seemed to be coming easier and it turned out mine were as well. I leaned against the door to my bedroom, savoring the way he looked, trying to sear it into my mind so I would never forget the masculine lines of him.

"I'm glad. Whenever you want to go into town, please let me know. I would love to accompany you again," he replied, his dark eyes so soft.

And suddenly I wanted something. Something I had only ever had once before. I wanted a kiss. And I wanted it from him. I had such limited experience with this kind of thing. Sampson had just taken it, so I could have done the same. But I didn't want to take it, I didn't want Xion to feel the way I had. I didn't want to snatch a kiss, I wanted to give, to offer.

"Lark, you are thinking far too hard," Xion murmured. A tanned hand swept up, finger curling under my chin to tip my head. "If there is something that you want from the shops you simply have to ask."

Oh, saints, he thought I wanted to buy another book.

"Xion." My voice sounded breathy and uncertain to my own ears. "I want you to kiss me."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What song would you sing at karaoke?