Three days had passed since they entered the forest.

Pierre Monet and his team of disgusting henchmen had probably given up on looking for them but they were staying hidden for now. Just in case.

Thankfully, they had found a small cave and they temporarily sought refuge in it.

"Elizabeth, are you still alive?" Gem croaked out, her throat parched. It wasn't a joking question. Any moment now, they might just die and rot away.

They hadn't eaten for days and their only source of water was from a small creek that they had found.

Gem wasn't sure how long she could hang on. The poison had overtaken her body and she was still partially blind  and her arms and legs were leaden.

"M'am, do you feel fine?" Elizabeth sounded worried.

"I'm okay," Gem muttered weakly. "I just can't believe I'm going to die from starvation here after escaping a mob of vampires wannabes."

"M'am, should I....should I just cut off my leg? You can eat it then," Elizabeth offered. "I saw it in one of those trashy TV shows."

"Elizabeth!" Gem chided. "Although I'm a half-vampire, I'm not cannibalistic and I don't intend to start soon."

They were lost and in her mind, she was repeatedly stabbing Pierre Monet in the face. He was the one who brought them to this remote wilderness where no city was in sight.

Suddenly, her ears picked up on something.

"There's something outside," she hissed. "Take my dagger. Kill it or whoever it is if it's someone sent by Pierre Monet."

Elizabeth took her dagger and ventured outside. "Mercy," Gem heard the maid hiss.

"What is it?" Gem called out.

"It's a lion. A bloody lion in a forest," Elizabeth shouted. "Should I kill it?"

"Yes. We can eat it." Gem cringed. Wild meat was better than nothing.

For a few moments, she heard the slashing of meat and the lion's gurgled growls before there was silence.

"I'm done. That was harder than I thought," Elizabeth said, her voice closer now. "Just a few scratches, nothing my goblin skin can't handle."

Gem nodded. Half-goblins had typically uglier skin but they were hardier and came in handy during situations like this.

That night, they had roasted lion meat. Elizabeth built a fire and they sat near it, trying to warm themselves.

For Gem, there was something exhilarating about eating wild meat. The rawness gave her strength and she was temporarily reminded of the fact that the reason she enjoyed wild game was because of half-vampire self. Any ordinary human would have puked from eating it.

Elizabeth seemed to enjoy the raw meat even more than her. Maybe that was from her goblin side. Aftr all, goblins had a fetish for eating fresh human meat.  

"What are you going to do with Luke Garon?" Elizabeth asked as she chewed on the tough lion meat.

"What do you mean?" Gem asked warily.

"Pierre Monet does have a point, m'am," Elizabeth said cautiously. "There's got to be a reason why he never told you his identity."

"And I know what that reason is," Gem said irritably. "He probably wanted to finish me off for what my father did."

"I don't think so m'am."

"Are you trying to tell me that you believe Pierre Monet? That scumbag?" Gem snapped. "If I ever see him again, I will personally snap his limbs."

"But miss....."

"Don't mention Luke Garon again," Gem snapped.

"Yes, miss."

That night, whilst Elizabeth was sleeping, Gem thought about Luke Garon for a long time and what his intentions were.

And her mind still drew a blank.

************

When they woke up the next morning, Gem heard footsteps approaching.

"Elizabeth, there are people coming," she hissed and grab a dagger.

As Elizabeth grabbed her arm, they back away slowly into the caves. If they were going to die, she wasn't going to give in without killing some of them.

As the people approached, Gem squinted her eyes. She could faintly make out three people. They had olive brown skin and were wearing leather-skinned clothing. The way they walked was graceful and lithe. Yet, they didn't look like anyone else she had ever met.

And their eyes were red.

"Vampires," Gem hissed. "What do you want?" She drew out her dagger so that it was in plain sight. Not that it was of much use, especially with three creatures of the night infront of them.

"Peace sister." The tallest one held up his hand. "We happened to pass by here and smelt your blood. We were thinking of perhaps stopping for a meal but it appears that both of you are half-breeds so we're going to pass up that. As you know, we don't like half-breed blood."

"Who are you?" Gem demanded, ignoring the obvious jab at her.

"We're native vampires of the forest," he continued. "We live here and we have never ventured beyond the forest. I'm Carolo. And this is Jamika and Michael." He pointed to the two other vampires- one male and one female- standing next to them.

"You're strangely civilised for wild vampires," Gem hissed.

"That's a really insulting term, young lady," Carolo said in a chiding tone. "I'm the oldest here and I used to live in a city so when I created Michael and Jamika, I taught them ways. It's simply degrading to be like wild animals when we are creatures of the night."

"How old are you?" Elizabeth interrupted, curious inspite of herself.

"Only five hundred years old," Carolo answered cheerily. "Still young by immortal standards. Is it my turn to ask a question?" His eyes glinted with interest.

"Shoot," Gem said warily.

"May I know why both of you are residing in the heard of the forest? And one of you clearly seem to be poisoned," Carolo added pointedly.

Gem hesitated. They had no choice after all. "We were taken prisoners by someone and we escaped," she replied.

"How interesting," Carolo said politely. He glanced at his two companions and both of them nodded. "Well, we would be pleased to have you with us."

"What do you mean?"

"My my, are modern people so slow at getting meanings?" Carolo said. "We will take care of you and when you're recovered, we will deliver you to whereever you came from."

"Why are you helping us?"

"Why, little girl." Carolo smiled widely. "I'm someone who likes to repay favors."

"Favors? We've never owed you anything," Gem said puzzledly.

"Ah, you're the young daughter of Felix Austen, am I right?" Carolo's eyes glinted with interest.

Gem took a step back. "How did you know my father?" she hissed.

"That's a long story to tell but I assure you that I mean no harm." Carolo held up his arms and showed his pearly-white teeth.

Gem glanced at Elizabeth and the maid nodded. Like they had a choice.

"We will come with you."

"Fantastic." He smiled. "The last time we had a visitor was two hundred years ago."

"Oh boy." Gem rolled her eyes.

****************

When they arrived at where Carolo lived, Gem was a little shocked. Thankfully, she didn't collapse or anything becaus Elizabeth was holding to her arm but it was still strange.

They lived in tiny huts hidden in a secluded part of the forest.

"Do you even have Internet here?" Gem wrinkled her nose. They were living like people from the Stone Age.

"We find such technological innovations utterly unnecessary," Carolo said smilingly.

He led them to an empty hut. "Both of you can stay here."

"You build extra huts for occasions like this?" Gem said skeptically.

"Well, we've the occasional visitors," Carolo admitted. "But the last one was from a few hundred years ago so it's a little dusty."

"Right."

As they entered the hut, Gem smelt a strange odour. Probably rotting wood from a few thousand years ago. Still, at least there was a bed.

"Thank-you," she said politely.

"No problem." Carolo waved his hands. "If you have any problems, feel free to ask Jamaika or Michael."

Jamaika smiled. She had chestnut brown hair and beautiful topaz eyes. Like Carolo, she had olive brown skin but she was pretty in an exotic way.

Beside her, Michael nodded. He was extremely different from his coven mates. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and it was obvious he didn't come from these local parts.

With that, all three of them left.

"There's no Internet or anything here," Elizabeth complained. "How do they even live here?"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers."

Gem headed for the bed and laid there for awhile. Within moments, she fell asleep, relieved by the fact that she didn't need to be on guard anymore.