Nicholas de la Roche knew the way to save his own skin was get out of Paris as quickly as possible, but he couldn't do that yet. 

 The ordinary people of France had begun their own mad "revolution", which involved murdering as many members of the royalty and nobility as they could get their hands on. A new machine had recently been invented simply for the cause. No one had come after Nicholas' family yet (not all of his relatives, at least), but that was because Nicholas knew how to navigate the situation. 

 For the past few years, Nicholas had been playing along with the entire revolution, acting as if he were perfectly fine with a new government being put in place. All the while, he secretly helped prisoners escape whenever he could. He felt bad for all those noblemen and noblewomen who were being arrested. Not all of them were good people, but it wasn't their faults they were born into families more fortunate than others. 

 Pretending to be a revolutionary wasn't the only thing Nicholas was playing at: he was a witch. That was another thing he could allow anyone to know. If anyone were to find out he was a witch using his powers to help prisoners escape, his head would be the next one to go to the guillotine. 

 At the moment, Nicholas' next mission was rescuing a few cousins of his whom were recently arrested. No one had told him directly, but he knew his cousins were going to be executed soon, which he couldn't allow to happen. 

 By now, Nicholas knew any and all entrances into the prison where his cousins were being held, and he knew which spells to use to knock out the guards and leave them indisposed long enough for him to free whoever he had broken in to rescue. It was becoming rather easy to do this, though he noticed there were even more guards than there used to be. He was always sure to keep his face hidden by a hat or hood, but he knew there would come a time when someone would be able to name him as the man who kept freeing prisoners. 

 Nicholas was able to easily break in and free his cousins; he knew people who could smuggle them out of the country as long as he paid them well. But as he was leaving, he heard someone in a far-off cell; it was a woman crying for help. 

 "Help me, please!" she was shouting. 

 Nicholas followed the cries, and found there was someone locked in the cell. She was a small red-haired woman, and her eyes were teary, her expression frightened. 

 "Please free me," she said in a softer voice as Nicholas approached. "I've seen what you do. I don't belong in here." 

 "Perhaps not." Nicholas unlocked her cell door. "Follow me." 

 As he led the woman out, she stopped at the sight of the unconscious guards. "Are they dead?" she asked. 

 "Of course not," Nicholas answered. "We should be gone by time they wake up." 

 The woman had gotten down on her knees as Nicholas spoke, and now she bent over one of the guards, her red hair falling across the man. Nicholas couldn't see her face, but he heard a sucking sound. When she lifted her head, her lips were bloody. 

 "I've been deprived of blood for days," she said. "I need to feed." 

~~~~~~ 

 The next day, Aurora de Martel sat in the parlor of Nicholas' house. He had learned that that was her name, and had already guessed she was a vampire, which she confirmed. 

 "My brother and I were both from a noble family," she explained. "I was stupid and got myself arrested." 

 "What's your brother's name?" Nicholas asked. 

 "Tristan de Martel. I don't know if he's still in Paris. Do you know the name?" 

 Nicholas shook his head. "Can't say I do. If your brother is the leader of a vampire organization and has so many resources at his disposal, why wouldn't he come free you sooner?" 

 "I don't know. But I have to go home. He'll want to know what happened." 

 "Hold on," Nicholas said as she stood up. "I think you should let me go with you. You were blood-deprived for days, and someone could recognize you. It's probably best if you don't go out alone." 

 "Oh." Aurora smiled. "Thank you, Nicholas. That's very kind of you." 

 "It isn't any trouble." He held the door open for her. "Let's get you home, shall we?" 

 Before this, Nicholas had never met a vampire in his life. As they went out onto the street, he wondered if all vampire women were as beautiful as Aurora.