I was born in Anglo-Saxon England around 800AD. I lived with my mother and sister in the minor kingdom of Kent that was ruled by Coenwulf at the time. My sister and I grew up in a period of fear. We were ruled by fear because that fear kept us alive.

Twins was an uncommon occurrence at the time, and it was a miracle in itself that mother managed to survive the process of birthing us safely. I couldn't remember what she looked like, but I knew she was beautiful. I remember her smile and the warmth it possessed for us. I remember her heart, and the love she gave to all willingly. It was a shame that the villagers couldn't see the same things in her as myself.

They hated us.

Believed we shouldn't exist.

Like we lived our lives in sin.

Admittedly we were what would be regarded as witches. Mother said that we inherited the traits from our father who had been killed in one of the Viking attacks on our village. Strange things would happen around us, most of it unintentional. It scared the villages, they did not understand us and that was frightening to them. They feared the ground we walked on.

Well,

All except her.

Alec let his thoughts wonder as his pen trailed ink across the pure white page.

"What are you doing brother?"

"I don't know I just had this sudden desire to write." He replied looking up from the page to lock eyes with his twin. Jane shrugged in response and took a seat opposite him at the table he occupied. They were in the quarters reserved for the elite guards. The old stone walls held shelves filled with books and scrolls from throughout history. Light filtered in through high stain glassed windows creating intricate rainbow patterns on the polished floors. Artwork filled every empty space done by the residents of that particular wing of the castle and personal touches had been added to the corners that they each occupied.

Felix had claimed the couches, his jacket hanging over the back of one of the seats. Demetri usually sat with him when he wasn't otherwise occupied with the female population. His own mark left by a small stack of books written in Greek and Latin on the side table.

Alec and Jane had claimed the tables to filter through books and music that interested them. They hated humans, but couldn't deny that the technology they created was of great use to them.

As vampires, their minds worked differently. They could retain a fair bit of information and knowledge and as a result constantly sought out new things.

"What are you writing about?"

"Our human lives." He told her with a tight grin.

"Ugh, why would you ever want to remember that?" She sneered with hatred at the thought of the villagers burning them at the stake and killing their mother in front of them. "The other villagers hated us."

"Not all of them." Alec said releasing a rare small smile.

"You're getting sentimental brother, it was years ago, she's gone, you'll need to let her go eventually." Jane replied somberly.

"It's my fault she died."

"She died, there is nothing we can do to change that now." She said simply trying to force the memories to the back of her mind.

"It's haunting me." He told her rubbing his forehead. "I don't know what triggered my memories but I can't stop it." He glanced back at his pages, "writing it down helps I suppose."

"You've never had this problem before." Jane placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. "What's changed?"

"I don't know, but something has." He told her losing himself in his memories.

*****

Flashback 800 AD, England:

Nysa ducked as her delirious mother threw one of the clay pots in her direction. "IT'S YOUR FAULT HE LEFT!" The woman shouted her own raven hair pulled back into a braid.

"I didn't mean to." The six year old replied ducking the shards. She slipped out of the room as her mother destroyed everything in sight.

"Nysa, pssst Nysa," a young male voice whispered to her and a brown haired boy's head popped up from behind a shrub.

"Alec you'll get me in trouble if she sees you." She hissed her emerald eyes glancing wearily back to the house.

"Then come on, before she notices." He replied with an excited grin.

"You're a bad influence." She said and lifted her skirt slightly while running to his location. She ducked behind the bush as the door to her hut opened with a violent bang.

"Nysa get back here right now!" Her mother shouted and she ignored the demand turning to her friend.

"Where's Jane?"

"Waiting for us in the meadow." He said as he gripped her hand and dragged her through the trees surrounding her home. "She's collecting flowers for mother."

"Then let's hurry." Nysa grinned forgetting the incident at her own house. She didn't understand why her mother hated her so much. She was told it was her fault that her papa left but she didn't know any different. Whatever she did she wished she could take it back so that her mama would smile like she used to.

The children giggled as they spotted their third waving at them from the meadow with excitement on her face, a small basket of flowers in her hand.

*****

The air was incredibly warm and humid. Something Carina struggled to adjust to as she lay on top of the covers of the bed she was given.

Their arrival was amusing to say the least. Abby's Grandmother hated her father with a passion. The old woman spent a few hours just yelling at him in Italian while Mr Banks just stood there and took it all with silent grace. He understood enough of the language to know the old woman hated him, but she was the mother of his wife, and he would put up with it for her sake.

Abby had translated a few choice phrases and curse words for her friend as they chuckled in the corner of the room content to remain unseen by the adults. The moment they did get noticed though resulted in some prompt feeding before the fifteen year olds were sent to bed.

Carina couldn't sleep. She didn't want to sleep. Every time she shut her eyes she felt as though she was being consumed by the flames. She could just make out the pained voice shouting at her, and calling her Nysa. She hated that she had no idea what was wrong with her.

Dawn broke and Abby found her friend already showered and changed flicking through one of the Harry Potter novels. Abby didn't understand why Carina was so fascinated with magic, but then her family believed in monsters that drink blood prowl the night, so who was she to judge.

"What do you girls want to do today?" Mr Banks asked drinking his tea.

"Look around." They both answered shrugging their shoulders.

Abby's grandmother mumbled some Italian to her and she nodded in response causing Carina to frown in confusion.

"We'll be fine," the half English girl spoke only to get the same warning from her mother. Carina looked confused but let her friend grasp her wrist and drag her from the room.

"What was that about?"

"It's an old family paranoia." Abby replied. "If you are from this city, your safety is pretty much guaranteed, tourists on the other hand aren't."

"Is there like some kind of gang?" Carina's curiosity grew.

"You could call it that." Abby shrugged. "Just stay away from the shadows and any tour groups and you'll be fine. That's what mother said anyway."

"Um, okay." Carina replied unsure but not too worried knowing that her friend could probably talk them out of any trouble they might get in. The streets were bustling with locals as they continued their daily lives. She caught weary gazes in her direction as she trailed behind Abby who fit right in with the locals. She didn't like that they looked at her with pity. Like she was the next target.

She clung to Abby's side as an old woman stared her down like fresh meat. "You alright?" Abby asked as she bought a few trinkets.

"Ah yeah," Carina replied her eyes on a beautiful woman that approached slowly. She wore a red dress that accentuated her curves and enhanced her natural beauty.

"Hello," the woman spoke smiling her pearly whites. Carina frowned at her in confusion, something about this woman made the small brunette uneasy. "I'm Heidi," the woman tried again her accent heavy Italian with hints of German seeping through.

"Hi," Carina replied.

"She doesn't want a tour." Abby replied simply first in Italian and secondly in English for Carina's sake.

Carina frowned slightly as she was dragged away from the beautiful woman. She glanced at Abby who wore a tense expression then back to Heidi.

"Of course, my apologies," she replied politely in English her lips morphing into a forced grin her violet eyes narrowed in slight annoyance.

"It's fine." Abby replied.

Carina watched as the woman slunk back into the shadows of the clock tower. Fear hung heavily in the air, the undertones not going unnoticed by the small girl. The tower held an aura of death, it clung to the stone and made Carina shiver involuntarily.

It drew her in while scaring her away.